Joycepa's 2009 reading, Part 3

The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Thornton Wilder

Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, 1928.

The best stories are morality tales, and the best of those are ambiguous, leaving the reader or listener to draw their own conclusions. Wilder wrote a stunning example in The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

A short book (just 107 pages in my edition), Wilder writes in a deceptively simple style--that of a narrator who recounts and summarizes Brother Juniper’s investigations into the lives of 5 people who were suddenly and without warning thrown to their deaths when the famous bridge at San Luis Rey in Peru--constructed by the Incas and having stood for centuries--suddenly breaks on July 20th, 1714. Brother Juniper, who has long held a theory about God’s reasons for terminating some lives and not others in seemingly random accidents, is convinced that he can uncover God’s plan for these five people if he digs deep enough into their lives.

What follows in Wilder’s book is an account of those five lives, all of which, in some fashion or another, are interconnected with one of them, the Marquesa de Montremayor.

Wilder’s language style appears to be deceptive simple, somehow fits perfectly with the era and the place. My edition has an afterword by Tappan Wilder, the author’s nephew, who discusses Wilder’s love of French literature and particularly the letters of the Marquese de Sévigné, on whom the Marquesa de Montremayor is modeled. The linguistic style of these 17th century letters with its emotional distance and irony imparts a powerful impact to the story, especially to the conclusion, which Tony Blair read at a memorial for those who died on September 11, 2001:

“But soon we shall die and all memory of those five will have left the earth, and we ourselves will be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”

There are few books that linger on in my mind after I read them, no matter how much I’ve enjoyed them. The Bridge of San Luis Rey is one of those precious few.

Highly recommended.

I read that book a couple of years ago and loved it! I am a big fan of Wilder's play Our Town and was introduced to his writing through that. Glad to see that you enjoyed the book.

Wow, nothing gets past you, does it Stasia! Already on to the new thread!! LOL

I've just added a Library of America volume of Thornton's plays and collected writings on theater to my next book order.

Laura Lindsay posted a note about this article on FaceBook--it's excellent, and I thought I'd post it here.

It's been decades since I've read anything by Joyce Carol Oates. Anyone have a favorite?

the glass palace is a wonderful evocation of the cultural mixing over time and space that went into the "creation" of Burma. But i'm pretty much a sucker for just about everything Ghosh has written.

Joyce, I think you will probably love The Glass Palace--it received a resounding meh from me!

Wallace Stegner is an author that I've tried to keep up with.
We read The Bridge of San Luis Rey my 1st. year at the Univ. of KY. I still remember it. We did the play Our Town in hi school & also read a story the pleasant journey from I can't remember the names of the towns, but still remember the story.

I know I read The Bridge at San Luis Rey in high school. I remember the premise, but nothing more. I'm finding recently that my high school English teacher was much too good for us...I admired her then, but how I wish I could sit down with her now and discuss some of the things she had us reading. I did well in her classes (I had her for the last two years of high school), and she left a mighty impression on me, but I'd be so much more appreciative now.

Bob and Alison, thank you for your resounding recommendations (in your own respective ways!) for The Glass Palace. It's on my next book order.

In my #4 message, I forgot to say that the article is form Th Guardian, a paper in the UK, and it talks about prominent post WWII US women writers. And that's a lot to have forgotten! (Must write down the telephone number of that assisted living place). Which prompted my question about Joyce Carol Oates. She's been a prolific writer; I'd like to start reading her again after so long a time and just one book, and am curious to know what you all think is a good book of hers.

Marian, re Stegner: I don't yes have it but intend to read Angle of Repose. I'm finding that the Pulitzer winners are a great way to get into authors I might never have read otherwise.

Angle of Repose is good, but Crossing to Safety & All the Little Live things are books I've read twice.

I was a fan of Joyce Carol Oates' short storied. when she started writing novels, I tried to keep up with them, but she got ahead of me --way ahead. I still read her short stories in The Best American Short Story books. I try to read her novels that I can get my hands on. The Pine Barrens was good. I have quite a few in my TBR pile.

I'll check out Crossing to Safety, Marian.

Sheesh, all I wanted to do is say I agree with your views on The White Tiger ... took me a while to get through all 1,000,000 posts on this and your previous thread!

Well, if you'd come on over and check more than once every 6 months....LOL

BTW, really liked that Guardian article on US women authors.

>13 Joycepa:: Ahem. I'm an avid lurker on your thread, madame!

#14: "madame"--now, there's a first! :-)

I've read Stegner's Angle of Repose, which I enjoyed a lot, but have not read the other 2 mentioned, so I am going to check those out, too.

Just finished last night volume 2 of Gideon Welles' diary, which includes Lincoln's assassination. The last half of this volume covers the beginnings of Reconstruction and is an eye-opener. Like most people, I suppose, I know next to nothing about Reconstruction. Because of Welles' stand, which I'll cover in the review, I've started Reconstruction by Eric Foner. I'm only about 30-40 pages into the latter but that,too, brings a different perspective. Lisa, take note of this book. It's early days, but I thought of you while reading it last night--I think it's right up your alley.

ETA: I must say, I feel like Peter after the 3rd cock crow. After vigorously denying any and all knowledge of the Barber Adagio, I find I can't get it out of my mind--it's playing away in the background!

Joyce, added Reconstruction to the list. Just what I needed--another book on the wishlist.

As to Stegner: I did comment on your profile about Crossing to Safety, but just got over here since my computer was "wonky" last night. I have also read The Big Rock Candy Mountain and The Spectator Bird. I have tried All the Little Live Things, but have not been able to finish it.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain is purported to be autobiographical. It is the story of a man who is always looking for the next way to "make it big" and the toll it takes on his wife and two sons. A very good story.

I also liked The Spectator Bird. Joe Allston is a retired literary agent living in the country in California who somehow believes life has passed him by. He remembers a more engaging past when he receives a post card from a woman he has not seen in many years.

So I thought All the Little Live Things would finish the story of Joe Allston, but he is a very nasty man in that book. I have not been able to get past the first 50 pages.

There you have a "brief history of Lisa's reading of Wallace Stegner".

After reading your comment, I've already put Crossing to Safety on next month's book order list. I'll wait a bit for The Spectator Bird.

I'm in the midst of writing the review for volume 2 of Welles diary, I just wish I'd started the Foner sooner. I'm 41 pages into it; at the moment, I'm going to compare it to McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom and Goodwin's Team of Rivals in terms of setting events in context. If it holds up, it will definitely rank right up there with those two books in my estimation.

This is one of those history books (so far) that leaves me wondering why I ever bother with fiction--the real thing is so much more complex, so much more fascinating.

The Diary of Gideon Welles, Vol 2
April 1, 1864-December 31, 1866

Roughly the first half of the diary concerns itself about the war and covers the period of some of the bloodiest fighting from the Wilderness on, to the end of the war. Its most poignant part is Welles’ reaction to Lincoln’s death. He was present in the Peterson house (where Lincoln was taken after he was shot in Ford’s Theater) when Lincoln died, having spent the night with Stanton and others keeping vigil. Welles was the epitome of the stern, upright New England patriarch, morally incorruptible, not given to much emotion, but Lincoln’s death was a profound shock that temporarily shattered Welles as it did everyone else. Welles loved and respected Lincoln, revered him, although even such an admirer as he did not truly see Lincoln’s political greatness. But his grief comes across in the pages of his diary.

And this volume of his diary is really split by the two Presidencies--the “before”, of Lincoln’s, and the “after” of Andrew Johnson’s. Until Lincoln’s death, we have Welles as usual--disapproving of Stanton and Seward, sternly doing his upright best to run the Navy Department honestly, trying in vain to root out unscrupulous contractors, dealing with the egos of naval officers, holding out against pressures from various important people for preference, whether for preferment for their friends or relatives in the Navy or in the awarding of contracts or in various rather loathsome political schemes in the Navy Yards. He continues to have a fatherly attitude towards Lincoln, deploring Lincoln’s naiveté about Seward, thinking the President wise but too kind, his love for Lincoln clear in every sentence he wrote about the man.

Then came Johnson and the end of the war. Johnson is widely rated as one of the worst Presidents the United States has had, but Welles in the beginning thought highly of him. He is full of praise of Johnson’s acumen but worries, as he did with Lincoln, about Johnson’s tendency to work too hard.

The break point comes with Reconstruction and the policy towards the former Rebel states--and the 14th amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.

The US Civil War has received enormous popular attention and rightly so. It was a turning point in the country’s history. However, there’s just about no play given to Reconstruction, which was also a critical period.

Welles was against slavery--but that did not mean he was for ‘negro equality”. Absolutely not. In time, maybe, when the “negroes” were ready--educated, etc--the vote. No doubt there were some who were ready but the majority? Definitely not. Welles was no more racist than the majority of Americans.

Where he did break with the majority, however, was his opposition--along with Johnson--to the 14th amendment granting citizenship to Afro-Americans. Welles had been a Democrat and was a believer in States Rights--not to the point of secession from the Union, but was for a very strict interpretation of the Constitution and very limited Federal power. Theoretically, his objection to the amendment was based on procedure--at the time the amendment was proposed, the 11 rebel states had still not been formally readmitted to the Union. In Welles view, proposing an amendment to the Constituion while eleven states were without what he viewed as legitimate representation in congress was constitutionally illegal. As time went on, more and more states were readmitted, but Welles continued his opposition, and took it to absurd lengths. Page after page of his diary is filled with denunciations of the Radicals and those who voted with them. He refused to believe that decent men would go along with a policy he himself had deemed unconstitutional and wrong; therefore, they were dupes of men like Charles Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, Ben Wade, and Henry Winter Davis. From the disapproval of Stanton and Seward evident in his first volume, he goes to what does certainly appear to be something approaching hatred. He constantly rails at at the weakness, greed, and self-serving of politicians (true since Cain and Abel), bitterly denouncing all those who put partisanship--Republican party discipline--above the good of the country; the irony is that he himself does not realize just how partisan he is. No one is "good and true” unless they opposed the 14th Amendment. No problem with the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, but citizenship for a race he considered inferior? No way.

It is fascinating to follow Welles, as he becomes ever more strident, ever more paranoid. Much as he originally favored Johnson, by the end of 1866, he was severely disapproving of Johnson’s inability, as he saw it, to stand up to the Radicals.

There’s more to the diaries than this. The United States nearly went to war with France over French imperialism in Mexico in this time period, and Welles gives a valuable record of the events. Welles was an honest and able administrator, and his fight against corruption was only partially successful. He does give us a look into the personalities and social scene in Washington at that time, or as much as he can given his extreme views on so many in the Administration and Congress.

This volume of the diary is well worth reading, but I found that reading Eric Foner’s Reconstruction was valuable in giving a perspective on the politicians and issues that so obsessed Welles. It’s an invaluable look into attitudes that were prevalent at the times, one part of the political and social spectrum of beliefs that the people of the United States held at that time.

If for nothing else, his eyewitness account of the death of Lincoln and the subsequent mourning is worth reading. But his very personal account of Reconstruction as it was being enacted is priceless.

Highly recommended.

I am going to hunt down a copy of Reconstruction. I've read a few books about the Civil War and have an interest in the Jim Crow Era and the dawn of the Civil Rights movement, but need a clearer understanding of the Reconstruction era. Thanks for your above review--it is fascinating (and frustrating) how otherwise highly intelligent and principled people can become fixated on a single "litmus test" issue, to the point of being unable to see anything else. Did you lecture Welles as you read or throw the book across the room?

#21: Nah. Poor Gideon--you wind up really feeling sorry for him, seriously. For one thing, people start avoiding him. His relationship with Johnson, the President, starts deteriorating, because he was constantly lecturing Johnson about what he had to do. It's the eeriest sensation, reading through the months and watching this well-intentioned, able man slide into paranoia.

There isn't any question--you certainly get the impression from volume 1--that Welles was a rigid man, a judgmental one as well. But this issue so upset him, so obsessed him that he lost whatever ability he had to evaluate other human beings. your phrase "litmus test" is perfect.

About Foner: when I compared it to McPherson and Godwin, I meant in the sense that it's going to be an overall (but detailed) look at the whole situation--political, economic, social. However, in style, it's much more like one of your very best textbooks. The prose is clear, it is NOT dull by any means, but it has that sort of sense to it. Both Goodwin and McPherson had the advantage of writing about a dramatic, thrilling time in history. you have to be a really bad writer to bore your audience with that kind of material.

This is not as exciting, but it is fascinating. oner takes the view that Reconstruction started with the Emancipation proclamation,and makes black suffrage and civil rights the key to everything that happened. I'm not that far along, but if you're looking for a background to Jim Crow, I think you'll be happy with Reconstruction. At the moment, I'm reading a section where he's talking about New Orleans and Louisiana. New Orleans had the largest free black population in the South; many were wealthy and some even owned slaves. Oh yes, if there is one thing the human race is good at, it's oppressing its own. Fascinating section if brief on the Sea Islands--what I think we now know as the gullah culture--black communities.

One thing I love about Foner's book so far is that he shows nothing was monolithic--not the white South, not the black condition, nothing.

this is a pretty dense book--straight historical reporting very well done, but again, think of it as the very best textbook style you've ever read. "Textbook" for me is NOT synonymous with bad, dull boring writing. It can be, but doesn't have to be.

Rejoice, rejoice--the latest Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger, has just arrived in Potrerillos Arriba!! Mary had to go to David to pick up her computer ( hard drive replaced, in Panama City--you ship things like that internally by cheap, private, utterly reliable transport), stopped by our mail service--and voila! here it is.

I'm going to save and savor this--I've too many books going right now to just jump into this one.

Lima Nights
Marie Arana

Carlos Bluhm, a middle-aged Peruvian of German descent, comfortably married to Sophie and father of Rudy and Fritz, enjoys one-night sexual stands from time to time, and outings with his three friends. All come from Lima, from the same German descended background, all are solidly middle class, and all know that indigenous women--Indians--are good for one thing only--casual sex.

Until one night Carlos meets Maria, a 15 year old Indian girl in a tango bar, and his life is changed forever.

The novel is a story of the lengths two people are willing to go in order to satisfy sexual obsession and calculating need. A story of 20 years of living together and having no idea of who the other is.

Arana writes of chasm of understanding so deep and so broad that her characters don’t even know where to start to find understanding. One goes to a shaman, the other to its equivalent in the modern world, a psychiatrist, but in the end, neither witch doctor can help.

It’s well written, but strangely without emotion, more or less paralleling the lives of the Carlos and Maria themselves. It’s a story that should move, should make a connection but did not do so for me. Arana made the characters so unfathomable to each other that they became, then, equally unfathomable to me, leaving me pretty indifferent to their fates, once I knew what they were. That’s about how I feel about the book, too--indifferent. It was a good try that didn't work.

"One goes to a shaman, the other to its equivalent in the modern world, a psychiatrist, . . ."

I think you're giving the shaman a bad name.

Yes, I should be more careful with my name-calling, no question. LOL

#24 I barely remember reading this book - I think it was 2 months ago or maybe 3. I'm sorry you didn't like it better. I enjoyed it more while it was still in my hands than I do now in retrospect. "Indifferent" is a perfect word to describe how they each reacted to their lives. I kept wanting someone to DO something - cause a scene or throw things or something. Better luck next time.

Arana is a very good craftswoman at writing--she just needed a story. It always seemed as if I should like it more than I did. The ending was probably the best part of the book.

#25, 26 Come ON...there are some wonderful psychiatrists out there. I give you Dix, Sidney Freedman, and Neven Bell. Oh, and my future son-in-law.

Charlie, do you know these people? Am I supposed to be impressed?

Sidney Freedman? MASH? The gold standard for person you want to talk to if you're having an emotional breakdown? No?

Um--how many decades ago was that? I haven't watched MASH or anything with that name for at least 20 years, possibly more?

#31 You know it.

#32 Well, here it's hard to avoid M.A.S.H. The re-runs are on some cable station or other almost 24 hours a day.

Well...I'm not "there", you see. :-) Plus I never had cable even in the US. I used to watch TV during the Olympics and for The Rose and Super Bowls. Gives you an idea of my TV habits. Now I don't even do that. Sometimes i go over to a friend's house for the World (Soccer) Cup, but that's not every year, either.

Weelllll...I guess you're absolved. But everybody should know Sidney Freedman. As Laura said, he's the gold standard. He was played by Alan Arbus,

Weelllll...I guess you're absolved. But everybody should know Sidney Freedman. As Laura said, he's the gold standard. He was played by Alan Arbus, seen here more recently with his wife, Mariclare Costello, who played the former Rosemary Hunter, John-Boy Walton's teacher. (Some more TV trivia you won't care a thing about!)

Wow...I had some serious catching up to do on your threads. Thanks to my wonderful boss who let me knock off a couple of hours early today I was able to get all hundred or so posts in one sitting.

First, I would like to thank you for the James Agee. I read A Death in the Family last year and absolutely loved it. I need to look for some more of his work next time I have a bit of cash for books.

Second, I have decided to try some military history. I always assume I wouldn't like it, but your comments and reviews make me want to give it a try. Do you have any suggestions for starters?

cripes, 37 already...so much for catching up. I read The Bridge of San Luis Rey in 1962 and can't remember a darn thing about it except vaguely something about Peru or somewhere down that way.

Loved the comment about Ghosh getting a "resounding meh". Yep! His characterisation makes me grind my teeth.

#36: Linda, I watched the first few years of the series--what was that--35-40 years ago?. I remember it being very good, then like all series, it petered out. I'm just not a TV watcher. When my kids and I used to play Trivial Pursuit, they always won because they would get me in the entertainment category, or whatever it was.

#37: Jane, I just ordered the Library of America volume of Agee's plays for the same reason.

As for military history: it depends on what you want. A general history of the Civil War (the only area I'm in the least qualified to talk about), a general history will have some military history in it. McPherson's one volume history, Battle Cry of Freedom, would be the best to start. There's no better reading than Shelby Foote's 3 volume narrative, which reads like a 3000 page fast-paced, page-turning thriller, The Civil War: A Narrative.

For specific battle, which is what most people think of when they talk about military history, depends. I've not reviewed it here because I've read it 3 times (and am about to do a reread "soon"), but Coddington's military history of the Gettysburg campaign (and the best books ALWAYS describe the entire campaign from June 3 to the end of July) is excellent. The only problem wiht it is that there is one map and one map only showing the routes of the armies to Gettysburg. It's good, but it's work using it.

Unfortunately, it's the last book in the series, but Peter Cozzens' 3rd book on Chattanooga, The Shipwreck of Their Hopes, is fantastic. You won't get as much out of it as you would if yo had read the first two, but absolutely avoid the first one, No Better Place To Die. You'll go crazy with the lack of adequate maps. And believe me, there is no reason to read military history unless you're willing to use maps. You read military history because you want to understand what happened, and you cant do that unless you follow troop movements. Cozzens' 3rd book actually has a minimum of those--mostly talks about that as a campaign and has fascinating material about the commanders as well. I would say as a starter, to see if you really want to get into it, I'd start with The Shipwreck of Their Hopes, even though it isn't one of the "glamor" battles.

Gettysburg was one of the most complicated of the battles. Someone once wrote that it wasn't a single battle but something like several hundred minor engagements fought more or less at the same time. Coddington does an excellent job overall. There are more detailed histories, and if anyone wants to really get into that battle, I have a recommendation for the best book I know of at this time--I haven't reviewed it here because I haven't finished it, but it's The Maps of Gettysburg by Gottfried. It has the single best set of maps of the campaign leading up to Gettysburg that I've ever seen anywhere. It's presented as text on one page, appropriate maps on the facing page. As far as I'm concerned, as much of it as I've read, it's at an easily accessible level as far as maps and text are concerned--it's just that the whole thing was so terribly complicated. I'd read Coddington and then tackle Gottfried if I were interested in Gettysburg.

38: I'm going to give The Glass Palace a try, anyway.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey got me to order yet another Library of America volume, this time of Wilder.

#37, Jane: I was just thinking about what would be the best introduction to military history:

Shelby Foote considered the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg to be the two most crucial. He took the chapters for each battle from his general 3-volume work and expanded the material, published them as separate volumes. I have the one on Vicksburg, The Beleaguered City: The Vicksburg Campaign; I do not have the one on Getysburg, The Stars in Their Courses.

I can vouch for the Vicksburg one--it is superb. I'm sure the Gettysburg book is the same; certainly the chapter in his second volume is terrific. And truly important--the maps are good!

Foote was a great writer, and he wrote his history of the Civil War like a novel.

As your first one, I'd try Foote's Vicksburg book or Cozzens' The Shipwreck of Their Hopes. I think either one is a splendid entry level book--won't overwhelm you with names and complicated troop maneuvers. Both books are extraordinarily well written.

The Winter King
Bernard Cornwell

First book in The Warlord Chronicles (Arthurian) trilogy.

Cornwell is a first-rate writer of historical action-adventure stories. He’s also extremely creative in the ways he uses his historical material. I always enjoy reading the historical notes at the end of his books, because they give fascinating details about the site, usually, of the action and, of course, when he deviates from historical accuracy.

But in this series, about the legendary Arthur, Cornwell outdoes himself. Sticking as he usually does to historical facts, Cornwell is left with very few verifiable “facts, indeed--including whether or not Arthur really existed. Not to worry--he uses what can be surmised and for which there is evidence--and completely tosses the usual Arthurian story, based on Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, out the window. Instead he creates a story based on the historical time period in which Arthur probably lived--the 5th century C.E. No knights in shining armor--there were no such things as knights the, and men fought--usually in a shield wall--in leather armor. No Round Table, no glamor--just the realities of what would be called the Dark Ages. Christianity was by no means settled in Britain, and it had very little resemblance to what we know as Christianity today. Arthur was a warlord, who united the petty kingdoms (or tried to) against the Saxon invasion. No quest for the Holy Grail--just the desperation of beating back one of the many invasions that shaped the current people known as the English.

Many of the old familiar names are present--Guinivere, Lancelot, Bors, Geraint, Excalibur, Merlin, Nimue, Pellinore, Morgan and many more. But they are hardly recognizable in the brand-new, yet far more authentic tale that Cornwell weaves.

I happen to love the usual Arthurain tales; I think they are some of the best fantasy ever written. But at least in this first book, I really like what Cornwell has done with this material. It’s a whacking good story, fast-paced and well written--typical Cornwell strengths.

There’s one minor almost-caveat, however. The story is told by Dervel Cadarn, a spearman in Arthur’s army. He works very well as a narrator, and lends a very personal touch to the story.

Cornwell is a prolific writer, and has written other series. I am currently reading The Last Kindom, the first book in his trilogy, The Saxon Tales, which is set about four centuries later than The Warlord Chronicles. Britain is again facing an invasion, this time of Danes. Again, one king, Alfred the Great, will try to unite the British against the invaders. Again the story is narrated by a fighting man, Uhtred. It’s easy to see how such a story structure and especially the device of such a narrator works well. But if you read both series, they will have a familiarity, because character development is not one of Cornwell’s strong suits nor does it necessarily have to be, given the genre.

But taken by itself, The Winter King is a remarkably good story told very, very well. highly recommended.

I've been meaning to start the Warlord Chronicles, I've heard that it was very similar to The Saxon Tales which I'm really enjoying so I've been concerned they might be to similar. I've heard the same about Cornwell's American Civil War series and the Sharpe series so I haven't read the Civil War one. I'll be interested to hear what you think about the similarites.

#41. I agree totally with your review, and I especially liked Cornwell's "character" treatment of Lancelot.

#42: Mike: The two series are very similar. Of the two, I prefer, at this moment, The Warlord Chronicles because of the really innovative treatment Cornwell is giving to the Arthurian legend. I'm about half way through The Last Kingdom, and while it's good, it's so similar to The Warlord Chronicles that I'm not sure I'm going to continue with that series.

#43: Charlie, I LOVED his treatment of Lancelot!! LOL

Gosh, I read this yonks ago...you've made me want to reread it, Joyce.

I really enjoyed the book, Tui, and have the next two on my book order list for next month. I like Cornwell's writing very much, but what is really terrific about this book is seeing what he's going to do with oh-so-familiar characters! It's like a whodunit with unexpected twists to the plot.

The Saxon Tales isn't nearly so good, IMO, but I'm enjoying it, too. However, unless things take a different turn, don't think I'll continue with the series. Too much like the Arthurian one without the kinks.

#41: I definitely have to read that one! I am a great lover of Arthurian tales.

#47: It is and it isn't Arthurian. Be prepared for some major shocks to your system in the way Cornwell treats the legend. :-)

#48: OK, I will, if I can ever track down copies of the books. My local library does not have any of the books in that series of Cornwell's :(

Botany can be a dangerous subject; its led Mary into the overwhelming( to me, especially here) world of insects. A friend lent her a wonderful book on insects, a collection of essays by a Frenchman, J. Henri Fabre, The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre. He wrote prolifically between 1877 and 1907. Here's part of something on the cabbage family that Mary read to me this morning:

"The cabbage, first in order of date in our kitchen gardens, was held in high esteem by classic antiquity, next after the bean and, later, the pea; but it goes much farther back, so far indeed that no memories of its acquisition remain. History pays but little attention to these details; it celebrates the battle-fields whereon we meet our death, it scorns to speak of the ploughed fields whereby we thrive; it knows the names of the kings' bastards, it cannot tell us of the origin of wheat. That is the way of human folly."

I like that!

I am going to check out Mary's bug book, too.

So far behind here... so apologies this is out of immediate context. Loved your review of The White Tiger - exactly expressed what I have previously completely failed to articulate about why I didn't really enjoy this book. The Booker win was especially galling considering the other books on the shortlist (including, incidentally, another Amitav Ghosh - Sea of Poppies, which personally I found tedious beyond words until about the last 50, very exciting, pages).

Thanks also for the Barber tip. I'm currently mourning the loss of my Choral Works CD, which has been mutilated to an unplayable degree by child unknown at some point in the last fortnight; To Be Sung on the Water in particular is a piece that has a lot of personal memories for me. I have Kathleen Battle's recording of 'Knoxville' (on a disc with Toni Morrison's 'Honey and Rue' cycle) but will try to look out for the others you recommend. I wish Barber had left the Adagio for Strings as it was and not added words - the scoring is all wrong for voices (the altos have to shriek top As somewhere around the climax).

#52, Flossie: I'm not fond of Kathleen Battle's voice--influenced in part by her personality, but it's still a "small" voice. I have never even heard of "To Be Sung Upon the Water" nor "Honey and Rue" cycle. I'll have to investigate those.

I knew I did not have the capability to be a murderer when my older boy, then about 2 years old, deliberately looked at me after I told him to leave the record player alone (43 years ago) and with apparent glee, ran the arm of the record player complete with needle across one of my opera records. He did not die. But I seriously considered it.

Hm. I didn't hear that alto shriek on the YouTube recording I heard. I'll have to go back and listen to it.

>53 Joycepa: she's not a nice woman... To clarify: 'Honey and Rue' is set by André Previn, so it's not the world's most original music, but the texts are interesting. 'To Be Sung on the Water' is Barber, though, and beautiful (although generally recorded much faster than I've ever sung it, which seems wrong). Your record story has me cringeing. ow. The needle-across is one reason I have always been terrified of LPs and do not own a turntable. But all that stuff about CDs being indestructible is daily and painfully proved wrong in our house.

Maybe the altos on YouTube had a bit of "help" ;-) (speaking as an alto, it's a painful moment....)

Altos rule, FlossieT!

Rats! I didn't know Kathleen Battle was "not a nice woman". I heard her sing a couple of spirituals on the car radio once and pulled over just to listen, her voice was so magnificent in them.

Tiffin, from some of the stories I've read, she really puts the 'prima' into 'primadonna' and then some. It's a pity that so many good performers are also not nice people - although not surprising, particularly in singing, since you need to have a pretty robust ego to succeed.

Congratulations on your Hot Review for The Winter King, Joyce. You have me intrigued.

Re Kathleen Battle: believe all the negative stories you read and add an order of magnitude.

There are quite a few nice performers, even with (and i agree) the need for a robust ego.

I have been without Internet access for 3 days and so am just catching up today. So, Linda, here's something else to think about re Cornwell:

The Last Kingdom
Bernard Cornwell

First book in the Saxon Tales.

Bernard Cornwell has no peer living as far as writing historical action-adventure stories is concerned. The Saxon Tales is another of his series set in England’s Dark Ages when the Saxons, the invaders of The Warlord Chronicles (or Arthur series) set 400 years earlier, are now in their turn fighting yet another set of invaders, the Danes--the Norsemen or Northmen. More dangerous than the Saxons, the Danes represent a greater threat to England. Only one of the Saxon kingdoms remains--that of Wessex, whose king will become known to history as Alfred the Great. The story of the fight against the Danes is narrated by Uhtred, the son of a Saxon nobleman who, through defeat and treachery, grows up among the Danes whom he likes and admires.

Again, Cornwell has taken what little is truly known about that period and about Alfred and incorporated it into a realistic slam-bang story that features war, Dark Ages style (although since the Danes are involved, war at sea as well) with details of life and customs among the Danes and among the Saxons, who were at least superficially Christians at this time. It’s good stuff, extremely entertaining and engrossing; as usual, Cornwell has written a page turner.

His books always have interesting slants on history. Christianity continues to look shabby and downright seedy at times, and Alfred is no one’s idea of a glamorous king. But Cornwell’s settings and descriptions, stripped of fantasy, are completely believable. Far from being monsters, the Danes come across as an understandable and even sympathetic culture. Bloodthirsty, yes, but that was the time as well. The strong survived, the weak vanished.

Having read Cornwell’s first book in the Arthurian series, The Winter King, where he uses the exact same story structure and narrator, I was concerned at first that the similarities between the two books would make The Last Kingdom boring. To my surprise, that turned out not to be true. The story of the Danish invasion and Alfred’s resistance, in Cornwell’s hands comes alive and the characters are believable (although don’t expect character development with Cornwell); the story can stand very well on its own. Personally, I think The Winter King is more interesting because of the way Cornwell works the Arthurian legend, but in the end, that doesn’t really detract from The Last Kingdom.

For fans of Cornwell who enjoy fast-paced action-adventure stories that are set with historical accuracy, this is an excellent read. Highly recommended.

Just a few comments:

Whenever I lose Internet access, I find out how little I need it, and I'm motivated to carry out some Good Intentions. I now have incorporated into my routine, in the afternoon, reading a minimum of one page in Isabel Allende's La Hija de La Fortuna. I have the book in English, and it's a wonderful way to improve my Spanish comprehension. I can only read, at most, 2 pages a day, given how much I have to work the dictionary! But it's worth it. I read the Spanish, translate it as best as I can, then read the English to see how close I've come--or to translates something I really can't get.

It sounds as if it would be tedious, boring work--and when I have to look up 3 out of every 4 words and then try to figure out the grammar, it's tedious, all right. But never boring.

I love Allende's work, and Daughter of Fortune is one of my favorite of her works. I'm impressed by the translation by Margaret Sayers Peden, who has also been the translator for Arturo Perez-Reverte, another one of my all-time favorite authors, at least for his last book, The Painter of Battles. Peden beautifully captures the rhythm of Allende's original Spanish, which I think would be hard to do.

I also find it instructive to see how Peden handles the translation from idiomatic (more or less), formal Spanish to idiomatic, formal English. Yes, it teaches me a good deal, but I'm also intrigued by the very few occasions so far when she chooses a very different word--and to my mind, not as accurate--than in the original Spanish. You can't translate exactly, but you try to get the flavor of when the exact translation just won't work. But, for example, substituting "faded" for the original meaning "tarnished" strikes me as odd when you're describing the effect of salt air on metal.

I'm back on Internet now, but as usual, see that I've missed very little in the world, and will cut down my online time even more. Prefer reading, translating, talking about books to fooling around on FaceBook or even here. I think I'll try to limit myself to once a day here on LT--just take care of business that way.

I have too many "heavy" books going at once, but now that I'm through the Cornwell I do have--I have to order more--I'm resigned to "serious" literature.

Hi Joyce
Thanks for your condolences. Yes, she was too young. Her daughter's 3rd. girl is due in August.

Margaret Sayers Peden also translates Octavio Paz. She translated his biography of Sor Juana Ines de La Cruz. She has also translated works by Sor Juana, but in my college Spanish literature class, we had to read everything in the original Spanish. When I was in Mexico, I came across a copy of Don Quijote in a version written for children (maybe Jr. Hi) But it was easy enough to enjoy the stories without reaching for el diccionario every couple of minutes. (They left out many of the scenes with Dulcinea, it was a really abridged version.)

#59. A great review of The Last Kingdom. I enjoyed the three I read, but the fourth is sitting in my TBR pile.

Unlike you, I didn't read this series concurrently with the Arthur trilogy, so the similarities were less noticeable.

#60. Just for your FYI, I've been cutting back on LT too. I found myself spending more time here than reading, and for me time is of the essence.

I am not, however, reading Allende in Spanish, dictionary or no.

#59. In that case I'll give The Winter King a try. Thanks for the review.

#61: I like Peden's translations. She's translated a number of Perez-Reverte's books (though by no means all), which I'm almost afraid to tackle, having already tried an exerpt and retreated from it in panic. I have both the English and Spanish versions of The Fencing Master. Maybe when I am finished with Daughter of Fortune I'll have the nerve...

I've never even attempted to read Octavio Paz in the original Spanish but will have to one day, I suppose. Right now, I'm sticking with books I either have in English or am able to get the Spanish ones here. There is one--exactly one--book store in the province of Chiriquí that carries even Spanish language books other than children's stuff and textbooks. And they don't have anywhere near a complete catalog. I can always try Amazon, but prefer to subsidize El Hombre de La Mancha--the young man there is from Potrerillos Arriba and we always have a nice chat when I go there.

#63: Mike, I think you'll really be intrigued by The Winter King and the way he treats the Arthurian legend. I don't think you'll be sorry. I've just ordered Enemy of God, which is the 2nd one.

#64 OK, Joyce, you've confused me. Do you mean to say that, in the Spanish-speaking place where you live, only one bookstore carries Spanish language books (and the rest don't) or that there is only one bookstore that carries something other than text books, or children's?

Until we got the new mall complete with a big shiny Borders, the only bookstore here that lasted more than a year or two here was a children's bookstore. I think lots of people are more interested in books for the kids than they are for themselves. (Not me. I'm selfish. If we can't get books for everyone, then we're at least getting books for me!)

I've been enjoying you reviews of the Bernard Cornwell books. I haven't read anything by him in such a long time, that I didn't realize that he wrote anything other than the Sharpe books (which I liked but didnt' love and eventually lost interest). I might have to look these up and give them a try.

#166: We have one bookstore--full-service bookstore, El Hombre de la Mancha (Man of La Mancha)--in our town of David, the capital of the province. It used to carry some English-language books but I was there Saturday and it only had Spanish language books. It's part of a chain of stores here in Panamá--there are 8 of them, 6 of which are in Panama City.

You can get some--a very few-- Spanish language children's books,mainly, and things like cookbooks--in our biggest supermarket. One (possibly two) store stocks the textbooks the kids need for school.

There is one other bookstore in the province that I know of, in the major gringo town of Boquete. It's very small and carries some books in English, the rest in Spanish--but stuff like "inspirational" books, devotional sorts of books, "how to" raise a family, be happy, that sort of thing in Spanish. Some used books. It does carry a few other titles in Spanish by authors I've never heard of, and I do look out for the Panamanian poets, at least the major one from this province, Dimas Pitti. Nothing along that line. It's not a bookstore as we're used to calling them.

There is a used bookstore that is overwhelmingly English language books not too far from us that is pretty mediocre at best. I used to go there occasionally to see if I could pick up cheap mystry/police procedurals, and I sold quite a few books there that raised the level of their stock quite a bit. But he's way overpriced for what he carries. But I have been banned from there because of a post I wrote on my blog about bookstores (at that time, there were two others as well) in the area, and I told the truth--that a good half of the books that that store carried were worthless stock, but that it was increasing the quality of some popular titles and the mystery/police procedural section, which is pretty respectable or was. The owner wanted to sell the place at one time and I was sort of interested--until he told me how much he wanted for the place and all his titles, and I nearly exploded from the internal pressure of trying not to laugh! He never did sell it.

An ex-pat community is an interesting place. The owner is one of the originals--which means that, to put it mildly--he's an eccentric. I'm actually quite fond of him and don't mind at all that I, of all people in the province--I'm fairly sure that my library alone is the largest private library in the province by far--at least double any other here--can not enter the store. This is a really good case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, since my rejects added a lot of "tone" to his stock!

What interests me about Man of La Mancha is that it is expanding certain lines of books. You can buy every book Gabriel Garcia Marquez has ever written. I can get a half dozen titles of Paulo Coelho and quite a few of Jorge Amado. Three or four titles of Allende, 3-4 of Perez-Reverte (I bought The Sun Over Breda in Spanish Saturday), others (Vargas Llosa)--a lot more "classical" Spanish books. It's not a big book store as stores in the US go, but for Chiriquí, it's huge. However, I STILL can't get any poetry of Dimas Pitti!

And the same "how to" and devotional/inspirational books that seem to be de rigeur here. It's got a great coffee bar, which always has someone there whenever I go in. The bookstore is located in one of our two major malls, the bigger one that has one of the only two movie complexes in the province (both always have the major movies when they open in the US). I think people go in there for the coffee more than for books--they make a mean cappucino.

I buy Harry Potter books in Spanish there--the only place to get them in the province--for the very bright daughter of the woman who cleans our house every week. I no longer believe at all in any kind of aid to developing countries because it goes right into the pockets of truly corrupt politicians--Panama is terrible although far, far from the worst--in Central America, that's probably Honduras, although there are others battling for that title. Instead, what Mary and I have decided to do is help with the education of one child--this girl Michele. The deal with the family is that we get to see Michele's official report card every term. If she's doing well--and she's at the top of her class right now--we pay for all her books and matriculation fee. This year, that cost $100. The father has a steady job and the family is stable, but that's a lot of money for them. Next year she goes to colegio--junior high/high school--and when I told Luz that we would pay for Michele's colegio expenses under the same agreement, she started to cry. I don't know about the father, but Luz is incredibly ambitious for her daughter. Who will go far if she doesn't kill her self first--just before school started, the little tomboy broke her wrist falling from some place that she climbed up! I was immensely pleased to hear it, naturally! A girl after my own heart. :-)

For some reason--and I don't know why--Cornwell's Arthur and Saxon series "feel" different from the Sharpe books, I think it's because in the Sharpe series, he wrote from the 3rd person point of view, and he writes from the personal, 1st person narrator in the other series. It does make a difference, I think. I LOVED the Sharpe books--I have every one of them--and didn't know if I'd like anything else of his, but I do. He is a very gifted writer in this genre.

#67 Do you recommend one series over the other? (Arthur or Saxon) Are they better read in sequence, or does it matter?

I love what you and Mary are doing for Michele. The thought that such a small amount of money can have such a big impact in someone's life is staggering.

Sandy, I prefer the Arthur series just simply because of the way he treats the legend. Within the series, yes, read in sequence, or you're not going to know the players--especially true of the Arthur series. Start with The Winter King.

#69: We'll give Michele the chance--what she does with it will be up to her. If she continues to do well, and wants to go on to the university, we'll pay for her expenses there, too.

$100 is 8-10 days' wage here in a full-time job. Her father is in construction, which has fallen of sharply here, but I think he's still working. Their house is tiny, right next to Luz's father's house. Her father, Dario, works for us two days a week as a gardener/handyman. He's 69 years old, raises the four children of another daughter whose husband ran off, very typical in Latin American countries. He gets a pension, Social Security, but has to work to supplement. He works 3 days a week for a neighbor, to whom I recommended him. We pay very, very high--$12/day for Dario and $10/day for Luz. Luz is making a man's wage which is highly unsual here, but she is worth every dime to us. With Dario, he has saved me so much money over the past 3 years that I do a profit-sharing thing with him. I estimate how much money he's saved me over the year, then give him half as a bonus at Christmas. Last Christmas, he received $100.

They are the working poor here in Panamá, hard working people who struggle to survive, especially since food prices shot up--they've come down but not to levels of a year or so ago. Luz's house--which houses her, her husband and Michele, who is in 5th grade--is probably less than 500 sq feet. Dario's is maybe 800 sq feet. When Michele received her First Communion, we were invited to Dario's house, since I'm pretty sure Luz cooks there, too, for the usual celebratory lunch (which is the main meal here). They have only 4 chairs in their tiny dining room--clearly every one eats in shifts--so Dario, Mary, and I and Michele ate at the table, while Dario's wife served us. Panamanian cooking in a restaurant is terrible--but casera--home cooking--is delicious, and the meal was terrific. They are proud people and even though it cost them, believe me, to have us over for that meal, we went.

Sometimes I pick Dario up in the morning, and when I do, his wife usually sends out fresh, hot holjadres, which is a style of fried bread--which is so good that I'm glad we don't really know how to make them here in the house, although Mary tries from time to time. But Señora Caballero makes terrific holjadres, and she knows I love them, so...

Luz and Dario both work here on Saturdays. On Friday, I usually bake a sheet cake from a mix, and divide it up for them on Saturday. I'm dead certain that those are the only "sweets" those 5 kids, from both families, get outside of holidays, perhaps. At Christmas, which is Michele's birthday, we gave her the first Harry Potter book, in Spanish. It's the only book, outside of a textbook, that she owns. She'd never read the series. The "library" here is strictly to help the kids in school--they don't have any fiction, just resource books.

I'm sure everyone remembers the saga of my old computer. I gave that to Michele. We set it up with word processing programs and other such software. It's an old computer, but Luz told me afterwards that once Michele goes to colegio, all the reports and papers she turns in will have to be printed--can't be hand-written. The Infoplaza in Potrerillos has about 8 computers, all of them candidates for a museum, and an ancient printer, but too often there's something wrong. And since the facility is government run, in one of the finest programs I know of, the part or whatever (they have a técnico, a very nice young man) has to come from Panama City. The cost, for students, is 25 cents per hour. Michele uses it, but even though the Infoplaza is set up for student use, she has to compete with others. My old computer can not connect with the Internet, which makes no difference to Michele anyway, because they have no land phone line, which is the cheapest ($10/month), and I'm not sure they could afford it anyway (although Luz would probably figure out a way). But Luz has a brother who lives near the Costa Rica border near Paso Canoa, a "town" that is set up to sell cheap--much of it stolen--goods and she thought that he could get them a cheap printer.

Life is different here, much closer to the basics. Even by Panamanian standards, we are not rich--more like solid middle-class Panamanians in income, although the Panamanians have a hard time believing that. What none of them can get over is the books. Panamanians don't read. The literacy rate here in Panama is one of the highest in Latin America but it's not a cultural priority and books are, for the ordinary Panamanian, too expensive. I don;t have very many books in Spanish although I'm getting more, slowly. I lend them to a very good Panamanian friend who was a grade school teacher, and who is Mary's spanish teacher. Months ago, I lent her my Spanish copy of Allende's Daughter of Fortune. She'd never read anything by Isabel Allende before--never had the opportunity. I'm trying to get a Spanish copy of House of the Spirits, but so far no luck, at least here.

Michele Caballero at her First Communion last November.



Lucy and Michele Caballero

What a beautiful child...and what wonderful friends she has found in you and Mary. I love the idea of giving her the chance to soak up as much education as she wants.

Joyce -- your story and descriptions are fascinating. What a lucky girl Michele is, and how marvellous for you too to be able to make such an important impact on someone's life.

Joyce - Like you, I haven't been on LT much lately - enjoying the beginning of summer. But I did want to let you know that I added The Winter King to my wishlist based on your review. One day . . . .

I FINALLY finished volume 3 of the Welles diary:

The Diary of Gideon Welles, Volume 3
January 1, 1867-June 6, 1869

By 1867, Lincoln had been dead almost 2 years, Johnson was in the middle of his term, and Reconstruction was the focus of Congress. Gideon Welles was what was known then as a War Democrat--a States Rights conservative politician from Connecticut but who refused to concede the right to secession and who believed in and supported the war to end the rebellion, which is what the Civil War was officially called.

Welles was a doctrinaire, rigid, judgmental man who, during this period of time that was characterized by the struggle between Congressional Republicans and Andrew Johnson as to the course of Reconstruction, filled page after page after page of his diary raging against Johnson’s opponents, in the harshest of terms. He might think at least somewhat well of a Congressman or Senator, but let there be any indication that that person was at all for the Republican Reconstruction policies, and Welles immediately turned against him in the harshest fashion. Not only Congress but other members of the Cabinet, and Army and Navy officers were targets; Grant in particular comes in for scathing remarks. Some examples out of hundreds:

“The conservative and timid Republicans and some Radicals have been intimate with McCulloch and impressed him with their cowardly, shrinking views.”

“It is a misfortune that a man so ignorant, so wanting incivility as well as intelligence as E.B. Washburne should be in the position he occupies.”

“A shameless, brazen effrontery and villainy mark certain Senators. Howard and Chandler of Michigan, Sumner, Cameron, Conkling, and others have already made themselves parties against the main whom they are to adjudge Johnson’s impeachment trial...have broken down the barriers of the Constitution, while the President has striven to defend them, and for his defense he is to be tried, and condemned by these violators, conspirators and perjurers.”

“Stevens, with his arrogance, insolence, and vicious despotism...”

And on and on. You get the idea.

His hatred of Seward and Stanton continued unabated from the Lincoln years, and if anything, increased.

His portrait of Andrew Johnson is fascinating. He and Johnson agreed almost point-for-point in their political views, but Welles became increasingly disillusioned with what he saw as Johnson’s hesitation, too conciliatory an attitude towards Congress, especially the Senate, and his concession of too much of executive rights to Congress.

Welles, despite his condemnation of the Radicals and anyone else who disagreed with him, was a politician of his times. He was an overt racist as were the overwhelming majority of Americans of the period; he condemns Senator Sumner from Massachusetts and Congressman Stevens from Pennsylvania for their policies and denounces them as having no principles, no morals, no ethics, just grasping for power--cunning, deceitful men--those are some of his nicer remarks--but in reality, Sumner and Stevens with a few others were about the only ones who were truly egalitarian with respect to the ex-slaves and Afro-Americans in general. Johnson had nothing but contempt for “the nigger” and openly proclaimed that the US was a white man’s land to be governed by white men only. So Welles was not alone nor in the minority. It’s difficult reading.

But Welles also always kept in focus what he considered the crucial questions of the times, and those centered around what the Constitution allowed the Federal government to do and what were the rights and prerogatives of the states. The Civil War had necessitated a much greater concentration of power in the federal government out of necessity. The Radical Republicans and many moderates wanted to extend that power to grant civil rights to the freedmen; Stevens was outspoken in his belief that the Federal government should impose a social revolution on the South. There is almost no right or wrong on these questions--just which interpretation of the Constitution serves during what period of time. That discussion goes on today (and at times with far less intelligence than in 1866-8).

While this diary can be read on its own, I don’t recommend it. You can get so caught up in Welles’ world view that you begin to wonder if he was right in his judgment of nearly everyone. After all, the years 2001-2009 in the US do not inspire confidence in US politicians in any aspect of government, and I find it all too easy to believe in corruption, lack of principle, abuse of power, lack of truthfulness, and other unpleasant but too prevalent behaviors in politics.

To try to get some sort of balanced view, about half way through this volume I started reading Eric Foner’s Reconstruction. I highly recommend that book whether or not you ever pick up the Welles’ diaries, but it is especially eye-opening. Read Welles on Sumner and Stevens and then read excerpts of speeches and writings of those two men, and you wonder if Welles was talking about entirely different people. The blatant racism of Johnson, Welles and others, who denounced black suffrage because blacks “weren’t ready”--were ignorant, lazy, degenerate etc., etc-- is shown to be the falsehood it is. This is no place for a review of Foner, but I recommend it if you start in on Welles once you get past the Lincoln years.

Although not for everyone, the diary is very accessible with the caveats listed, and I think a must for those who are interested in a really neglected period of US history, Reconstruction. Highly recommended.

Like others, I read this several years ago. It is a great book that covers a lot of ground also it is a enjoyable read.

Joyce, I will phone the text department at the uni tomorrow to see if they have House of Spirits in Spanish - we have a Spanish department there. If they do, I'll mail it to you.

Thanks, Tui.

What's crossed my mind recently is something other people have promoted in other countries, and was prompted by Sandy McCreary's offer to see if she can find books in St. Louis, which has a large Hispanic population. I read slowly in Spanish, and I can always get books for myself, thanks to Amazon, to El Hombre de la Mancha, and to the kindness of various people, like you. :-) But what interests me is the little library in Potrerillos Arriba and the fact that they have little to no fiction there for children. If anyone's interested in doing so, I would love to get some children's books--used would be perfectly fine--in Spanish to donate to the library for the kids. You can send them to the mail service we use in Miami, and they will get them to me.

This will not cause any major educational revolution in the area, because reading here is not any sort of a priority. But they will get to kids like Michele--one or two each year, maybe--who have a real thirst for learning. And who knows--once they know that books are available....



That's our truck behind the sign.



This is the building itself--about half the space, on the right, is taken up by the Infoplaza, where the ancient computers are. But they serve, they serve.



This is the reference corner, well stocked--but that's it for reference. I have another photo, which I won't put up, that shows a textbook section--again, a small bookcase.



A teacher with some children from her classroom--they were watching a video the day I took these pictures. The bookcase to the left is representative of most of them--half filled at best. Where you see the black sofas is where we attended last year a recital of young musicians, most but not all from this area.

There are two young women who run the Infoplaza and library. One is the daughter of our best friends, and I know the other well from our parish. If anyone is interested in doing this--I'll go up to the Infoplaza today or Sunday and talk to Maricin and Joanna about what type of books they'd like to see in the library and maybe get some titles from them. Maricin's mother Maritza, who is the woman to whom I lend my Spanish books, might have other ideas as well.

I'm in the process of uploading more fotos that I took that day. There was an exhibition of paintings by Chiriquí (our province) artists, and I also took pix of the artifacts and memorabilia in the tiny room that serves as a museum. When you clik on any of these images, you really go to the FlicR page, and from there you can get to my home page. The pix are in a folder on the upper right labelled Potrerillos Arriba Infoplaza/library/museum.

Also on that page are pix from the recital given last year.

MusicMom41 has just posted poetry (go to message 107) about the wars in El Salvador and the dictatorship in Argentina. The poetry is very powerful.

In February of this year, Maritza Espinosa lent me a book--the official report--of the Truth Commission for Panama about the Noriega atrocities. Her brother was someone who was takne, tortured, and murdered by Noriega's thugs--just a few kilometers away from where I'm writing this. His body was dumped in an empty field up in the pueblo.

I do a blog--here's what I wrote about this:

Diego liked to visit the cantina near the church in Potrerillos Arriba. One night, he was drinking with friends, and he made a joke–laughing, he said that he was going to kill Manuel Noriega–he was going to gather a lot of people and–he made a gestures with both arms as if firing an AK-47.

On February 22, 1989, members of the Defence Forces of Panamá entered the home of Diego Villareal Serrano, where he was living with his family, and forcibly took him out of the house. He was brought to the jail in David where he was tortured–his tongue cut, one eye put out, his fingernails removed, and bullet wounds in his back and his genitals; he was beaten all over his body, and there was severe rectal damage. He was then taken back to Potrerillos and shot in an empty lot. His family searched everywhere for him, finally meeting up with him in the morgue in David.

His crime? Joking about Noriega. The family belonged to the opposition party, and Diego simply had too much to drink one night. The official reason given to the family for invading the house was that the Defence Forces had information that there were fire arms such as Uzis and AK-47s in the house.

The family lived in terror; Noriega was well known for killing members of his victims’ families
On December 20th, 1989, Us Armed Forces invaded Panamá. Because Noriega had a house in Potrerillos Arriba, we were told that the family was awakened during the early hours of the morning by a huge helicopter hovering over the pueblo; there may have been more than one. After an aerial search, the helicopter(s) left. From the description, they sounded like troop carriers.

The official reasons given by the US government for the invasion are ridiculous. It’s well known that Noriega had become anannoyance to Bush, Sr., and he was tired of the problem. Until that time, the US supported Noriega and his monstrous regime.

Diego was the brother of our good friend, Maritza Espinosa. The book pictured is the report of the Truth Commission, published in 2002. Each picture is that of someone who died. There is no picture, unfortunately, of Diego. I haven’t had time yet, but there are pages and pages of declassified documents including telegrams from the US State Department and the Embassy in Panama City. It will take some time to read everything, particularly reports in Spanish.

You can not buy this book. There were only enough copies made to give one to each family of a victim.

Every single time we agree to torture–every single time we acquiesce in the repression of civil liberties both in the US and in other countries, every time we given in to the American people’s hunger for brass bands and flags waving, for young men and women barely old enough to vote waving and firing their sidearms in the air and giving “Comanche war whoops”, every time we take satisfaction in a president doing a phony photo-op in full military gear under a Mission Accomplished banner, every time we willingly swallow the lies, we condone and ennable regimes like Noriega’s. There is no escaping our responsibility in those tortures and deaths. The US record in Latin America is utterly appalling and has done nothing to increase the security of the US, only make enemies of peoples who would much rather be our friends.

What was interesting was one comment I received, from someone who signed himself as The Duke and whose Website was something like "John Wayne". He accused me of being a traitor (oh well, kind of boring--he's only number 2,305 to do so) and then (since I monitor comments and have to approve them before they appear and did not approve his drivel), HE accused ME of being gutless--this from someone who wont use his real name or Website address.

My contempt for people like this is limitless. I figure he's about 5'1" tall, with cojones the size of shrunken peas and a pombo (Brasilian slang) about a half inch long.

The United States' behavior towards Central America has been lamentable. I can only hope that this administration will be an improvement.

More importantly, if you post what kinds of Spanish language books you want, I will see what I can find.

I'm thinking of children's books--and not just US stuff. OK--examples might be, say Harry Potter--EVERYONE here in Panama has seen the movies but almost no one has read the books. Roald Dahl--I've never read them, but understand that many people think quite highly of them. Is there Canadian children's literature in Spanish? I really don't know. I haven't been in the market for children's literature for over 30 years, and don't know much of what's available, popular, etc. I'd go by what anyone here feels is good--and can find. That's the problem.

I ended my professional career at Boeing, at the height of the employment in the Puget Sound area--about 144,000 people. There was a thing about food banks needing money, homeless and other people like the underemployed being hungry. The non-professiona staf at Beoign were paid twice a month, the professionals once. I used to dream that if everyone just gave $5.00/month to the area's food banks--just $5/employee, that's all--hunger would be wiped out in Puget sound. And absolutely no one could tell me that they were too strapped to put aside $2.50 every week--one Starbuck's capuccino--not after looking at their houses, their cars, their boats, their vacation homes. No government aid, no tax dollars--just $5/month.

With that in mind, if anyone wants to donate a book (assuming you can even find one!)--please--just one. Just in the spirit of a small act from each person. Used books in good condition are fine--no problem.

It may be a small act, but I don't think it's an easy one to do. Hispanics are a big linguistic presence in the US but kids' books? Not sure.

Come to think of it, no reason not to post the address here:

Joyce LaGow
PTY 600
1557 NW 82nd Avenue
Suite PMA 30
Miami, FL 33126

Well, here I sit, 8 miles from the border in my elementary school office. The only books I have are ones I can read myself ( Harry y el terrible Quiensabequé, Si Yo Tuviera un Dragón, Amigos del Otro Lado, Sombreros, Gorras, y Cachucas), but at every book fair, there is a Spanish language table. Check out Scholastic at

http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/espanol/

I know that they just got Inkheart in Spanish, for one, as well as having Harry Potter and a lot of others. They've got Clifford The Big Red Dog and Junie B. Jones, Captain Underpants, Magic Tree House, all chapter books. I'm going to try to get to the warehouse sale in two weeks, and I'll keep my eyes open for Spanish books. There's a lot more than you think!

Eliza, I KNOW there's a lot more! I just don't know anything about it! There's just nothing here.

Thanks for the Scholastic URL--I will definitely check it out.

Hey Joyce - thanks for the aid links. Read Ann Jones' Kabul in Winter earlier this year and the "cascade" of aid she described was truly horrific. It's good to know that there are ways of circumventing the methods to keep the dollars within the country. I don't have any Spanish books, unfortunately (and if I did, they would doubtless be European Spanish), but I will look out... do they know about the BookMooch charity programme? I'd be happy to donate some points if they had an account (though I guess the location might be an issue - have read some stuff on here recently about certain countries not being allowed to BM).

Flossie, I'm not sure they even buy books--I think--but won't swear to it--that the libraries are given their reference books, etc., directly from the national government. There's no money locally for books. Recently, our post office was closed because the government decided that there wasn't enough traffic there to pay our post mistress's (whom we know) salary, and I think a book I ordered through Better World, The Raj Quartet, to be shipped to me directly here, got lost as a result--it's nowhere in Chiriquí as far as I can tell, and I ordered it 6 weeks ago. I now have to go into the town of Dolega, which is about 6 miles from where I live as opposed to a mile and a half to the Potrerillos post office.

Helping out is a tricky thing. Believe me, most (although certainly not all) the gringos and the European ex-pats would love to help out the local communities. But here is the kind of thing you're up against.

All money for the schools comes from the national government, which is run by a pack of thieves. At least some percentage of EVERYTHING never gets to the intended institution, in this case, the schools. In the town that has the majority of ex-pats in the province, Boquete, the gringos (read that as all English-speakers including a couple of French and Germans I've met) got together and raised money for the local schools--to give money directly to the school to help out--buy books or extras or whatever. The teachers got in touch with the group and begged them NOT to donate money because, they said, the government would then CUT BACK on whatever they would be given because they figured the gringoes would take up the slack.

In Potrerillos, the only one I have to worry about is the representante, who is the equivalent of a US Representative to Congress. But I'm not sure he survived the recent election of May 4. I know all our Panamanian friends detest him. Still, he's a lot more honest than some, and he has made some effort to help the local community. I've talked with him several times, and he's very careful not to offend the few gringos that are here because he eyes them as potential cash cows for a few of his favorite projects. He also is well aware that we are friends with the extended Espinosa family who, while not even middle-class, are a respected family--three of the women of the family are prominent in our local Catholic church, which has a very active group that tries to assist the students in the schools.

I'd be all for his projects--they sound wonderful--except that I'm well aware how these people get rich from office. Contracts are let out to cronies at inflated prices to begin with, and the government official gets a nice kickback. The work is almost always late and usually shoddy. Even the docile newspapers are full of the kinds of things that go on in Panama City, particularly with schools. I've seen the Minister of Education (the now-outgoing one) and he is an oily politician of the worst sort. The wife of the now-outgoing President, Vivian Torrijos, is one of the worst crooks. She was selling off metal statuary, works of art that were property of the Panamanian government, to be melted down and sold when the market for metal was very high. Naturally, through intermediaries, and the investigation (which never indicted anyone) stopped just short of her office.

But believe me when I tell you that there are governments that are much worse.

If you want to help out, NEVER give money directly to any organization connected with those governments. Never. If your religious organization has missionaries, there's the best outlet. I've seen Catholic and Protestant missionaries at work in Brasil and they are hard-working people who are trying heroically to aid the people, sometimes in very creative ways, believe me. I connected briefly with a Protestant group of Canadian Mennonites, US Methodists, and some other denominations called the Diaconea, that was raising money and drilling wells to bring in water to communities in the Northeast of Brasil. The flat-out finest group by unanimous consent--I've had very interesting conversations with Mormons about it who told me they are using it as a model for their organization--is Catholic Charities.

I don't even trust NGOs anymore. Don't ever give money long distance to ANY group, I don't care what it is. There for a while in Mary's family, after I told them to quit sending me Christmas gifts I didn't want and couldn't use but to donate to their local animal shelter, they got into the fashion mode of subsidizing the Heifer Organization, I believe its called. You know--you could buy a flock of chicks or part of a calf or a pig for some deserving family in some poor country.

It sounds wonderful, but without going into particulars I've seen how even the most well-meaning organizations have been useless in that kind of aid, because they don't understand the local culture. I gave up with Mary's family; if they wanted to waste their money and feel good at Christmas, it was at least better than sending me and each other meaningless crap in the name of family well wishes. Some of the money might have done some good, who knows.

Support your church's missionaries. They will probably lie to you in their newsletters, but they have to because no one who hasn't really been there understands. They always need to show "progress", and many times there IS no progress nor can there be. But they are good people, really good people and deserve the support.

Remember Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and the outpouring of aid? There is a woman, an American, in Honduras who blogs regularly. We've communicated privately as well. She's married to a Honduran and lives in one of the major cities there. She documents the corruption there, says that much of that Hurricane Mitch aid went into the pockets of the then-President. The country STILL hasn't recovered from Hurricane Mitch and probably never will because of corruption. Africa is worse.

That tough old bird, Mother Teresa, is one of my very few heroes--she, Dorothy Day, and Lincoln. Tough-minded, all of them--they had to be to accomplish anything. I have been guided for nearly two decades by something Mother Teresa once said: "We can do no great things. We can only do small things with great love". Spot on, sister!

Yet another rant courtesy of your local Panamanian misanthropic cynic.

The Little Stranger
Sarah Waters

I bought The Little Stranger because I think Sarah Waters is an accomplished writer, not because I knew anything about the story. Particularly after reading The Night Watch, I felt that anything she wrote was well worth reading.

Waters is a mature writer, a master of language, and someone who uses detail superbly in creating a mood. She has been compared to Dickens in this respect; actually, I think she’s better because Dickens, after all, was paid by the word, modern writers are not, and Waters achieves her effects with an economy of words. She also does a splendid job with her characters, creating believable and interesting characters. This is especially true in The Little Stranger. I thought her handling of the narrator, Dr. David Faraday, was masterful. A dull man, Waters made him interesting by means of his dullness, no mean feat in my opinion.

I have nothing but praise for her writing. Now to turn to the other aspect I always evaluate with any work of fiction, the story telling.

Again, I think that she is skillful in her ability to use language to tell her story. The problem I have--and it is a severe one--is that I dislike the genre she’s chosen this time.

There are certain genres I avoid--romance (predictable and boring), fantasy (predictable and boring), chick-lit, (REALLY boring), and ghost stories/horror (predictable and boring). I don’t like them. Unfortunately, The Little Stranger falls into the last category, the ghost story.

I found the plot predictable and boring, almost totally uninteresting. What kept me going was the writing. I have to say that I thought the epilogue was extremely well done and is a perfect example of the way Waters writes to make her characters far more than they appear to be within the plot.

I loved Affinity, which I thought was interesting from beginning to end, although I understand it’s classified as “gothic”. OK, bring me more Sarah Waters gothic. But I will avoid any more books of hers (or anyone else’s) that is in the ghost story category, because I think her talents are wasted in that genre.

I don’t know what to say--perhaps highly recommended for those who like ghost stories or who are interested in seeing how Waters is maturing as a writer.

Our local Walmarts in Knoxville carry a small number of Spanish language books. I'm out of town right now, but when I get back, I'll see if I can pick up some children's books and send them along.

I have added Reconstruction to my TBR. I only know a minor amount of the history - primarily that dealing with New Orleans.

There are a lot of Spanish books available here through various sources. I shall keep my eye out for some children's and young adult books to send.

#90, Jane: Foner does talk quite a bit about New Orleans, both what it was before, during and after the Civil War. I've only read about a third of the book so far, and I'm sure he's going to say more, simply because the situation in New Orleans was different from other places in the South, and he's used it several times both to make points and to contrast with other areas.

Thanks to all of you who are spending time and money on this library project! I was unable to get out of the house today to see the librarian, but will go tomorrow afternoon.

I will tell you that I'm finding more than a little mind-bending that a number of you have been able to locate quite easily children's books in Spanish in the US and I can't find them here in Chiriquí. I know the reason, of course--they're horribly expensive for the average Panamanian--but it still blows my mind.

#91 I think that is the reason I find it so frustrating to comprehend your telling us to avoid most of the major aid organizations for helping people around the world. Whatever the rest of the world thinks about the US and Americans, I believe that most of us know how fortunate we are, and are quite willing to share and want to help those in need. But we (at least "I") need to know that my sacrifice (such as it is - not much, really - my real point here) will be reaching the ones who need it most. I don't mind the cost of a book sent internationally (or several books, or food or clothes or medicine - or the cash to purchase them locally) as long as I feel comfortable that I am helping to meet a real need and not lining the pockets of some crooked bureaucrat who can literally snatch food from the mouths of his people without losing sleep at night.

I'm so glad you are giving us this opportunity. Please keep us informed about what your librarian really wants.

Sandy, the stories I have to tell--all of them true--would take too much time and are depressing, and I really and truly do not want to spend any more time on it. There are of course exceptions, but I play it safe.

I personally think Americans are among the most generous people in the world. Last November--early December there were devastating floods in the province, especially in Boquete. Hit the worst were the indigenous people, who live close to the rivers. Panamanians responded generously--there were bins and carts set up in the supermarkets in David--but what really blew everyone's minds was the response of the ex-pat, mostly American community. My next door neighbor (who is Scots married to an American) took it on herself to organize the relief from our neighborhood. She collected money from all of us--and we are not that many here--bullied the owner of the local store to give her a 25% discount, bought food and essential supplies and delivered them herself to the refugee areas such as the high school in Boquete. Just our little neighborhood alone here contributed $400 which she parlayed into $500 worth of food and supplies like toilet paper, cleaning materials, toothbrushes. Every bit of it got to those people. And the response from the community in Boquete was just as generous. I'm not often proud of Americans in Panamá--usually quite the opposite--but I am terrifically proud of what we all did last year.

And Sandy? You're right about the a__h___s not losing any sleep at night over what they do. Not only that, they send out paid killers to take care of protestors who get too uppity. They also, in the back country, murder political competitors (NOT in Panamá), because the jobs are so lucrative.

I will not only keep you informed--I'll post pictures!

Truly, everyone, your response has been absolutely incredible. I have still been unable to get up to the pueblo, so I haven't been able to inform Joanna or Maricin of what's coming--I should take my camcorder with me to get a historical record of the reaction!

I was laid up yesterday with an attack of sciatica, forced to sit in my easy chair, and to read. So..

Blood Trail
C.J. Box

A serial killer is hunting down, murdering and butchering hunters in Wyoming’s Big Horn Mountains. Joe Pickett, now special agent/game warden for the governor, is assigned to the hunt for the killer.

That’s it--that’s the plot. But in this, his 8th and best in the Joe Pickett series, C.J. Box delivers a very fine police procedural with a nice plot twist. Box always has some Western issue at the heart of his novels; this time, it’s the ethics of hunting. As usual, he tries to illuminate both sides of the issue, although I think this is one of his weaker attempts in that regard.

Still, it’s an excellent story and well-written. As a writer, Box has come a long way since his first books. Many familiar characters return, and by this time I think all of us who follow the series could get to the Pard-O-Burger restaurant in Saddlestring, Wyoming and make a decent attempt at finding elk in the mountains.

Nate Romanowski, a falconer with a secret past, returns. Box uses him as he always does to present the view for “vigilante justice”--when The System does not seem to work and when there is a powerful emotional case to dispensing justice outside of the law. It’s a little more disturbing in this book than in others, but it’s a point of view and does not detract from the entertainment value of the book.

Highly recommended.

The Likeness
Tana French

In French’s debut novel, In the Woods, she introduces the character of Detective Cassie Maddox, who started out in the Dublin police force as an undercover agent, then moved to the Murder Squad. Her involvement in Operation Vestal Virgin cause a permanent estrangement from her partner and best friend Rob Ryan, and scarred Cassie herself who, by the end of that book, transferred out of Murder and into Domestic Violence.

The Likeness is Cassie’s story; she is the narrator. It is through her eyes and shfting perceptions that we see the unfolding undercover investigation into the murder of a young woman who is Cassie’s exact double--and who has been using Cassie’s completely fake undercover name, Alexandra Madison from her time in Undercover six years previously. Alexandra, or Lexie, had been a post-graduate student at Trinity College in Dublin and lived with four misfits in an odd situation in an old Georgian manor recently inherited by one of the group. However, no one knows outside of a few police officers that Lexie is really dead. Frank, her old boss in Undercover, persuades Cassie to impersonate Lexie in order to infiltrate the group to get a lead on the murderer. To do so effectively, Cassie must assume Lexie’s persona completely--how she walks, how she holds a cigarette, how she laughs--as well as absorb enough information to slide into the group. In other words, she has to become Lexie while remaining Cassie Maddox with a face that goes with both women.

French has written a superb police procedural cum psychological thriller, with enough subtle twists to satisfy any reader. We see everything through Cassie’s eyes, and we watch her struggle against becoming completely subsumed by Lexie’s personality; in fact, the greater struggle is whether to fight it at all.

The story is powerful, absorbing, a real page-turner. French’s writing is perfect; she sets moods and reveals psychological states, follows the action and delivers dialogue in the same, elegant, off-beat manner in which she wrote In The Woods only with a more economy of words--the plot never falters. Cassie is a more complex character than Rob Ryan, and French spends more time with her than she did with Rob. The result is, in my opinion, better than In The Woods--tauter,more subtly complex, with more richly developed characters.

A gem of a book, not to be missed. Highly recommended.

I've also just watched the trailer for harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It'll arrive in Panamá at the same time as in the US, so I've decided to take a Harry potter break and reread the series! Again. for the umpteenth time as far as the first 5 books are concerned.

For heaven's sake, Joyce, why haven't you told me about Tana French? Oh wait—you just did.

msg. 85: "Eliza, I KNOW there's a lot more!
Eliza, moi?? Hmm...I think that for some reason you're confusing Ronincats & me. Your memory is going goooooiiingggggg Joyce *voice of doom* :D

>95 Joycepa:: OMG Joyce, my daughter has shown us several different trailers, every time a new one is released. I ought to connect you two fanatics.

38 I read the Bridge of San Luis Rey in high school, but I remember loving it, and I remember the letter writing woman. And of course about the bridge that they died on and "the bridge is love" that must be a quote from the book.

Joycepa - you make me want to read those two books about civil war times too. I knew about African Americans having slaves - from the Known World by Edward Jones which has that as one of its themes. That is a wonderful book.

It's good to know that there's one author we agree on. I thought The Likeness was a better book than In the Woods, but I'm not sure it would be as good had I not had the background provided in the first book.

Ok folks, I have been nearly overwhelmed here. Just catchingup.

#97, YES, you're absolutely right--and you're probably 100% correct about my memory going as well, Clarissa!

#98: To date, I think I've watched 3 different trailers and they're all terrific. Jim Broadbent is perfect for Slughorn. However, from the trailers, I get the distinct impression that they're "making up" the kids to look younger than they are (with the possible exception of Emma Watson. I swear both Radcliffe and Grint look younger than they did in Order of the Phoenix, which I just watched again last night.

#99: I have The Known World on my To Buy list. Glad to hear such a strong recommendation for it.

#100: I agree with having read the first book making The Likeness more enjoyable. I really think that she outdid herself with The Likeness--hard to see how she's going to equal or better that act!

OK, news on the Potrerillos libray front.

As promised, I went up to the library last week (I think it was) and talked with my friend Marisin who runs the Infoplaza part. I was really surprised at 1) the whole complex was closed for inventory, most puzzling and 2) Marisin was rather off-hand about my news. Then I found out why.

On May 4, Panamá held general elections here, for President, representante (their US House of Representative equivalent) and diputado (ditto with the more or less equivalent of the US Senate), and mayors of the various urban areas large enough to have actual mayors and not an administrator.

Every other post is appointed. the governors of the provinces are appointed by the President and they in turn appoint officials of the province. In turn, the representantes also appoint people--such as librarians and Infoplaza managers. There is no real Civil Service here. The current representante was despised by every Panamanian in our district who ever said anything about the subject, and plenty did. he lost on May 4th, and his replacement takes office on July 1, as will every funcionario (government employee of one type or another) whom he appoints.

Marisin and Joanna are both appointees of the current representante; Joanna (really Giovanna) is his niece. Well, she's most certainly out, since the new representante has relatives of his own. Marisin is no relative, but. She had some slim hop that she might keep her job because there is literally no one in the area who has her computer skills, but skill leel has very little to do with a patronage system, as Lincoln and Johnson well knew when the same situation applied in the US. She was supposed to find out last Friday; I haven't had a chance to talk with her or her parents since that time.

So, understandably, she was not terribly interested in what I had to say, other than to say that there was certainly plenty of room on the shelves and that it was a good thing for the library. The outgoing representante ordered the Infoplaza (and therefore library) shut for inventory. Marisin asked me to keep any books I had until after July 1 so that she doesn't have to deal with them in the inventory.

At that time, no books had arrived here. yesterday, however, I picked up Charlie's books; they had come in on Tuesday, which was 5 days from Miami, really fast. I have them here and will keep them until July 1.

Being "librarian" doesn't require any special skills in Potrerillos; almost all Panamanians (Panama has a higher literacy rate than the US, one of the highest in Latin America) can read and write well, and really, that's all that's required. I probably will have met whoever takes her place, and I'm certain that whoever it is will be not only cooperative but delighted to have the books. I'm unconcerned about that, but personally concerned about Marisin, since I know her and her family quite well--they're our best friends here. The job situation being what it is for young people with kills here, I have no idea where she would find suitable employment--maybe David, but the recession is beginning to take real hold here in Panamá, and I don't know what she would be able to do. David has, of course, it's own representante (several, I think), its own diputado, and its own mayor (Potrerillos is too small to have a mayor), and I'm sure they have distributed whatever patronage is in their power to their own friends, relatives, and supporters.

So, that's the situation. I'll let everyone know when the books arrive--I've already notified Charlie.

Meantime, I am up to my ears in alligators here as far as work load is concerned, and will be for a little while longer. So, not sure when I'm going to get back here again.

Cheers!

The Glass Palace
Amitav Ghosh

Covering the period of time between the mid-19th century to the present, set mostly in Burma, The Glass Palace is a story of two Indian/Burmese families over a period of generations during times of vast political and social changes in Burma. It is a fascinating account of the large Indian migration to Burma in the 19th and early 20th centuries, first to harvest teak, then to work the rubber plantations. The Indians imported into Burma--and “imported” is a euphemism for economic slavery--were mostly exploited by other Indians, who were able to become wealthy by contracting to supply labor for the teak and rubber plantations mostly (but not entirely) owned by foreigners, especially the English.

Rajkumar Raha enters Burma in the late 19th century as an illiterate worker. He is present during the British invasion of Burma in 1885, when teh English deposed the Burmese royal family, ousting them from the Glass Palace, and forcing them into exile in India. Rajkumar sees and is immediately obsessed by Dolly, a young Burmese attendant of the Queen; many years later as a wealthy man, he pursues Dolly into India and persuades her to marry him and return to Burma.

The story line follows Rajkumar and his family, along with those of his mentor Saya John and his family. Their fates follow that of Burma and India, as the rising movement for Indian independence, one of whose factions is led by Gandhi, affects the politics of Burma as well, with its large Indian laboring class.

One of the best sections of the book covers the Japanese invasion of Burma in World War II. It is impossible not to compare it with J.G. Farrell’s The Singapore Grip, which covers the exact same event, since it led to the invasion and fall of Singapore. Farrell, an Irishman who had no love for the British colonial policies in any part of the Empire, and Ghosh, writing from the Indian point of view, tell almost exactly the same story, differing only in the details of separate events in Burma and Malaya. Of the two, Ghosh is the more forgiving of British military blunders and failures, simply because his point of view is that of the Indians caught up in the invasion; Farrell is far more scathing, given his British protagonists.

The best way I can describe Ghosh’s writing is that it is “old fashioned,” far more formal than that of most contemporary Indian writers. This serves very, very well for the story up until the present day, including the military coup that took over Myanmar (Burma). Perhaps because Ghosh was not that invested in the modern story, the tale loses momentum and impact. However, the contemporary section is not that long--it's almost an epilogue-- and should not deter anyone from reading what is a very fine historical novel. Highly recommended.

lThe Glass Palace has been languishing on my book shelf for a very, very long time. Your review has convinced me that I've made a mistake in ignoring it, and I hope to get to it soon. Thanks, Joyce.

#104: I'd also recommend reading The Singapore Grip within a decent time period of The Glass Palace as well. Different writers telling the same story. I'd like to read more now about the Japanese invasion of Burma and Malaya.

I've read The Singapore Grip and liked it very much. Nevil Shute's A Town Like Alice covers this topic as well.

Don't know A Town Like Alice. Set in Australia?

The bulk of the story is set in Malaysia as the Japanese march British and Australian captives, primarily women and children, to a prison camp. After the war, one of the women (British) goes to Alice Springs, Australia, which one of the prisoners (a male) had described as heaven on Earth.

I only have a sketchy memory of the book, other than that I enjoyed it, and some of my memories may be based on the miniseries adaptation of the book, which prompted me to read it after I saw it.

Ahh....Bryan Brown...*sigh* I enjoyed both book and miniseries. For entirely literary and cinematic reasons, of course.

Joyce, I sent a box of books off about a week and a half ago to the Miami address--don't know how much longer it takes to get down to you, and I sent it media mail, so it may have only gotten to Miami as yet. Let me know when it shows up, please.

Roni

#108: Ye gods, sounds like a book I have to read! Thanks for the tip.

#110: Eliza, I will let you know immediately--you. too, Linda, and your daughter--when I have received the books. It depends on the shipping and Customs cycles, as to when they arrive at and then clear Panama City and are shipped to David. Then throw in 3-5 days before we go to David to shop--we always check, but sometimes we only get there once a week. Sometimes mail gets to David in a week, sometimes 10-12 days--then throw in our time. So it could be as long as 3 weeks from the time anything arrives in Miami.

I'm out of action for at least another week (hopefully no longer) thanks to a fall in David onto a hard street and a pelvis that has two fractures (fortunately, minor). No surgery, no cast, but emphatic directions from both the doctor and orthopedist that I do nothing but rest.

So, I'm not going anywhere and Mary is now fully occupied taking care of everything, and me. I can't get up to the library to see what's going on. It's been an absolutely hair-raising week because of other incidents that have happened--not to us, but affect us a lot. It's been frustrating, because I'm pretty much useless for at least another week, and we've been scrambling to figure out how to get everything taken care of around here during the busiest time of the year--the rainy season.

The whole thing is inconvenient but minor and temporary. Just means I can't go anywhere for a while. But let me tell you, I'm a whiz at whipping around the house (no rental wheelchair available in David) on my computer chair! Propel it with a crutch--like sculling a boat--and I'm a danger to all other two-and four-legged creatures in the house. Lucy and Fred have taken to trotting alongside because they find it so intriguing, this new version of Mom. :-)

So sorry to hear about your fall and glad it wasn't worse. What a hassle, though. I'm Roni, NOT Eliza, by the way, in San Diego.

I do believe that you are the second person I have absent-mindedly called Eliza. Perhaps all of you could form some sort of club, have annual reunions via LT or something like that.

Ye gods, age is getting to me, I must confess.

Joyce, I really hope you mend quickly - what a pain.

It's just annoying and inconvenient, nothing more. But get this--plenty of time to read! And I don't even have to feel guilty about it because I'm under Doctors' Orders!!

And I have been reading. Went through the entire Harry Potter series--#s 6 and 7 are better than I remembered. Then because I had Laurie King's latest in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, I read through all of those in the series (reviews will come) and loved her latest, The Language of Bees. Now, because I'll be getting Margaret Maron's latest Deborah Knott book this month, I'm rereading that series, plus doing and Early Reviewer book on home dog care, which so far is excellent. If it weren't for the work load that has landed on Mary, I'd almost even be pleased! Just think--no life-threatening situation, no discomfort of a cold, no pain--just orders to either be in bed (nope, won't go that far) or sit in my easy chair or from time to time in front of the computer--and rest. Which translates into read,as far as I'm concerned, while I have compassion for the rest of the healthy world who have to work for a living or otherwise do other things.

Frankly, I think I have a good deal here! :-)

Joyce, so sorry to read that you've fallen and slightly cracked yourself. Very glad that, unlike Humpty, you are a hard-boiled egg and didn't do more than you did to yourself. Yes, guilt-free reading time is always the up side of anything like this, isn't it. Concerned to read that other worrisome things have been going on - I always think in terms of political unrest or drug cartel things happening Down There, so hope it wasn't anything like that. Kudos to Mary for being so stalwart.

If we hear of an epidemic of LT'ers taking a spill and being sent to bed for extended rest, we'll know Joyce started it!! Seriously, very glad there's no permanent damage done, and no pain (really, no pain?). And all that good reading time notwithstanding, I do hope you heal straight and soon.

Lay still, please! At least it's enforced reading time. I hope it isn't too painful and that your recovery is complete.

I had to smile when I saw that you'd read The Glass Palace. I could tell right away that you would love it since I found my reaction to it to be a resounding meh. Shall I make a list of all the well-received novels, preferably winners of prestigious awards, that I disliked? You'd be guaranteed a stack of books you'd love.

#116: Eliza: actually, the political system here in Panamá is very stable, and from what I read, the US, anyway, has far more trouble from the drug cartels than we do. No--this is a very severe and alarming health situation--possibly life-threatening-- with our part-time gardener/handyman. It is the reason why Mary is suddenly burdened with too much to do. Actually, having to do a lot of the mowing is turning out to be good for her, and is making me jealous

#117: Eliza: yes, well, the major problem is getting to what Tiffin calls the guilt-free reading time. It's a little hard to be exact in what happens. And yes, pain-free--so long as I don't try to put weight on my right leg. However, even that is getting better!

#118: Eliza: truly, I thought of that, too, because of what you had said previously. But this is such a perfect indicator for both of us! Just think of all the books you don't have to read because I've liked them and vice-versa!! :-)

OK, there should be enough Elizas now to elect officers and collect dues! :-)

I'm glad to notice that your sense of humor is still intact. Sorry to hear of your mishap, but looking forward to seeing you here more often for the next few days.

You know, Sandy, "you" always get pricked--at least I do--on your vanities. When I was teaching, I had a phenomenal memory for names--students I hadn't seen in years would come back and I'd remember their names. So, naturally, I got a little bit vain about that....

Ah, how pride goeth before a fall, right? :-) But I always figure a little humiliation is good for the soul.

I've been reading voraciously, but mostly rereads of serials. I am working on reviews of the Laurie King Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, which is just terrific. As I usually do, I reread all the previous books because I had just gotten the latest, The Language of Bees. I'm doing the same right now with Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott series, because her latest, Sand Sharks, is coming out this month. I've already roared through Harry Potter--just 11 more days until the movie!

The time to read is wonderful.

Oh by the way, for those of you who are interested: I'm not through with it yet, but I received as an Early Review book, The Complete Healthy Dog by Betsy Brevitz. I'm about a third of the way through. reading carefully. If the book continues the way it has so far, it's an outstanding reference book for anyone who lives with a dog. Much of what she says I already know, but its nice to have it confirmed. But I have picked up great tips on caring for our ancient Lab, and her sections on commercial food and the latest fads in dog diets is worth the price of the book alone. She has wonderful summaries at the start of each section on health problems as to symptoms that need an immediate, emergency trip to the vet and those that can wait. Those that I've read so far I think are terrific, because it's the kind of question we need to have answered if something goes wrong, as it usually does, in the evening or at night--do we roust the vet out of bed or can we wait?

Great to hear about The Complete Healthy Dog, Joyce. I'll be on the lookout for it!

#122: I read a section a day, and I can continue to be really enthusiastic about it. Just got through the section on behavioral problems, and picked up some tips there for one of our dogs. Am on the eyes and ear section, and have already learned that a) I clean the dogs' ears correctly but b) a solution of 50% vinegar and alcohol, which was recommended to me by a professional in the field,is NOT recommended, although i suspect it does no harm given that I've been using it occasionally for routine "upkeep" on Fred's ears. Turns out I thought that he had an ear infection when in actuality, it's a wax buildup. For something like that, it's probably ok, which is why it was recommended to me, but I think I'm going to check out regular ear cleaning solutions at the vet clinic. I imagine a 0.9% saline solution, which is used for IVs, would be fine.

For those who may be interested, she includes separate sections for alternative medicines, and talks about, for instance, the Bach Rescue Remedy. So far, she has covered all the bases I'm interested in with two adult dogs and one very senior one.

If you have a dog, check this book out. I'm about half-way through, so I can't say completely, but all the information she's given so far has been extremely useful to me or I can see where it would be useful to other dog owners. I have 4 other dog (and cat) books; if I had to choose just one, so far, this would be it.

I wish she'd write one on cats.

104, 105 When the Elephants Dance is set in Japanese occupied Phillipines. It is not a great book - though interesting and not bad - and each chapter, or at least most, contains some type of traditional myth or story.

I am a dedicated Laurie King fan, and one of the reasons is this series. I recently reread all of them so that I could read her latest, which has just been published. No matter that I've read them umpteen times before and probably have certain sections memorized--I never get tired of them.

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
Laurie King

First in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

The year is 1915. Mary Russell, the 15 year old daughter of an American Gentile father and an English Jewish mother, who was orphaned the year before due to a terrible car accident that wiped out the rest of her family, is now living in England with her aunt at her family’s home in Sussex. Striding along the Downs with her nose in a book, Russell inadvertently steps on a reclining form--that of Sherlock Holmes.

Thus starts the beginning of a remarkable relationship and a four-year apprenticeship for the lonely, brilliant, prickly Russell under the most famous detective of modern times. Towards the end, she begins an academic career at Oxford, studying Theology (to the disgust of Holmes who grumbles that it’s a waste of her mind), and also begins applying what she has learned in a series of interesting cases.

I’ve never read one single book or story about Sherlock Holmes and still don’t want to, because I want nothing to interfere with my picture of Holmes and his equally fictional “apprentice”, Mary Russell. King does an absolutely brilliant job of evoking both Holmes and Russell, developing characters that are totally believable and a story line that is gripping. King also uses England during World War I as an effective backdrop for the story.

The last of Russell’s apprenticeship cases is so perilous that the two flee England in 1919 to Palestine for a brief time, which is the subject of what I think is the best book in the series, O Jerusalem. In fact, in my rereads of the series, I have taken to stopping at this point in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and reading O Jerusalem; although it is the 4th book that King wrote for the series, I find that I’d rather read it at this point than continue with the next two books before O Jerusalem. I do urge those who have never read the series to do the same, because it makes perfect sense in the development of the story line. However, the events in that book are summarized briefly in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice in a way that reveals nothing of what happened, and the first book finishes with Russell and Holmes returning to England in a wonderfully exciting, page-turning climax.

The writing is superb, the plotting excellent, the characters totally engaging. A must read for those who enjoy period mystery/police procedurals. Highly recommended.

Well, Joyce, you hooked me—again, and as usual. Thanks for the detailed review.

Hey, wait til you read the one I'm cooking up for O Jerusalem!

O Jerusalem
Laurie King

Fifth in order of publication in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, the story line actually fits into the latter part of the debut novel in the series, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.

Holmes and the 19 year old Russell have fled for their lives from England to British-occupied Palestine, where in addition to buying time in order to deal with a lethal criminal genius, Holmes and Russell will also look into a little matter for Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft, who holds a powerful but shadowy post for the British Empire in what would later be called Intelligence. The two land clandestinely on the shores of Palestine to be met by two Arabs, Bedu, who are in Mycroft’s organization--basically, spies for the British. At first barely accepted by the Arabs--Mahmoud and his brother Ali--the two gain grudging acceptance, Russell disguising herself as an Arab youth, Holmes, in disguise, easily passing for an Arab since he is fluent (naturally) in Arabic. Following faint clues that only Holmes with his near-omniscience on every topic conceivable can unravel, they wind up in Jerusalem, where there are not one but two thrilling, page-turning climaxes, superbly written by King in her hallmark spare but evocative style.

King does an absolutely superb job of depicting post World War I Palestine--the aftermath of the brilliant military campaign led by Sir Edmund Allenby that drove the Turks from their 400 year occupation of Palestine and Syria. Holmes, Russell, Ali, and Mahmoud travel nearly the entire length and breadth of Palestine in search of a mysterious killer. As they do so, they visit early Jewish settlements, Arab villages, Christian monasteries, and the Dead Sea, among other places. King is superb in painting the local color of each, especially Jerusalem, where she is so evocative that you feel as if you are right there, amid the dust, the smells, the Arabs, Jews, Christians, British, the holiest places of three religions.

This is my favorite book in what I consider one of the best police procedural/mystery series still going. King continues to provide Holmes and Russell with distinct, thoroughly believable and engaging personalities, and does not limit her excellent characterizations to just those two; Mahmoud and Ali are perfect and Allenby, whom they meet, comes across as alive and vital. Places, people events--all are imbued with an authenticity that is rarely seen in a series that is as wide-ranging in locale as this one is.

And the last sentence in the book deserves a place of its own as one of the best I have ever read in any novel no matter what its genre. It is perfect for that story.

I can not recommend this book highly enough, although I would urge that it be read at the appropriate place in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice for maximum enjoyment.

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.


Psalm 137, Hebrew Testament

O Jerusalem! by Lapierre and Collins is also a very enjoyable book...

:-D

It does look good,doesn't it. Only I have a feeling it's not quite so much fun as careering through Jerusalem with Holmes and Russell. :-)

Joyce,

You have managed to add another author and series to my TBR and wishlist, so I am bound to tell you that LaPierre and Collins not only wrote O Jerusalem, but also wrote Freedom at Midnight about Gandhi and India and Is Paris Burning about the liberation of Paris in World War II. Excellent authors and very interesting books.

And, while I am here--since I have not posted reviews on any of my recent reading--I will tell you that I think you will like Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi. His story of his time in exile in a village in Basilicata (then Lucania) is an exposition of the life of the people of the southern end of the boot and was written with great empathy and love. For those of us with family who emigrated from that area, it is particularly compelling and explains some of the "odd" ways of those parents/grandparents.

Well, Lisa, I'd say that you've "zinged" me back!--definitely have to look into the LaPierre and Collins books. Given the recommendations from you and TadAD, sounds like O Jerusalem is the starting point. Definitely going to read Christ Stopped at Eboli--my mother's people all came from that region. I just put in this month's book order, so will have to wait until August.

If you're unfamiliar with Laurie King: I can't urge you strongly enough to read her stand-alone book A Darker Place. King took a degree in Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in Berkeley, and she indulges that interest in the Mary Russell series. A Darker Place looks at cults, using one of the best plots and writing I've ever come across in the general "mystery" genre. She is a superb writer.

For the sake of transparency (gotta keep current with buzz words!), one reason why her books appeal to me so much is my own interest in the subject. Not all the books in the Mary Russell series concern religion, but many do; in some books, they are central to the plots, such as in A Letter of Mary, which revolves around the discovery of a first-century letter written by Mary of Magdala--Mary Magdalene--to her sister just before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E..

Got to get those reviews written up.

But don't miss--really don't miss--A Darker Place.

King's Web site is a treasure trove.

>130 Joycepa:: I'd agree that it's not the quite the same thing...but, still, there is a lot of careening around in the LP/C book! ;-)

I'm in the middle of King's Mary Russell series. I loved the first, felt the next weren't quite as good. We'll see how the series progresses. I really enjoy her other books; I read Keeping Watch last year.

#133, TAdAD: Did you read what is not-quite a prequel to Keeping Watch, Folly? I thought it was a superb psychological thriller. You don't really have to read it to enjoy Keeping Watch, but it does help with the appreciation of the latter. I especially appreciated Folly because I lived on an island in Puget Sound at the time and was familiar with the San Juans, which is where the action of Folly takes place.

A Monstrous Regiment of Women is formally the second in the series, and I didn't like it quite so much as the first, but is still good. A Letter of Mary, The Moor, Justice Hall, The Game, and Locked Rooms are all excellent. King is terrific when it comes to locales.

But as always, personal taste enters.

Going to have to read the LP/C book to see how the careening around compares! :-)

>134 Joycepa:: Not yet. I own Folly but it hasn't percolated up to the top, yet.

I'm so glad I finally sat down and read your entire reading log and other writing. Your stories about life there are truly compelling. I'll definitely keep up with your posts from now on... and have just made arrangements to 'mooch' a copy of A Darker Place, too. It will be my first exposure to Laurie King!

OK, first let me correct some errors I made in a previous post. Laurie King attended the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley NOT the school I stated (I think an acquaintance of mine went there, and GTU is a collection of schools). She received a degree in Theology.

Corrections out of the way, here is the link for her Web site. Her autobiography is fascinating: go to the "Author" tab in the menu bar, click on "bio" and in the 2nd paragraph, there's a link to her autobiography. Well worth reading.

There's so much stuff about the Mary Russell series that I won't even bother to begin to list some of it. She has a blog, "Laurie's Mutterings" that I used to follow when I had more time. Lately in Mutterings, there's a tour of some of the places that serve as locales for the series, such as Dartmoor.

The emphasis is on the Mary Russell series, which I think is superb. But I personally consider A Darker Place a tour de force in the genre.

ETA: If you read her autobiography, you will have an excellent background or perhaps rationale for A Monstrous Regiment of Women and Folly in particular. King has had a varied life.

A Monstrous Regiment of Women
Laurie King

Sequel to The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.

Desperate to escape cloying Christmas celebrations with her detested aunt and barely-known relatives, Russell in one of her favorite disguises--that of a young working-class male, takes off for London, where she has a hilarious encounter with Homes that I refuse to spoil. Later, she meets an old friend from Oxford, Lady Veronica Beaconsfield, who is living in a tenement and working to aid lower-class families. Ronnie takes Russell to a lecture by Margery Childe, who leads The New Temple of God church/charitable organization in London. Childe is a striking, charismatic woman who challenges religious gender roles and who has built a volunteer organization dedicated to improving the lot of women and children in post World War I London; she has eventual political ambitions. She is controversial, but has gathered around her a circle of well-bred young women who are totally dedicated to her and her vision. But there are suspicious deaths, in which some of the wealthy young women around Margery have died, conveniently leaving to The New Temple of God--and thus Childe--large sums of money.

“Bluestocking” has a faint negative connotation; these days, it implies a somewhat prudish woman. But the term originated in the mid-18th century, almost 75 years before the time in which this story takes place, and was used to describe both an educated, intellectual woman and an organization mainly composed of such women. However, the term was in use during the post World War I suffragette movement; Russell herself is called that by other women. A Monstrous Regiment of Women, as a backdrop to the plot, provides wonderful insights into that movement and the kind of women it attracted and why. It’s very well handled.

The main plot is very good if somewhat predictable, but the subplots given the book depth and texture, especially the personal one involving Holmes and Russell. This book has all of King’s strengths: excellent characterization, strong writing and storytelling, and absolutely fascinating backdrops in social issues and religious ones as well, involving that of feminine images of God in the Hebrew Testament.

While not as strong as some of the other installments in the series, we’re talking relative here; this is still an outstanding book. Highly recommended.

Clockers
Richard Price

Strike is a black teeneager in Dempsey, New Jersey, a “crew chief” for a major drug distributor. He runs a group of “clockers”, young teenagers who sell bottles of cocaine, although he himself doesn’t touch the stuff--he has enough trouble with his ulcer.

Rocco is a Dempsey Homicide detective, who is a borderline alcoholic. He becomes obsessed with Strike when Strike’s brother Victor turns himself in for killing another drug dealer; Rocco is convinced that Victor is lying to cover for his brother.

These are the two main protagonists, and for 593 pages, we read of life on the streets for both drug dealers and users, of “dirty” cops, of drug raids and everyday harassment, of racial profiling, of lines of cars filled mostly with whites picking up their bottles from the clockers on the streets.

This is neither an edifying nor particularly uplifting story, although there is a surprise ending. It’s mostly a matter-of-fact, very well written detailed account of life on the streets and of too many cops who bend or break the rules in their efforts to deal with the impossible problem of drugs. The characters are not particularly likable; it’s hard to feel any empathy for any of them, even Victor. Strike and his boss Rodney are the most believable, the best drawn, but Rodney is scum, no matter how he pictures himself as a businessman who tries to teach his young charges a better way of living through drug dealing.

The story line is really a documentary--a well-written and well-produced documentary, but having the emotional distance and impersonality of a documentary. I have no doubt of the reality of Price’s scene, but it did not move me. In particular, I am pretty sick of boozy, well-meaning. quasi-dirty cops in literature, and Rocco is a totally unsympathetic character as far as I’m concerned.

Well written, well told, but somehow lacking in any kind of passion--it just simply failed to engage me.

A Letter of Mary
Laurie King

Third in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

In the summer of 1923, Russell and Holmes are “at home” in Holmes’ cottage in Sussex. Russell is concentrating on finishing her first book in theology; Holmes is bored. Into their lives pops Dorothy Ruskin, an eccentric older Englishwoman, an amateur archaeologist, whom they met during their adventure in Palestine. She brings with her a letter written on parchment that could very well have been written by Mary of Magdala--Mary Magdalene-just before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The letter is potentially explosive, because it clearly suggests that Mary of Magdala was an apostle and to have had a leadership role in the early church in Jerusalem, roles long believed by Christians to have been for males only. Ruskin givens the letter to Russell, and leaves for London. But Ruskin is murdered in London shortly after she leaves Holmes and Russell, and they set off on the hunt for her killer.

It’s an intriguing plot that requires a modern reader to understand the rigid belief in male dominance in the Christian church in the early 20th century (and today in some). For some time, Mary Magdalene has been widely called “the apostle to the apostles.” Most Christians today would not only not be disturbed, but rather excited about such a find.

Well plotted and with the usual King strengths of spare writing, good storytelling, and fine characterizations. One of the fun aspects of this series is the disguises that Holmes and Russell employ in their investigations; this time, Russell’s gets her into some uncomfortable situations.

Because King has a degree in theology, she nearly always brings religion into her plots in some form or another, indulging herself in her own interests as she does so. It’s always fascinating, always adding an enormous amount to her books. This one is no exception.

Highly recommended.

Gloriosky, woman. You're a reading machine! I'm going to have to give these Laurie King books a go, I can see that. I think you have Laura caught, too...she was prowling the suburbs of Knoxville yesterday hoping to find a copy of The Beekeeper's Apprentice to use a Borders coupon on.

#141: Well, consider--I've had nothing to do for two weeks BUT read! And the Russell/ Holmes series was a reread until I could get to the latest book. The Language of Bees. I never count such series rereads in my yearly total; the only reason why there's a review--and I'll continue with them--is because I never wrote any the first (or 5th) time around!

I've also reread Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott series, but since I've already reviewed them, there's been no mention here. If you're not familiar with Maron and Deborah Knott, let me recommend those to you. You in particularly, with your appreciation of southern culture, would really enjoy them, I think. Takes place in North Carolina and Deborah is the daughter of a bootlegger. In fact, the first book in the series is named Bootlegger's Daughter, and won all sort of mystery/crime awards on its debut (I have a review up that I wrote last year, I think). It's an excellent series, steady and fun. Not the caliber of, say Magdalen Nabb or Laurie King, but extremely enjoyable. Maron portrays Deborah and her family as "yellow dog Democrats",and one of the first things I thought of last year when North Carolina went Democratic in the Presidential race for the first time in decades was that "Deborah" (a transparent stand-in for Maron much of the time) must have been screaming for joy! :-)

Maron's latest in the series, Sand Sharks is due out this month, which is why I reread the series. This was the perfect time to do that.

Read Laurie King's A Darker Place--stand-alone that is excellent. As is Folly.

Right now, I'm reading The Cellist of Sarajevo, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, Reconstruction, and The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook, which I can't praise highly enough (even though I'm convinced, in every chapter, that one or all of our dogs have most of the ailments listed in the chapter--yesterday I was sure that two of them have congestive heart failure).

>142 Joycepa:: I really enjoy Maron's books. I hadn't seen an announcement of the next one. Next month will just miss vacation, so I guess it will have to be a weekend read later in the year. :-)

#143: I haven't checked recently, but last I read it was due to be released on July 15--same day as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince!

we've really liked the Laurie King Holmes/Mary Russell series. Somehow King's background in theology eluded me, but makes sense. I really liked the first few Maron/Knott books (we live up the road from their setting) but they ended up getting a bit too repetitious. But since it's been years since i've read one, i'm sure i've forgotten enough to enjoy them again. The hold lines for new Maron books @ the Pittsboro library are among the longest for any author hereabouts.

Clyde Edgerton Raney Walking across Egypt etc. also has many local fans. Again, he gets repetitious, but in small doses is great fun. He also gave a wonderful commencement address at our son's HS graduation, complete w/ blues harmonica and song. The current "Chancellor" at NCSSM* is a total drip and something of a dim bulb and WAS NOT AMUSED, although everyone else was. Pity - i thought someone might have saved it up on youtube, but no joy.

(NC School for Science and Math in Durham, NC)

I am a very big fan of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, too. In fact, I just finished listening to The Beekeeper's Apprentice again thanks to you, Joyce. I needed something to keep me awake during long drives and it was just the ticket. Thanks for reminding me of it.

#145 I love Clyde Edgerton. He's North Carolina's Fannie Flagg. Wish I could have seen that commencement address...I admire someone who can turn that duty into something memorable.

I have always admired the way Maron created a near-perfect device for keeping the series interesting: that of giving Deborah 11 older brothers! It does help, in that you can always use some member of such a large family to get into various kinds of trouble without straining the plot too much.

I don't find the books any more repetitious than any other ongoing series. Maron labors under the handicap of not having an exotic locale--easter North Carolina simply doesn't have the cachet of Venice of Florence or England, for that matter. Having read some of the books in her other series, which takes place in New York, I appreciate the skill it takes to write in a folksy, seemingly unsophisticated language, and still come up with quality prose.

I'll have to look into Clyde Edgerton!

I just finished this book for the first time, since it is only recently that it has been re-issued by Soho Press.

The Marshal at the Villa Torrini
Magdalen Nabb

Ninth in the Marshal Guarnaccia of Florence, Italy series.

The Marshal is not a happy man. While his sons are on a school skiing vacation, he decides to detoxify his liver and go on a diet. The Marshal, a large man who appreciates his food, is having “table withdrawal symptoms”, and is grumpy, alarming his new driver and has the rest of the carabinieri at the Pitti Palace raising their eyebrows and rolling their eyes.

The Marshal answers a call about a death at the Villa Torrini, located on the outskirts of Florence. An attractive Englishwoman, a successful writer, has been found dead in her bath, a seeming accident--yet there is no clue as to how she died, nothing but a small amount of water in her lungs, not enough for drowning. Her husband, Julian Forbes, lies in the next room, dead drunk. The Marshal, who takes an instant dislike to the husband, who, even after sobering up, shows every sign of guilt but there is no evidence to tie him to his wife’s death--only the Marshal’s intuition. He feels handicapped, however, in any investigation, sure that Forbes is far too clever for him, and will outwit him; he wants to turn the investigation over to Captain Maestrangelo or some other “educated’ police officer, and does not understand why Maestrangelo and Substitute Prosecutor Fusarri (in a return engagement complete with cigars) have such faith in him.

This installment in the series depends for its impact not so much on the plot, which is very good, but on the human factors in the story line. Primary among these is the Marshal himself and his struggle with his diet. There is a hilarious scene when, while trying to read about the new legal system, he becomes so hungry after his meager, healthy dinner that he makes and eats four sandwiches--and suffers through the night for it. I laughed at loud at this scene, having done exactly the same thing myself (though not to the extent of four sausage sandwiches, however).

The other source is the events that led up to the death; revealed in a satisfying denouement, they are tragic, affecting the Marshal even more than usual.

An excellent story, depending far more on the players involved than on the police procedural part. Nabb’s understated writing and superb characterizations of the Marshal and his supporting cast of characters--his second in command Lorenzini, his young driver Fara, his wife Teresa, Captain Maestrangelo, and the ebullient substitute Prosecutor Fusarri within his blue cloud of cigar smoke--are excellent. It’s her usual fine job.

Highly recommended.

There IS a later commencement address that Clyde Edgerton gave @ UNC-Wilmington, where he teaches, that i haven't looked at, but is likely pretty OK, up on youtube.

He likes performing and does it well. His family and ours attended the same small Episcopal church in Pittsboro for a few years. Each year during the Christmas pageant Clyde (he's a pretty big guy) would play the role of one of the camels and usually more than one little kid would ride up the aisle on his back up to the alter/stage.

#150: What fun!!

Whew! I have finally caught up on your threads! I had to start in no. 2 before I could come here. I've about doubled my "wishlist". Interesting conversations and great book reviews. Thanks!

If you are still working on the library project, I live in central California which has a huge Hispanic population and thus access to Spanish books. I'd love to send some to your library--I love to get books into the hands of children and young adults. I won't be back home (we are up at our Vallejo house for R&R) but I will look for some then. Let me know if you still want them.

Thanks for the plug you gave my poetry about El Salvador and Argentina. I was really surprised how many responses I got to those posts--now I know why! :-)

I'm getting better and hope to be back up to par by the end of the month so I can get back to regularly keeping up with LT. Right now I'm having to catch up one person at a time and then try to keep up with the ones I've caught up with. Hopefully no relapses!

I just found the 2nd Marshal Guarnaccia book at a used book store today. I'm going to save it for a couple of weeks when I get my decks cleared--and hopefully my mind back with my health issue resolved--so I can really enjoy it. I loved the first one I read and am anxious to get further into the series.

The Cellist of Sarajevo
Stephen Galloway

An Early Reviewer book.

On May , 1992, while waiting in line to buy bread, 22 people were killed and over 70 wounded by an incoming mortar shell from the forces laying siege to Sarajevo in what would be a four year war. For 22 days afterwards, every afternoon at 4 o’clock, the time his neighbors and fellow citizens were killed, a cellist played the Albinoni Adagio.

This real incident is the basis for Galloway’s novel. He follows three rather ordinary Sarajevans: Arrow, a female university student turned sniper; Kenan, a young father of two children; Dagan, a 64 year old baker whose wife and son were evacuated to Italy before leaving became impossible. The main action follows Kenan, as he makes an every 4-day, extremely dangerous journey to a brewery in order to obtain water for his family, Dagan, as he tries to go to the bakery to get a free loaf of bread, and Arrow, who is given the assignment of protecting the cellist, since he has become a symbol of resistance to the degradation of the war.

Galloway does a superb job in portraying the horrors of civilian life in just trying to stay alive under the most desperate and dangerous conditions. No little thing can be taken for granted; the opposing army has shut off the water to the city, so just getting water becomes a life-threatening act, as the besiegers, through snipers and artillery fire, deliberately kill civilians. There is a relatively safe passageway through a tunnel underneath the airport to unoccupied territory, but that is controlled by the Sarajevan army and the criminal element, who take the aid donated by the world for the relief of Sarajevo and sell it on the black market. There is a resolution to the story, but it is a moral one, rather than a physical one, as each character independently reaches the same conclusion about the the way they will resist the moral degradation being forced on them.

Ultimately, this is a story about decisions, those made day-by-day and even minute by minute. Galloway makes a forceful statement about our lives being the sum total of those decisions, and that each one--whether to pull a trigger and end a human life or whether to cross a street at this moment and not the next one, have vast consequences. It is a very Zen-like statement.

While powerful, the book has several severe flaws. Arrow has a distinct personality, but Dagan and Kenan are indistinguishable; if you don’t have the chapter headings, given their identical reactions and thoughts, it’s easy to lose sight of just what character is playing. Also, there are pages of retrospection on the part of each of the three, as they reach their conclusions of how they must act. I am probably as introspective as anyone outside of a mental institution, but even I can not imagine, when terrified for my life, trying to decide whether to choose this moment or the next to cross a street under random sniper fire, after watching someone’s head being blown off, that I would be spending that time musing on cultural values. For me, this aspect was beyond credulity. Yet it’s an integral part of the story line in order for Galloway to have his characters resolve their moral dilemmas. Galloway spent a great deal of time with survivors of Sarajevo, and visited the city. I suspect that this philosophizing did go on, but I doubt strongly that it was under fire, as Galloway portrays it.

Still, in its depiction of what war can do to the ordinary person, it’s a powerful, if flawed, book.

I loved The Cellist of Sarajevo when I read it earlier this year. I have put Steven Galloway on my list of authors to watch for because I enjoyed his Ascension as well.

I realize that I'm in the minority when it comes to this book, because full-blown praise is about the norm. But I always look at a book from several points of view, especially an Early Reviewer book--and it really bothered me, when reading one chapter, to find out I couldn't tell whether it was Dagan's story or Kenan's. Arrow was superbly done--no trouble there. And all the intellectual philosophizing, standing on street corners, frightened for your life, watching people being killed and wounded or knowing that your life could be snuffed out more or less by chance--I can not even begin to imagine doing that in similar circumstances. Biologically, the "fight-or-flight" syndrome is in full control at that point, leaving very little room for value analysis.

I have been frightened in my life in a potentially dangerous situation, and all I could think about at the time was how to get out of it at least alive and hopefully undamaged. I wasn't interested in comparing Brasilian circumstances with those of the US and analyzing why favela residents behave the way they do.

Afterwards, yes--with a drink in my hand, seated in the comfortable common room with a bunch of Irish missionary priests, talking about what happened and discussing the sociology of the favelas--yes, of course. But not at the time. And unless Sarajevans are a breed apart, I doubt that they did, either. I found it utterly jarring.

#152, Carolyn: WHAT health issues--what have I missed? I read your thread and thought that you were just busy. I hope everything is working out well for you.

Hold off on the books until I can get out--I'm still housebound until next week. I have received three shipments already and am waiting on two others. What I'd like to do is post here what books have come in. There are two duplications, which is perfectly fine, because those two will go to the Infoplaza/library in Dolega. No book will be wasted, believe me!

The Moor
Laurie King

Fourth in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

Barely recovered from an emotionally draining case, Russell receives a telegram from Holmes summoning her to Lew House, in Devonshire, on the edge of Dartmoor. Holmes has gone to the bedside of the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould (a historical figure, 1834-1924) who is dying but who still keeps tabs on what is happening on his beloved moor. There have been strange events, including an odd death of an itinerant tin miner, reminiscent of the circumstances in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Baskerville Hall itself has recently been purchased from the last of its descendants, a woman, by a charming rich American. Holmes, aided by a most reluctant Russell, has promised to look into the situation for Baring-Gould.

This is a wonderful installment in the series, because Dartmoor itself is a major character in the story. King does a beautiful job of invoking the brooding Presence of the moor. Clearly she also was intrigued by Baring-Gould himself. In the novel, 90 years old, he is at the end of his life, with just a few months to live. But in real life, he was something of a Renaissance Man: a pastor, a novelist, a travel writer, an amateur archeologist, a social commentator, and above all, a collector of traditional folk songs of the Moor “songmen” and an keen amateur naturalist. He wrote dozens of books; the chapter headings in the novel are all taken from Baring-Gould’s works. Along with the moor, Baring-Gould and the hardy Moor residents themselves enrich the book enormously.

The plot is one of the better ones in the series, and shows off Holmes and Russell at their best. Russell’s reactions and experiences on the moor are at times hilarious, especially her acquaintance with one of Lew Hall’s horses. The denouement is very satisfactory, with excitement enough for everyone.

King spends part of her year in England, and clearly is acquainted with Dartmoor. On her Web site, she has a blog devoted to the wanderings of two Americans in those areas of England featured in the Russell/Holmes novels. Especially interesting are the two devoted to Dartmoor and the places prominent in The Moor, Part IV and Part V, complete with pictures. Check it out.

Highly recommended.

#155: You bring up a good point, Joyce, and one I had not considered. I will watch for it when I reread the book.

Justice Hall
Laurie King

Sixth in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

Russell and Holmes have barely returned home to Sussex before they are startled by insistent knocking at their door. Russell opens the door--and Ali, one of the two “Arabs” with whom Holmes and Russell sojourned in Palestine, falls through the door. This is a very different Ali--dressed in expensive Western clothing and wounded. After rest, Ali, clearly not an Arab (although both Russell and Holmes knew that before leaving Palestine), still invokes the bonds of Bedu brotherhood, asking their help in saving “Mahmoud”, the other Arab, who is in reality his cousin Maurice. Due to the childless death of his older brother, a duke, Mahmoud/Maurice suddenly inherited the title the family estate in Berhshire, Justice Hall. Both Ali (Alistair) and Maurice returned from Palestine to follow the call of duty; Maurice, however, having fled that life to begin with, is now drinking himself to death in order to bear the burden of a life he never wanted. Russell and Holmes accompany Ali to Justice Hall, where they find a much-changed Maurice and an intriguing mystery surrounding the death of Maurice’s nephew, who would have inherited the title, during World War I.

Another excellent installment in the series. King is interested in World War I and the post-war era; she wrote a stand-alone book, Touchstone, that takes place during that period. The issue of British soldiers and officers being shot as deserters or cowards is a shameful one in British military history, and the plot makes full use of those abuses of power.

Naturally, there is opportunity for Holmes and Russell to don disguises in order to carry out their investigations; the ones in this book are particularly amusing.

This book has all of King’s strengths: good plotting, excellent characterizations, spare writing, and an exciting denouement. Highly recommended.

>159 Joycepa:: I'm not up to Justice Hall in the Russell series, yet, but I did enjoy Touchstone.

I enjoyed Touchstone, too, but not as much as some of her other stand-alone novels.

The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook
Betsy Brevitz, DVM

An Early Reviewer book.

Brevitz has written a superb book, a complete reference on nearly every imaginable situation that goes with having a canine companion. There are nineteen chapters and three appendices. The chapters cover everything from Choosing a Healthy Dog or Puppy, as part of an excellent preventative health section to When The End Is Near, the best chapter on approaching the end of your beloved friend’s life that I have ever read--and I say this as someone who lives with a 14 1/2 year old dog who clearly can not have that much more time left. There are two excellent reference chapters, First Aid and Poison Control, and ABC Guide to Injuries and Emergencies, both of which summarize, in a well-organized fashion for instant use, advice given in other chapters.

There are thirteen chapters on common canine illnesses, organized broadly by system, such as allergies, digestive tract problems, bones and joints, as well as a chapter on cancer. These are extremely thorough. In the beginning of each of these chapters is a page titled “Emergency!”, in which Brevitz lists common symptoms for that particular system, whether emergency action is called for, or whether you can wait to call the vet during office hours. These chapter are outstanding--written in a clear and accessible style while being extremely informative. I read every page in every chapter; just as medical students supposedly think they have every ailment they study, I was sure, in each chapter, that one or more of our dogs had one of the severe illnesses described! Such are the perils of a book reviewer.

The appendices are equally informative. One lists quite a few purveyors of pet health insurance, gives a brief overview of costs and coverage, and lists Web sites and phone numbers. Another gives an overview of alternative medicine, although there is some coverage of specifics in relevant chapters. A third lists US veterinary resources such as veterinary schools or hospitals, state by state. The final appendix lists helpful Web sites for dog owners.

I have four other reference books on various aspects of dog health care. In over 50 years of living with animals, there have been plenty of times--usually in the middle of the night or on Sunday--when there has been some sort of health situation with one of our animals. During those times, I have to assess the situation: do I call the vet immediately or can it wait until the morning. I have used those reference books heavily. I can say without reservation that Brevitz’s book is the best I have ever read; for me, it is the only reference book I need. Given that her resources are pitched to dog owners in the US and that I live in the country of Panamá, I can’t use some of the information, such as that on pet health insurance, but I learned an enormous amount, some of it immediately applicable, as I read through the book. One section on dog nutrition, will save me a significant amount of money on dog food. I thought I knew all the trick of pet food razzle dazzle marketing, but there was one I fell for, and I’m delighted to know I’m not compromising one of our dog’s sensitivity to skin problems by switching a perfectly good but less expensive food.

This is the one book that all dog owners should have.

The Game
Laurie King

7th in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

Russell and Holmes are at their home in Sussex, enjoying a much-needed rest. But Holmes’ brother Mycroft is seriously ill, and the pair travel to London for a visit. Sick or well, Myrcroft is always looking after British Intelligence interests; when he asks Sherlock rather casually if he has been following the news our of Russia, Russell immediately suspects that the end result of the inquiry is that she and Holmes will be off on some sort of foreign adventure.

She’s right. Into Mycroft’s hands has recently come a travel-stained packet containing documents that pertain to one Kimball O’Hara--the Kim of Kipling’s book. One of the better lines in this book occurs when Russell asks Holmes:

“He’s real, then? Kipling’s boy?” to which Holmes replies:

“As real as I am.”

No longer a boy, Kim has been an British Intelligence agent in the Northwest Provinces, where such clandestine information-gathering is known as The Great Game. The Russian Bear has awakened and is looking menacingly at India’s Northwest Provinces, which bordered on Russia. In the India of 1924, many of the provinces were still under the nominal rule of rajas, some of whom were less than well-disposed towards the British. After some years of playing The Game in the area, suddenly Kim has dropped out of sight. Mycroft worries that there may be hostile forces, possibly Russian, behind the disappearances. The situation is so urgent that the pair take off without even a chance to pack their bags.

Naturally, in an intelligence investigation, the information must be gathered clandestinely, requiring disguises--and the ones adopted by Holmes and Russell are among the best in the series yet. The “international spy thriller”, if that is what this book can be called, has an excellent plot that reveals a good deal of what conditions--and politics--were like in post World War I India. There is a marvelous journey from Calcutta to the Northwest Provinces, some truly funny but endearing Americans, including a classic flapper, and intriguing descriptions of what life was like for the Indian rulers of some fairly large states; essentially powerless but still extremely wealthy, they indulged in all sorts of pastimes, such as pig-sticking (hunting wild boar), and others, decadent to the point of perversion.

Holmes and Russell are at their best; the denouement is one of the most exciting in the series, a well-written page turner. The descriptions of India and ports of call along the way are fascinating, and contribute enormous interest to the storyline. One of the best in the series.

Highly recommended.

#157 Interesting, Joyce. Did you know Baring-Gould's grandson, William Stuart Baring-Gould, wrote fictional biographies of Sherlock Holmes and Nero Wolfe?

Okay, Joyce, The Game may get me back into this series. Being a big Holmes fan, I read the first book but never followed up. But I am an even bigger Kim fan, so may have to go ahead and read the series to get to this book!

BTW, any word on where that box of books I sent might be? It was sent off around the 18th of June, so may not be there yet, but should have surely passed through the Miami box.

Roni

#164: No! I didn't! Well, there's an interesting twist.

#165, Roni: Because I'm anal-retentive about this kind of thing, I'd suggest that you read the others in order first--makes The Game more enjoyable. But that comes from someone who is pretty rigid, always worrying about what I might have missed in the earlier books! Different people have different favorites in a series, I know--but I think you'd really like what I consider should be read 2/3 of the way through Beekeeper's Apprentice, and that is O Jerusalem.

No, your books haven't showed up yet. Mary is off to David today and will check our mail service. I'll let you know when she returns. Is there any way you can track whether or not the books have reached Miami? Every once in a while--maybe three times over the past five years--packages will get hung up in Miami. If I can tell them that the package has reached there and give them a UPS number, say, it facilitates things. It's really easy for me to do that in David--the young woman who runs the office there is a model of cheerful efficiency and competence.

Only one more to go!

Locked Rooms
Laurie King

Eighth in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

Sailing from Bombay to San Francisco in order to take care of pressing business concerning the estate she inherited from her American father, Russell begins to have a series of three dreams so disturbing that she can not sleep. Holmes convinces her that one of the dreams, in which flying objects seem to be aimed at her, comes from her experience of the San Francisco earthquake and devastating fire of 1906; her parents had a home in the city. Russell insists that she was not in San Francisco during the earthquake, but at her grandparents place in Boston. Yet that dream no longer recurs after she discusses it with Holmes. The other two--one of a faceless man and the main one, of Russell showing her house to a group of people but one which has a locked door to which she has the key in her pocket--continue.

In San Francisco, Russell discovers a puzzling codicil to her father’s will. She also finds out that her psychiatrist, who helped her through the worst months after the car accident 1914 that killed her father, mother and younger brother--was murdered shortly after Russell left for England to live with her aunt and to have her fateful meeting with Holmes. Holmes is convinced that there is something mysterious and dangerous going on, but Russell scoffs, claiming that Holmes is bored and needs something to occupy his time.

This is a most unusual installment in the series, focusing as it does on Russell’s past to which other books have alluded but which has always remained unclear. It takes place in 1925 San Francisco, and explores the events of the tragic earthquake and the devastating fire of 1906. In between, it looks at the lives of Chinese immigrants to the city during that period of time through the eyes of a family whose husband worked for the Russells and who had a critical, mysterious connection with the aftermath of the fire on the Russell family. The denouement--when Russell realizes the meaning of the locked rooms of her dreams--is exciting, a typical Laurie King action-packed resolution of the plot line.

Mary Russell fans will eat this book up. Highly recommended.

Stasia, Nancy White, and Ronin--your books are here!!! And in great shape.

I'm still housebound, but the library is still closed at the moment for the transition. Good news is that our friend Maricin is still employed at the Infoplaza itself--they just couldn't justify anyone else, since no one else is computer literate. She's the one who told me to wait a little longer. Transitions here in panama take a long time. Five years ago, I had a deed held up for over a month while the new notaries were getting settled.

#169: Great news, Joyce. Thanks for letting us know!

Glad to hear it! Hope the kids get to enjoy them when things finally settle down.

Oh, everything will be ok, eventually. One thing you have to have here, if you're going to survive--patience.

I'll tell you, I stood over all the books and just gloated. What a treasure trove!

>149 Joycepa: is it just me, or do other people find it slightly unnerving when book characters share names with people they know? I know someone called Julian Forbes

>157 Joycepa: given your "anal retentive" comment to roni, I guess the answer is going to be "yes" but... I'll risk it: do the Mary Russell mysteries have to be read in order? I'll be travelling around the Dartmoor area at the end of the month and quite fancy the idea of reading The Moor, but I'm not sure I can fit in the others beforehand. I got Locked Rooms from a library sale and was really annoyed to find how late on it was in the series (why can't they say these things on the jackets??). Am v tempted to see how many I can pick up in the Borders Oxford Street closing-down sale.

#173, FlossieT: I am perfectly certain that other people can read a series out of order and enjoy the books hugely--I just can't! :-) The Russell/Holmes series is probably one of the easier ones to read out of order, I think.

An easy way to get an idea of the area in The Moor is to go to King's Web site--I have the links posted somewhere above--and read through the two blog posts on it--they're pretty good.

Into The Beautiful North
Luis Alberto Urrea

In the tiny Mexican village of Tres Camarones (3 Shrimp) in Sinaloa, 19 year old Nayeli and her two friends, Yolo and Vampi, along with the gay owner of a taco stand, Tacho, are inspired by the Yul Brunner film, the Magnifient Seven, to go to Los Yunaites (the United States) to seek replacements for the men who have left the village. Traficantes (drug dealers) have discovered Tres Camarones and the women, led by their intrepid mayor, Irma (Nayeli’s aunt) don’t feel capable of handling the situation alone; they need ex-cops and ex-soldiers to combat the threat. The young women feel the lack of suitors. In addition, Nayeli harbors the not-so-secret hope of finding her father, who sent her a postcard years ago from Kankakee, Illinois but from whom she has not heard since. The four, each with his or her own fantasies of what the US is really like, set out on an epic journey, completely innocent of what they will encounter along the way.

What they encounter (and whom) and how they deal with it is mostly hilarious, at times serious, and always fascinating. The scenes in Tres Camarones are at times hysterically funny. There is one episode where Aunt Irma and Nayeli go shopping at a market that had me laughing out loud; it is a brilliant satire on US immigration policy (any more would be an unforgivable spoiler).

The sections on Tijuana and crossing the border are far from amusing, and show, actually, the easier aspects of illegal entry. The reactions of the four on what they find in the US and to US culture are wonderful, seen from the point of view of Innocents Abroad.

But truly best of all are the characterizations. Aunt Irma is a force of nature. The girls are themselves, and well done, as is Tacho. But my favorite of all is Atómiko; like tha author, I just wish he were real!

The only drawback to the book is that is is liberally sprinkled with Spanish idioms and Mexican street slang, which are almost always either translated or made clear (or you can make a very good guess!). A few times, they aren’t. But that is almost trivial in a book that is so well written, with such great humor and imagination.

Not to be missed!

I read Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter several weeks ago and loved it, so Into the Beautiful North is definitely going to be read within the near future. Thanks for the review, Joyce.

One of the things I especially appreciated about this book was Urrea's ability to clothe social commentary with humor--it's really a gentle critique of US culture. It's also a fun and affectionate look at Mexican culture as well. It is pretty damning about places like Tijuana.

I want to get The Hummingbird's Daughter.

#177: I cannot wait to see what you think of it.

The Language of Bees
Laurie King

Ninth in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

Back from San Francisco, Russell and Holmes arrive at their Sussex home to find a most unexpected visitor--Holmes’ son, Damian Adler, child of Holmes’ liaison with Irene Adler. Russell had met Holmes’ son once before, when Daimian, a surrealist painter of growing reputation, had been charged with murder; he was cleared of the charges. Now Damian, who has always been hostile to his father, is back with a plea--although an ambivalent one-- for help in finding his wife and daughter, who have disappeared.

The premise of the book is not one of my favorite ones--the sudden appearance of an important person in the protagonist’s life who has never even been mentioned before. And for me, the initial part of the book is awkward, as King uses a different style to convey the relationship between Holmes and Damian. But the plot quickly develops and involves one of King’s favorite themes--religious cults.

Once past the initial part of the book, the story becomes ever more intriguing and the pace really picks up, until the denouement, which is a page-turner.

A change of pace for the series, and still excellent. Highly recommended.

#179: I just finished that one myself. I liked it a lot, too, although I did not think it was the strongest entry in the series. I am surprised by how many people here on LT gave it low ratings.

I agree--it's not the strongest. I would have rated it lower because of the beginning but it really picked up and turned into a typical Mary Russell novel--well-written, fast-paced, exciting end. As it is, I only gave it 4 stars, and I usually rate novels in the series higher.

I have a feeling that the beginning turned a lot of people off.

I gave it 4 stars as well. I agree with you about the beginning. I hope the next book in the series gets off to a stronger start.

The Angel’s Game
Carlos Ruiz Zafón

In the Barcelona of the 1920s, David Martin is a young author living in a mansion that had been abandoned for years, makes his living writing lurid crime novels set in the underworld of Barcelona. He is obsessed with Christina Sagnier, a woman who is basically beyond his reach. He is also dying of a brain tumor. In the midst of a life dominated by writing, he meets with an enigmatic publisher, Andreas Corelli, who has an intriguing proposal for Martin.

Zafón’s latest book has, as one of its main characters, Señor Sempére, owner of the bookstore Sempére and Son, which played such a prominent role in The Shadow of the Wind. Indeed, this book is something of a prequel to the earlier one,and shares major characteristics, primarily that of books as a driving force in human affairs. As in the former book, The Angel’s Game is a gothic novel, one that consistently portrays Barcelona as a brooding, sinister place--far more so than in the Shadow of the Wind.

The plot is excellent, although the main premise is evident almost immediately; the only question is how it will play out. (I know, but to say more is a major spoiler) Zafón does an outstanding job with an old, old plot line, primarily by his use of language, which is unrelentingly dark and evocative:

The room was deserted, submerged in a gloom thick with the smoke of a thousand cigarettes.

A sheet of sea mist descended over Calle Santa Ana...

The continual haze from the factories slithered over the city...

The lights of the city throbbed under the shroud of the evening sky.

There are “bullets of rain” and “needles of light”; evenings swoop over the city in anything but a reassuring way.

The Angel’s Game is a beautifully written combination of Gothic novel, murder mystery, and a tale of obsessive love, far more than the sum of its parts. Highly recommended.

Touchstones not working for title.

#183: I have got to finish that one!

OK, finally got the complete review up despite LT's best efforts to thwart me.

It's a great book, better, IMO, than Shadow of the Wind which I loved (although I have yet to write a review).

#185:It's a great book, better, IMO, than Shadow of the Wind which I loved

That will spur me to finish it, because I loved Shadow of the Wind, too.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Jorge Amado

Vadinho, that rascally, good-for-nothing, ne’er-do-well gambler and womanizer, drops dead during the middle of Carnaval, leaving his wife Dona Flor a young widow. While her neighbors, friends, and especially her poisonous mother, all rejoice--at last Dona Flor is rid of that lowlife husband--Dona Flor herself is unconsolable. Yes, he was all those bad things--but he was also charming, funny and, most important of all, an absolutely fantastic lover. Modest and upright (except in the iron matrimonial bed), Dona Flor simply can not explain to those around her why she continues to mourn.

But sooner or later, all things pass, and Flor does indeed marry again--Dr. Teodoro, who could not be more opposite than the scamp Vadinho. She is happy--but. And out of that "but" arises a situation that only the powers of magic and love can resolve.

On that thread of a story line, Amado wrote 622 pages of an affectionate, humorous paean to sensuality, Brasilian style. Flor is a genius at Bahian (Northeast Brasil) cooking , and food is as important in the story as it is in Brasilian life. But the focus of the story is on Flor and her struggle to be “decent” in the battle between spirit and matter, as she puts it--between her sense of what is right and her longing for her sexually athletic dead husband who lit her original fires and who still is the only one who can quench them totally.

The characters are wonderfully drawn; there are any number of the socially respectable as well as rogues, con artists, and neighborhood gossips. The description of Northeast Brasilian life in the Bahian capital of Ilheus in the mid-twentieth century is captivating. The practice of candomblé--a combination of Yaruba (West Africa) religion and Roman Catholicism--is very much alive both today in Brasil and in the book, and there are some lively, dramatic scenes involving Exu, Yamenjá, and other Yaruban deities in Amado's touch of magical realism.

Even by South American literature standards, this book is overly long; it could have been edited by 100 pages and still have been just as funny, just as sensuous and a better read. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from reading this masterpiece of South American literature by one of Brasil’s most famous authors.

I thought I would post a list of the books I've received as donations to the Potrerillos library. Some were shrink-wrapped, and I wanted to keep them that way, but decided I would unwrap them so I could record titles and make this list. There are two copies of 3 books, but I don't see that as a problem at all. Books wear out, get lost, and these--of Charlotte's Web, one of the Harry Potter books, and another--will all be popular.

Corazón de Tinta
Inkheart

El Joven y el Mar
The Young Man (Youth) and the Sea

Un Caballo Llamado Libertad
A Horse Named Freedom

Cuando Tía Lola Vino (de Visita) A Quedarse
When Aunty Lola Came (to visit) to Stay

Despereaux

La Telaraña de Carlota
Charlotte's Web

Vuelo a Libertad
The Flight to Freedom

El Límite de los Montes Nebros
The Border of the Black Mountains

Yo, Naomi Léon
I, Naomi Léon

Tuck Para Siempre
Tuck Everlasting

Harry Potter y la Cámara Secreta
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter y el Prisonero de Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter y la Caliz de Fuego
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Buenas Noches Luna
Good Night, Moon

Donde Viven los Monstruos
Where the Monsters Live (Where the Wild Things Are)

Charlie y la Fábrica de Chocolate
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Las Chrónicas de Nárnia: el León, la Bruja, y el Ropero
The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Roberto Clemente

Huevos Verde con Jamón
Green Eggs and Ham

Jorge el Curioso Monta en Bicicleta
Curious George Rides a Bicycle

James and the Giant Peach

Las Chronicas de Nárnia: el Principe Caspian Prince Caspian

El Dador
The Giver

Mi Rincón en la Montaña
My Corner of the Mountain

Henry Huggins

Lejos del Polvo
Far from the Dust (English title may actually be Out of the Dust)

Las Zapatillas Mágicas de la Bailarina
The Ballerina's Magic Slippers

El Medallón Mágico de la Princesa
The Princess's Magic Medallion

I thought I would enclose an excerpt from the current issue of The Panama News, a bilingual newspaper published in Panama City by Eric jackson, whose father was from the US and whose mother is Panamanian. Jackson has been the English voice of the conscience of Panamá for a long time. The former government of Martín Torrijos hated him because of the corruption scandals he revealed, which were also published in a few, but all too few Panamanian newspapers. You'll see how relevant the column is to what you've done:

...The outgoing Torrijos regime has embezzled, paid friends and relatives for work not done, or otherwise looted the public school system to the point that many school buildings are unfit for use...

We need a world class library in this country. The Internet is wonderful, but it's not a substitute for a decent library. Actually, the Internet would be an important part of any world class library, which would not only be a place where millions of books, recordings and documents in a number of different languages are systematically stored in a way that allows people to browse through the stacks, but also a center in which things are translated, scanned and entered into electronic databases.

We need to do many things to foster a reading culture, especially among kids. The important thing is not so much to make them read what the teacher assigns --- although that is important --- but to convince them at an early age that reading is fun, is their right, and is a constant pastime that will take them where their interests lead them.

If you're interested in reading more, here is a link to the article.

Thank you, all of you. In a few weeks, each of you will receive a small thank you from me for your time, your money, and your kindness. Beleive me, it's small--but it's Panamanian! I'm still on crutches, but can go into another town (no post office here anymore, thanks to the Torrijos government) to mail off some documents to the US and as well, mail off what I want very much to send you. Allow at least three weeks.

Wonderful haul on the books, Joyce. I am glad to see that people gave generously to a wonderful cause!

Moscow Rules
Daniel Silva

8th in the Gabriel Allon series.

Gabriel and Chiara are on their honeymoon in the Umbrian hills of Italy while Gabriel, under an assumed name, of course, restores a painting for the Vatican. However, any thought that Ari Shamron, the unofficial head of Israeli Intelligence, will allow Allon some peace is rudely shattered when Allon gets an assignment: meet with a Russian journalist now in Rome, find out what he wants--because the journalist will talk with no one but Allon about what he claims is a grave danger to Israel and the West.

A simple mission--just an overnighter to Rome, hear out the journalist, then back to the Villa dei Fiori to finish out his honeymoon.

Nothing in Allon’s world, however, ever works out that simply, and before long, Allon is on a headlong quest that takes him to the Cote d’Azur in France and then to Moscow.

In my opinion, no one writing today matches never mind bests Silva in the international spy thriller genre. His books are always well-written, well-plotted and incredibly exciting. That’s the case with Moscow Rules, which has a page-turner of a denouement that keeps you up at night until you’ve finished.

His recurring characters, such as Ari Shamron, Uzi Navot, Eli Lavon and, of course, Chiara, are solid, We meet again Adrian Carter of the CIA and Gergory Seymor of British Intelligence. His one-timers are good--believable-- even if some of them are somewhat one-dimensional. No matter--the action is what counts, and Silva is brilliant at it. Highly recommended.

I love Silva's books, but have not yet read that one. I will definitely be looking for it. Thanks for the recommendation, Joyce.

I discovered that I'm missing #7, The Secret Servant. On my next book order!

#190 I know I started this series a couple of years ago, but have lost track of where I left off (that was pre-LT, when I didn't keep track of my reading). I remember enjoying them, but am reluctant to just jump in the middle someplace - I remember that they were best taken in order. Or do I remember wrong?

Hope you're feeling better and getting back on your feet.

#193: While I think you lose out some, I also don't think you lose out much with this series. For example, Having missed, somehow, The Secret Servant and reading the latest, there are references to what happened in the former book, but outside of a minor annoyance on my part, it certainly didn't prevent me from enjoying Moscow Rules. But then Silva is such an exceptional author in this genre.

Outside of being fed up with my lack of mobility and therefore grumpy and out of patience, I'm really ok. Supposedly I'm off them in another 7-9 days.

#188 Thanks for posting the titles of all the books you received, Joyce. It's fun to puzzle them out with my rusty old Spanish (I think I did pretty well). I wondered about duplicates---glad there weren't more, but having a couple copies of some titles probably isn't a bad thing. I hope the children get a lot of enjoyment out of their new library. It's an exciting prospect. YAY! for chucking those crutches sooooon.

I've posted translations along with the Spanish titles. The existence of duplicates doesn't bother me a bit, because the titles should be popular ones.

What tickled me was the age range. Everything from young children reading their first books to young adults. The inclusion of the biography of Roberto Clemente was inspired. Baseball is far, far more popular here than soccer.

Joyce, Corazón de Tinta is Inkheart in English. It's been very popular here.

Looks like a great selection for the local youth. I'm sure a few duplicates are great. Glad you got all of the first 4 Harry Potters--it would have been terrible to be missing #1 or #2.

I missed putting a Captain Underpants book in the box when I sent it--when we have our next book fair this fall, I'll pick up a couple more Spanish titles and stick it in with them then.

#197: Just goes to show you that my Spanish could use improvement and that my dictionary is not infallible! :-) Inkheart, of course!

More books would be great and a period of time in between is fine--gives me time to see what the situation is there and how the books are going over.

Blue Heaven
C.J. Box

12 year old Annie Taylor along with her younger brother William have taken off from their home in Kootenai Bay, Idaho, to go on a fishing; because they’re angry with their mother, Monica, they don’t tell her of their impromptu expedition. But they inadvertently witness three men brutally murdering a fourth; worse, the killers see them. Annie and Wlliam run, pursued and shot at by the murderers. Eventually, they hide in the barn of Jess Rawlins, a 63 year old rancher whose family have ranched in the area for 3 generations; Jess is the last of a vanishing breed. Jess finds the children, believes their story, and sets out to do whatever he can to rescue them and frustrate the killers.

Box is well known for his series featuring Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden. Box’s premise was original and intriguing, although his writing was not that good. However, he improved with successive books, and his plots were always interesting, almost always involving some issue of importance to the West, mostly some variation on environmental protection vs development. Box, who lives in Wyoming, clearly loves his state and wrote both feelingly and lyrically about the beauties of its mountains.

Blue Heaven--so called because the Coeur d’Alene area has become a favorite retirement location for police officers, especially from Los Angeles--is a stand alone novel of surprising complexity and plot development. It’s extremely well written, establishes tension from the get-go, and I really got caught up in both the children’s fate and the way the story played out. I was surprised by the ending and could not believe that I was in tears over any novel written by Box. Interesting they were, yes, but emotionally gripping? I never would have believed he was capable of it until I read this book.

I think that the Joe Pickett series is written out; Box has done really well in branching out into stand alone novels where he has more freedom to develop new story lines and to experiment with different types of protagonists. I hope that this book, which is excellent, is a harbinger of more such to come. Highly recommended.

#199: I have read several of Box's Joe Pickett novels, but did not realize he is now writing stand alone books. I will look for this one. Thanks for the review, Joyce.

He has another stand-alone, later than Blue Heaven, called Three Weeks to Say Goodby; the excerpt didn't look like something that would interest me, so I'm not planning on getting it. But Blue Heaven is excellent.

#197, 198 A couple more amendments:

Tuck Para Siempre's English title is
Tuck Everlasting

Donde Viven Los Monstruos is
Where the Wild Things Are

Buenos Noches Luna is Goodnight, Moon

I don't know why the touchstones won't show up---they register in the sidebar OK.

While I can see the other two, I'm surprised at the "Where the Wild things Are;" that simply is not the way the Spanish translates. "Monstruo" is definitely "monster", and "are" would translate "estan". But I know from reading Allende in Spanish that the translations are often not literal.

I hope that doesn't mean the book itself is poorly translated. Where the Wild Things Are is a widely loved book among children I've known. A Caldecott medal winner in 1964.

I wouldn't worry about that--I'm sure it's well translated. I'm just surprised. for instance, today by sheer accident I ran across Out of the Dust which I think is a Newberry winner--I'm pretty sure that's the one whose title I translated as Far from the Dust, and that's exactly how Lejos translates, literally. but it's interesting to see what the translators do. I'm reading Daughter of Fortune in Spanish--I translate a page and then I read the corresponding page in English. It's fun to see how the translator put the Spanish into rather formal (which is how it was written) but still idiomatic English. But there was one word she chose to translate very differently, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why because the literal Spanish translation made more sense. Allende describes a brass name plate that, in spanish reads, "tarnished" from the effects of the sea air. The translator chose to use another word which, in my mind, was less descriptive, less true to the meaning.

But every other time, I could see why the translator chose to stray from the literal meaning, and as far as I was concerned--me, who has to look up at least 5 words per page and that's when I'm doing really well--it held perfectly to the meaning of the original.

English--one of its great strengths as well as weaknesses--can be very fuzzy in its definitions, whereas both Spanish and Portuguese get very precise. There are three words in Spanish that mean "to start"; two of them are pretty interchangeable although there are subtle differences in usage at least around here, but one means precisely "to start an engine". First time I ran into trouble with starting a lawnmower, it was pretty comical trying to get the problem across to a Panamanian neighbor, because I was using "comenzar" rather than "arrancar"!

I'm not fluent--my vocabulary is pitched towards day-to-day living, and I'm pretty good at that level--except that now everybody assumes that I know exactly what they're saying, so they're throwing idioms at me and local ones at that! Used to be a speed of 56 kbs, but now they cranked it up to 256 kbs--I can't wait until they start using DSL speeds! I wind up always being in a state of understanding 80% of what's being thrown at me, no matter how much I improve. Life is never boring. LOL

Early Autumn
Louis Bromfield

Pulitzer Prize winner for 1927.

Durham, Massachusetts, is an outpost for the old, wealthy families of Boston, such as the Pentlands, who live in a mansion of the same name. The story recounts the lives of the Pentlands in post World War I Durham during late summer and early fall, mostly from the point of view of Olivia, the 40 year old wife of Anson Pentland.There are unwelcome changes to the neighborhood and to the lives of the Pentlands, coming in the form of Sabine Callender, sister of Anson, who is the “black sheep” of the family, returning to Pentlands after a scandalous 20 year absence and in Michael O’Hara, a self-made Irishman who has risen to wealth and political prominence--but who is definitely not socially acceptable. Tragedies interrupt the placid existence at Pentlands, as the different generations of Pentlands react to these events in their own ways.

The book has no real plot as such but rather it is an examination of the lives of the very rich who claim distinction through family during the early 20th century. The result is an indictment of meaningless lives, where people of all but the latest generation exist rather than live. Contrasted with these desiccated survivors of an old New England family is the vitality of O’Hare, an upstart, a “shanty Irish”, who does not have the purity of blood to sully the Pentland name.

Women are the main protagonists: besides Olivia, there is Aunt Cassie, who is the arbiter of the family morals and “standards;” Sabine, who hates everything her family stands for and longs to destroy them; and Sybil, Olivia’s daughter, who symbolizes the hope of escape from the stultifying existence of Pentland expectations. These and other characters, however, with the exception of Olivia, are caricatures, one-dimensional, in Bromfield’s remorseless attack on upper-class lives. Everyone is a stereotype, particularly the women, although well-drawn stereotypes.

Bromfield’s use of language is stunning. His prose drifts, ephemeral, insubstantial--just like the lives of the Pentlands. Olivia speaks repeatedly of living in an “enchantment” that numbs her life. The landscape around Durham is without color, as are the Pentlands.

While brilliantly written, in the end I found the book unsatisfying. It was just too much of meaninglessness, endlessly repeated, with the characters insufficiently complex to sustain my interest. In the end, they all behave predictably, from Old John Pentland, the patriarch, down to Sybil. This may have been Bromfield’s intent, to draw characters so devoid of life in order to rip away any pretense of glamor surrounding the Old Rich, and it may have been novel during the Roaring Twenties, but in today’s cynical world, the book doesn’t hold up. But as an example of near-perfect writing, where the author bends his prose to his intent, Early Autumn is hard to match.

Nice review of Early Autumn, Joyce!

A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry

When I first started this book, I thought it was going to another one of those multi-generational epics set in a particular time period, which seems to be a popular them among current Indian writers of every generation. Instead, what I found and was totally absorbed by, was a massive, detailed, and utterly fascinating story of the lives of four people who have been thrown together by the exigencies of the time--the 70s and 80s under the tyrannical, corrupt, reign of terror of Indira Gandhi, Nehru’s daughter, who was the then-Prime Minister.

Dina Dalal is a 30 year old widow in an unnamed city by the sea (most likely Bombay) struggling to preserve her independence with a small piece-work business making women’s dresses. With failing eyesight, she hires two tailors, Ishvar Darji and his nephew Omprakash Darji; in addition she rents space to Maneck Kohlah, a university student from the mountains of India’s north. By accident and force of circumstance, all four wind up living together in Dina’s tiny apartment during a period of terrorist activity on the part of the police under Gandhi’s Emergency Act. Despite their best efforts, Ishvar and Om are caught up in caste and religious violence, police raids, and Maneck discovers the perils of opposition to the regime’s policies.

The story is a wonderful combination of the love that eventually arises among these four very unlikely friends and the description of the brutality, corruption and cynicism that infected every part of Indian life during Indira Gandhi’s despotism. But it is also an exploration of the unlikely ways that people are connected, many times through total strangers met by “happenstance”. It is an evocation of the concept of Indra’s Net, a Buddhist concept of the infinite interconnectedness of all existence, symbolized by a net at whose nodes are jewels; pluck just one thread of the net, and all the jewels vibrate.

This is a beautifully written book, fascinating in its description of everyday lives both in a large city and in villages, of relationships between and among ordinary people, and the terrors of political and civil oppression. Nothing is romanticized--not the lives of the people or the people themselves, yet the characters are completely empathetic, despite their flaws.

Don’t miss this one.

Excellent review, Joyce. A Fine Balance has been widely recommended, and I own a copy, yet somehow this is the first review of it I've read. I am eager to read it now. Thanks.

I'm not sure who recommended it here on this thread--could have been bobmcconaghy (I'm undoubtedly slaughtering his last name) or tiffin or someone else--but I'm certainly glad I took them at their word.

I agree. A great review.

Thumbs up for your review! Although I have assiduously avoided adding any books about India to my TBR, this one broke through the barrier. You made it irresistible!

Aw, you guys! *she says, blushing*

That was a great review Joyce! I also thought A Fine Balance was quite good.

Your review gets a 'thumbs up' from me, too!

Well, all I can say is that you people have more kindness than discernment! :-)

Seriously, I'm almost never really happy with the reviews I write, considering them for the most part too wordy. I'm envious of those who can get in a good review in at most two paragraphs. The only exceptions I make to that are nonfiction. There, I suppose, I can justify a long review. And usually (although not always), they are the books I feel the most passionate about.

Many times I find book reviews difficult. Right now, I'm about 2/3 of the way through Reconstruction, which I think is utterly fantastic and about which I'm already gloomy, thinking of how in the world to write a decent review of such a complex book. I have about 2 pages of notes I've taken--and from past experience, will probably not use any of them in the review! :-/

Hot congratulations for a very Hot Review. Way to go Joyce!~!
belva

#217: Thanks!

Laughing Boy
Oliver LaFarge

Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 1930.

Tony Hillerman’s books featuring the Navajo policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee certainly popularized Navajo culture, presenting it in a sympathetic light; Hillerman was formally made a Friend of the Navajo People by the tribe’s leaders. Almost unknown, as far as I can tell, is La Farge’s equally sympathetic book published at least 40 years before Hillerman came on the literary scene.

Laughing Boy, a young Navajo man in 1915, meets, during a religious healing dance, Slim Girl, who was taken from the reservation at a very young age to a school in California that did its best to erase her identity as a Navajo and make her into an American. However, she returns to the reservation, but is under a cloud as there are whispers about her conduct. Laughing Boy falls in love with her and the two move away from his area on the Northern Reservation to a small town in the southern section.

The story of Laughing Boy and Slim Girl and the life that they forge together is beautifully told in concise prose with a rhythm that may or may not reflect the Navajo language but certainly gives the appearance of authenticity. LaFarge weaves Navajo customs, activities, and religion into the story in a completely endemic way, all of it forming a complete whole, as is the ideal of Navajo life. LaFarge brings in US-Navojo relations in an objective way; his intent, as he says in the prologue, is not to criticize but to amuse. He more than succeeds, although “amuse” is not the word I would use for this tale, such as the Navajos themselves might tell for the edification of their children. It is short, it wastes no words, and stays in the memory, inviting reflection. White American he may have been, but LaFarge wrote with great sensitivity, especially for his time. Highly recommended.

>218 Joycepa:: Joyce, I read Laughing Boy earlier this year myself and was pleasantly surprised. I agree with the sensitive portrayal, especially for the time it was written. And I found the ending of the book especially memorable; it has stayed with me for quite a while now.

#219, Laura: I was really surprised. As I'm sure is glaringly obvious, I'm working my way through the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction, and that's the only reason why I picked this up. I'd never heard of it. And before I read it, I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't what I got.

One of the ways I rate a book such as this is whether or not reading it piques my curiosity about the time or in this case, the culture. This most certainly does, oddly enough more so than in Hillerman's books--don't ask me why. If I have time this afternoon, I'm going to look up some books on Navajo culture on Amazon.

The other culture whose art I find absolutely fascinating is that of Pacific Northwest Indians. Unfortunately, I have nearly nothing from that, although I have several books explaining the abstract designs they use.

Great review of Laughing Boy--thumbs up and I've added it to my wishlist. Your thread is dangerous to my resolve to limit my book buying!

Likewise, Carolyn, likewise, believe me.

Yesterday, I added two (I think) books on Navajo culture and history to my next book order.

Tara Revisited
Catherine Clinton

When thinking of the South before the Civil War, the images that immediately come to mind are those of Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler, and Mammy from the book but most especially from the very popular movie, Gone With The Wind. Clinton calls it the “myth of Tara”, claiming that the Hollywood images are not only misleading but represent revisionist history, rewritten to serve the interests of the defeated Southern population.

Clinton looks at the beginning of the myth of indolent whites and happy, clapping blacks, which predates the Civil War. Southern culture exaggerated the status of Southern white women to an impossibly elevated status, of purity, genteel behavior and dependency. The reality? Such women were almost nonexistent in the antebellum South; only a very few had such privileged status. Reality for Southern women,both black and white, was hard work, even for women who were wives of plantation owners.

Clinton shows how the needs of the Confederacy to keep the plantations going for the war effort emphasized this stereotype, giving women a heroic status. With the defeat of the South and the advent of the hated Reconstruction, Southern writers immediately began romanticizing the plantation and slave experiences; some of the most outrageous are slave memoirs that were written by whites!

The genre reached its peak in Margaret Mitchell’s racist book, Gone With The Wind. Turned into a movie by David Selznick (who did consult with the NAACP on the script) and brilliantly acted by Hattie McDanile, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal as Mammy and Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, Tara seized hold of both the Southern and Northern imagination (for different reasons) and became an icon of a South that never was, and remains so to this day; visitors to Georgia still ask for the location of Tara.

Clinton spends her last chapter excoriating the resurgence of these false images of happy slaves and benevolent masters; photos of ceramic figures and other “collectibles” sold in the South in current times are reproduced to reinforce her point.

While a somewhat superficial study of Southern women during the Civil War (read Mothers of Invention by Drew Gilpin Faust for a fascinating, in-depth study of the same subject), it's an excellent overview. Clinton’s thesis is interesting and she argues it well. Highly recommended

#222: Once again, you persist in adding books to Planet TBR - now stop it!

I read Foner's Reconstruction in the morning when I'm fresh, since it's a lot of information to be digested. Given the topic of US politics in the late 19th century (which makes Panama's government look like the model of honesty and ethical behavior), I never thought I'd find myself laughing out loud. But I certainly did this morning; after considering the headlines and articles in the media these days concerning New Jersey's politicians, I think you'll see why after reading the quote from the book below.

A brief background; in 1871, the Grant Administration tried hard to annex the Dominican Republic (without consulting the Dominicans, of course). The quote follows:

Ironically, as Illinois Senator Richard Yates pointed out, opponents of expansionism employed arguments extremely reminiscent of proslavery ideology, while its supporters upheld the principle that nonwhites could be successfully incorporated into the body politic. (No people, quipped Nevada Senator James W.Nye, were "too degraded" for citizenship: "We have New Jersey, and all things considered, it has proven a success.")

End quote.

Oh, yes, I definitely need to read that book :)

It's superb, Stasia, but so packed with information that I can only read about 25 pages at a time. Given the length--613 pages of text--it's taking me a long time to finish. But it's extremely well written, very accessible.

I may have to purchase a copy then rather than checking it out from my local library. I do not want to have to rush through it and miss a bunch of stuff in the process.

I also think that it's an extremely valuable reference book. It's not a book I would reread from cover to cover,but definitely reread relevant sections, given that the next book I intend to start on covers the period in the South after Reconstruction. For anyone reading volumes 2 and 3 of the Welles diaries, I think this book is a must--the sections on Presidential Reconstruction and Radical Reconstruction are essential if you want a) another view besides Welles' racist and utterly biased view of people like Sumner and b) a background of information on just what the issues were. All you get is Welles' diatribes, which certainly were one point of view and a widely held view but not the issues themselves. The diaries presuppose that you know what they are, and I sure didn't. Fortunately, I had Reconstruction already and wound up reading those two sections as I was reading volume 3 in particular of Welles. I reread these sections on starting the book, and they were just as valuable the second time, if not more so, than the first time.

I will say that the section on the Klu Klux Klan made me want to vomit. Those honorable, intelligent, well-educated men of honor whipped pregnant black women and one 103 year old black woman. Many Klan members were ministers, doctors, lawyers, plantation owners--the myth that they were only uneducated whites does not stand up to the facts.

I never have believed the myth about the Klan being poor uneducated whites. I have read too many reports on lynching to be fooled by that particular myth.

I am going to look for a copy of Reconstruction to purchase I think. I also think I will hold off on reading Volume 3 of good ol GW until I have Reconstruction in hand, since my knowledge of that period is spotty at best.

Well, you knew more than I did--I think I never really thought about it except to be convinced that they were the acts of savages, and even that is doing an injustice to savages. Rabid animals, maybe.

And Stasia? I notice from Goodreads that you have While In The Hands of the Enemy on one of your TBR lists. I'm at the point, about half way through, that I can read only about 3 or 4 pages at a time. I don't have a vocabulary I can use in public to express my rage over what happened on BOTH sides. And my view of Saint Lincoln is gone forever.

There is a dark side to the US character that needs to be acknowledged and atoned for. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, torture, and everything evil about current US treatment of prisoners has a solid basis in US history, with the Civil War serving as a role model for Nazi extermination camps. I do not exaggerate. The Nazis were just technologically more advanced, that's all. North and South chose to use starvation and disease--inefficient, but then that was the age, you know--didn't have the organizational skills of the modern era.

As a people, we have no right to point the finger at anyone. I have always agreed with Jung in that whatever is wrong with society is wrong with the individual and whatever is wrong with the individual can be seen when I look in the mirror.

Anyone who justifies torture on the basis of the common good is evil, as far as I'm concerned. The documented account in this book tends to destroy one's belief in any kind of divine origin of the human race.

And the worst part? As a people, we don't learn. Ever.

The glamor and romance of war, especially the Civil War! Yeah, sure.

The Sunday Philosophy Club
Alexander McCall Smith

Isabel Dalhousie is a 40-something wealthy woman who lives a comfortable life in Edinburgh, splitting her time between her part-time editing job with The Review of Applied Ethics and watching anxiously over her niece Cat who has the regrettable habit of getting involved with all the wrong type of men. In between, she indulges in a curiosity about the affairs of others that is almost always born of her sense of moral obligation (one of the perils of philosophy) that can lead her into amateur sleuthing. While attending a concert, she witnesses the fall from an upper gallery and resultant death of a young man; being the last person the young man saw before his death, Isabel feels morally bound (Isabel feels morally bound in a great many ways) to discover what she can about him. Soon she suspects that the death is not an accident.

Isabel Dalhousie is a “detective” in the tradition of Miss Marple, although she is not quite so enthusiastic about it. Edinburgh is portrayed as a very small town, charming, perhaps, but a bit stuffy. The characters are ok. Isabel, the most developed, agonizes constantly over the morality of every single action. You want to shake her and yell, “Just live, damn it! You’re going to make mistakes no matter how you intellectualize!”

Good, but nothing special and not a keeper. Nothing that interests me in reading others of the series.

I read the first book in the No. 1 Detective Agency by McCall Smith (which I did not care for), attempted the second and finally gave up. I just think he is an author that is not for me. Looks about the same for you.

Joyce, I wonder if your book is the Laughing Boy I read as a child. I grew up in a small town (900) 30 miles from the nearest bookstore with a one-room library. The children's section, not counting picture books, was 15 feet of wall space, and I read every book in it by 5th grade. The one book in it I read that I did not like and thought it did not belong in the children's section was Laughing Boy. I'm assuming I didn't like it because of either sex or violence (for a naive 10 year-old, remember) and wonder if you have any idea what it was that turned me off so?

Phew! I'm just catching up. First, I wish you would have written the blurb for Into The Beautiful North, because I passed it up a couple times thinking I may not like it. Next time I see it and have extra cash I will pick it up. Tara Revisited has been on my radar for a while now and will probably join my southern reading contingent when I get out of my reading funk.

>231 Joycepa:, Joyce,

Of course I agree with you about this book. I went on to read a couple of the others, and they do not get better! Unlike Stasia, on the other hand, I enjoyed the #1 Ladies Detective Agency books. Mma Ramotswe is, of course, sensible and the stories are entertaining. I don't know anything about Botswana, but McCall Smith lived there, and supposedly his description of the culture is true. Fun, quick reading IMO.

And I saw the clone comment--not quite. I just cannot get through Shipwreck of Their Hopes, even with the political and social commentary. You are right about it being a battlefield history; those troop movements do not engage me.

I have Reconstruction, but have not delved in yet. It is at the top of the pile of the non-fiction.

233, Roni: I have no idea why you disliked the book. Maybe the style? Certainly not sex or violence. Possibly there wasn't enough action for a 10 year old. Given the way its written, I would think that someone that young would have a hard time figuring out even why the book was written!

234: I have Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter on my next book order, I was so impressed.
If you like Tara Revisited, really don't miss Mothers of Invention.

25: Clone time again. I agree completely about the Botswana series--I have either 3 or 4 of them and think they're wonderful, light-hearted fun while giving a nice view of Botswanan culture.

As for Shipwreck of Their Hopes: I was afraid of that. It's not as much military history as the others but still. You are going to LOVE Reconstruction, especially the fights over the 14th Amendment. I'm near the end of the book now, and Foner is talking about the politics of the Depression of 1873, and how that accelerated a growing political conservatism.

There are many things I think are terrific about this book, not the least of which is the origin of what is now the image of the Republican Party's association with Big Business. When you consider its roots and the role of Radical Republicans, its practically impossible to imagine the philosophical leap. But Foner does a brilliant job. I don't know if the boo's time period covered will be enough to show the weird realignment of labor AND white supremacists with the Democratic Party--the latter never left it until the Civil Rights movement of the 60s--but where labor fell in isn't evident yet.

Reconstruction is one of the best history books I have ever read, bar none. It makes my Favorites list, probably the Top Ten, right up there with Shelby Foote's The Civil War.

BTW, I'm about half way through John Adams and LOVE it--so much so that I've ordered Truman and have The Johnstown Flood on my next order; I will probably work my way through all his books.

And you were right, Lisa, about the letters between Adams and his wife.

I read this quite some time ago but reread it recently because I hadn't written a review. Then discovered that it was hard to write one of this book after having read The Angel's Game, which I think is better. Still, this one deserves to be read on its own merits.

The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I find Zafón’s books hard to review because they don’t fit comfortably into one genre. This, his first internationally acclaimed novel, is some combination of gothic romance, thriller, and a love affair with books. With Daniel Sempére, we live through the days after World War II,when Barcelona struggled to recover from a series of power changes in Spain that brought with them violence and fear. Through it all, Sempére tries to solve the mystery of Julián Carax, the author of the book, The Shadow of the Wind, that Daniel, on his first visit to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (a marvelous creation) has chosen for his own to cherish and protect.

Zafón is fond of old-fashioned obsessive and doomed love affairs, and he pulls one off quite well in this book. What is surprising and a measure of how well he writes is that much of the story is revealed by exposition--letters, reminiscences--not by action. Yet the pace of the book does not falter and each revelation illumines yet another of Zafón’s wonderful set of characters. Barcelona itself is a background, although not the major player in the story as it will be in The Angel’s Game, a sequel. At the end of the book is an illustrated walking tour of the city into the neighborhoods that figure in the book.

An intriguing book whose style as well as story line is a major appeal. Highly recommended.

Clearly, I've been reading a lot lately, having not much else I can do. Sunday night I reached a nadir of frustration and boredom, plus I was reading so much that depressed me that i didn't want to read any more. so instead we decided to watch a film, and chose The Leopard. We had seen the Italian version not that long ago, but not the US version, which I saw when it originally come out in 1963-64.

I know I've raved before about this movie but I tell you, I can only rave all over again about how good it is. It is one of the best films I have ever seen, right up there with War and Peace. Seeing it again after a relatively short time, I was able to appreciate the photography, which is superb. In particular, there is one scene at Donnafugata in which Visconti, the director, posed the actors, against a backdrop of a Sicilian village, that is straight out of an Impressionist painting. Could be Monet, could be Cezanne, maybe another--I'm fairly ignorant about art.

Lancaster himself said that it was the finest performance of his career, and I remember reading a long time ago that he said he did movies in pairs--one to make money, the other for art. The Leopard never did make it big in the US.

And the odd thing was, Lancaster was no one's first choice; he was the third one the producers approached, the first two (one of whom was Laurence Olivier) being unable to do the film. Visconti himself was really unhappy about having Lancaster foisted on him and at first there was a lot of tension on the set. But then the two worked extremely well together and wound up being life-long close friends. Typical Italian--going from deadly enemy to bosom buddy within 5 minutes or so! :-)

If you have not seen this movie, I urge you to do so. I don't have enough superlatives to describe it. We're going to watch the Italian version again this weekend, after watching the disc with documentaries about the making of the film--I bought the Criterion Collection version, which has both Italian and US versions and this third disc.

I was so enchanted by the movie that I decided to reread the book, even though I had done so just last year,and I have something like 58 books on the TBR shelves with more on their way. To my outrage, I discovered that I'd lent it to an American here who, unfortunately, spends a good part of his time in the US, where he is now. I swear I am going to have carved in stone what is now my mantra No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

Joyce, your review makes me want to see the movie, but I've been meaning to read the book, which I've owned for decades. I usually want to read the book before I see the movie; do you think it is safe to see the movie first, or should I try to move the book up a few notches on the TBR?

Rebecca, I am so prejudiced in favor of the book--it, along with A Soldier of the Great War, is among my Top Five favorites of all time. So I'm not sure I can be objective. But let me try.

While the movie follows the book fairly faithfully for a particular time frame covered by the book, it's not all of it and the focus is slightly different from the book. The latter, I think, is an extremely important difference. The movie is more political. The book is a beautiful portrait of the life that was being lost. Lampedusa himself was a Sicilian aristocrat, a prince, and wrote feelingly and with no illusions about that life. You get much more of that in the book than you do in the movie. Lancaster's dialogue talks about it but, as in the book in the relevant scenes, more in a political context; the book shows the entirety.

The other major difference is that the movie covers only a particular time frame, just before and right after the unification of Italy. it does not cover what happens afterwards to the Prince and his family. The end of the book is incredibly moving, much more so than the movie, which still, thanks to Lancaster, is utterly poignant.

The book also moves more slowly, takes in more, more fully illuminates what happened.

With one exception, the casting in the movie is so superb that I think that if you see the movie first, when you read the book, IMO you will be unable to see the Prince as anyone else than Lancaster. Alain Delon as Tancredi, in the first half of the movie, was jarring for me, because, having grown up in an immigrant family and seeing Italians every day of my life when young, his performance for me is NOT that of an Italian but of a Frenchman trying to play an Italian. It's quite possible that those who haven't had that kind of exposure would not react the way I do. Lancaster, from that point of view is utterly astounding. I don't know how he did it, but his performance in that respect is flawless. Cardinale is very good, but her character is not an empathetic one. Some of the more minor characters are utterly memorable, such as the Italian actor who plays Don Ciccio; there is a scene where Don Ciccio shrugs--just a few seconds of acting--that is --again--memorable in its authenticity and subtlety of expression. Seeing the movie first will definitely and strongly influence the way you see the characters of the book, although there will be no distortion of those characters. I will always see the Princess of Salina as Rina Morelli, for example, same with Don Ciccio.

The ball scene at the end is so stunning, with a scene with Lancaster and Cardinale that is so superb, that it might ruin the ball scene in the book for you. There are times when films are better than the written word--although I have to say that unless you read the book, you might not understand a very brief and funny bit in the ball scene.

I saw the movie before I ever read the book, but so much time--decades--had elapsed before I read the book that it didn't do anything one way or the other for me except to have a vague memory of Lancaster, who is unforgettable in the role.

No matter when you see the movie, do try to se the Italian version, which is longer by 20 minutes. The US version has the voices of Lancaster and Leslie French, another American who is superbly cast, and has that in its favor, but in my opinion, the longer version is worth seeing because of what was cut.

So with that straightforward and emphatic recommendation, I leave you to your choice! :-)

ETA: I know I'm raving, but it's hard not to.

I wanted to add that there are actually two scenes (in the ball sequence) with Cardinale and Lancaster that are terrific. There is one that is a sexually-charged moment between Lancaster and Cardinale that is due entirely to Lancaster and I STILL can't figure out how he did it!

Wow, I didn't deserve such a lengthy response, but I am savoring it. Off to Netflix!

I hate to clue you in, Rebecca, but I have this terrible feeling that it's far more about my inability to control my literary output (I type way too fast) than it is about any merit! Plus I love to rant--and YOU ASKED!

Let this be an object lesson for everyone else--don't ask unless you want to spend the next hour reading.

ETA: do let us know what you think about the movie. I'd love to see some other discussion here besides my one-sided opinion.

I'm one-third of the way through the three disks of Smiley's People so I'll either get The Leopard from Netflix after I finish this series or after the three disks of A Perfect Spy, depending on how I feel. But I'll let you know once I watch it.

I've added The Leopard to my wish list and marked Reconstruction (I'm assuming you mean the full version, not the abridged?) and Shadow of Wind as high priority.

I loved the discussion of the movie of The Leopard and Burt Lancaster. That explains a lot--sometimes he just blew you away in a role but so often he seemed like a stock character. After I read the book I will have to hunt for thee movie.

#244: Yes, get the full version of Reconstruction by all means.

What's really funny is why Lancaster was chosen for The Leopard--the producers wanted someone with box office appeal, because they knew they were making essentially an art film. The Leopard is not a well-known book now, never mind then.

I got a copy of The Leopard (the book, not the movie) last year. Now all I have to do is find what I did with it.

#246: Buried under the landfill of Mount TBR, an artificially constructed mountain that threatens Everest in altitude.

The Day the World Ended at Little Big Horn
Joseph M. Marshall III

The history of Native American tribes in their encounters with whites is overwhelmingly grim. Only when whites were present in inferior numbers was there anything like peaceful coexistence; the minute white populations increased, the Indians were constantly pressured to move out of traditional lands in order to accommodate white needs. Various tribes resisted, and there were “wars” between encroaching whites and Indians throughout much of the history of the US, “wars” that, during the 19th century, were mostly one-sided and that usually involved massacre of old men, women and children by US Army units; some of the most infamous of such massacres were led by General Harney against the Northern Cheyenne (1850) and Colonel Custer against the Sioux and other Plains Indians in the years following the US Civil War.

The Plains Indians resisted; their resistance culminated in the battle at the Little Big Horn River on June 25, 1876. In a move that was militarily stupid as well as genocidal in intent, Custer, leading not quite 700 soldiers of the 7th Cavalry, split his forces against a Sioux and Northern Cheyenne camp whose size he did not know with attacking forces that were worn out from a forced march the night before. Instead of meeting helpless noncombatants whose slaughter would be easy and considered sport by cavalrymen, the two companies under Major Reno, invading at the southern end, rode into a camp of 8,000 to 10,000 Sioux and Northern Cheyenne; they met immediate resistance in the form of Gall and warriors of the Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux. The invaders were routed with great loss of life. Meantime, Custer, at the head of 5 companies, had turned north and then west in order to attack from the east. They were spotted and surprised by some armed old men and boys, who halted the cavalry long enough--a few minutes--to allow other Sioux--notably Crazy Horse-- to enter the fight. The rest is history--Custer’s band were killed to the last man, while the remaining soldiers under Reno and Benteen survived on a hill. The next morning the Indians struck camp and moved off.

The facts of the battle are well known. Marshall, a Lakota Sioux, uses the battle to tell the history of the Sioux--their journey from more eastern lands, having been driven out by other tribes into the plains, their adaptation to the Plains, the acquiring of horses, first encounters with whites (French), the increasing contact with white settlers from the US, their resistance, and finally their subjugation and confinement to reservations. It is a tale that is also well-known: of US arrogance, "treaties" imposed from Washington and enforced by the US Army, lies, treachery, one-sided abrogation of these "treaties" by the US as gold was discovered in the Black Hills and settler demanded the good lands that were “going to waste” under the Sioux, and murder, of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, in order to remove annoying leaders. It is a story of the massacre of unarmed Indians at Wounded Knee, of Indian children being taken from their homes without their parents consent to be put into missionary schools and told that what they were was inferior. It is a story of continuing treachery on the part of the US government for over 100 years.

In reality, none of this is new information, but the way it is told is illuminating. Marshall tells the story much as a Lakota might tell a story, in the Lakota way. There is a certain amount of repetition, a certain amount of circling around and back to the beginning, a quiet recounting from the Lakota point of view of what their history has been like. it’s not shrill, it’s not really accusatory--it lets the story speak for itself.

And in the end, he offers a quiet assurance that the Lakota and their ways will survive.

Highly recommended.

Great review, Joyce. My mother made regular contributions to a school for Lakota children and I continue to make an annual one in her memory. I will have to find this book.

As I said, all of this information is well known--his major contribution is to put it together into one story that is easily read and is seen from the Lakota way of life.

There has been some progress in that children are no longer ripped from their families and sent either to California or Carlisle, PA or other white-dominated schools. Now there are schools on the reservations where the Lakota children learn their own language and traditions as well as the "normal" school curriculum. He says that the Lakota are just a tiny percentage (I think just 10 tribes) of the over 400 recognized tribes where at least 30% of the members can speak their own language. I know that there are efforts in the Pacific Northwest to revive the languages there.

It would be an incredibly depressing book, except for the quiet strength that Marshall portrays in the Lakota today. They have problems but they have survived somewhat better than many other tribes.

The school Mom sent contributions to was on the reservation and they learn their own language history as well as English and skills necessary to get jobs--many of them go on to college with scholarships.

On a trip to the Dakotas many years ago my folks went to the reservation at a time there was some kind of festival with the children. My Dad was the one who wanted to go because he was always fascinated by the stories of the American Indians (in all regions--they visited a lot of places in their travels) and by their cultures. My mother was a teacher and when she met the children and heard about their school she wanted to help.

#248: I managed to put that one on Planet TBR before you reviewed it. When I saw your review on Goodreads, I just added it as a matter of course. If you say it is highly recommended, I put it on the Planet (and it is bigger than Mt. Everest, btw.)

#251: I thought as much, since the book implies that the other schools have been shut down. Helping such schools is a wonderful thing, one of the best ways anyone can contribute--but I'm such a sucker for education. I have very little hope for humanity but what little I do rests in education in one form or another. And that most definitely includes going out and meeting other cultures first hand. There's nothing like reality.

As for you, Stasia, what can I say? I just automatically figure you've either read a book before I have, or have put it on The Pile or have reserved it at one of the 52 libraries you patronize or something like that.

Well, wouldn't you know it? I've had a rental DVD of The Leopard sitting around here for months (maybe since January?), thinking I was going to read the book and then watch it. Once in a while I'd think "maybe I'll watch the movie first---why not?" But I didn't. And there was always some reason to pick up some other book ...ARC's to review, something else captured my interest, mood not right...SO YESTERDAY I SENT THE DAMNED THING BACK TO NETFLIX UNWATCHED. And now, I catch up on this discussion. Oh, well, the book is still in the house somewhere...

I thought only I lived that kind of life,Linda.

There must be something in the air about this movie. Late last night, I got a note from Amazon telling me that I haven't paid for the movie, The Leopard--even though they shipped it in December of last year and I received it a few weeks later! Amazon NEVER EVER ships without first extracting payment. Who are they kidding, that they've just discoverd seven months later that they haven't received payment.

PLUS another book is being held up because it won't go through on my VISA. That's after a big order just shipped two days ago. I'm having trouble with my credit union in the US which charged me twice for a purchase I didn't make here in Panamá and then didn't charge me for a purchase I made that same day. When I checked with the pharmacy here in Panamá, it's clearly the credit union's fault. I probably have spent about 10% of the purchase in question on phone calls (800 numbers don't work here) trying to clear it up; thank god we get a huge discount on cell phone calls and after 4 minutes, we can talk ten minutes free, even internationally.

What the heck is going on up north? Is the US falling apart?

I have to go figure out what's happening with Amazon.

I'm adding The day the World Ended at Little Big Horn to the TBR pile. My daughter recently saw Night at the Musuem 2 and we were talking about Custer and Little Big Horn and I realized that I don't know all the much about it. I think most of what I know comes from an old Twilight Zone episode.

#256, Mike: Custer bothers me. He was a brilliant Civil War general of cavalry--and then he turned to slaughtering women and children. This book alludes to previous massacres--mentions Harney by name--but doesn't have a lot to say about Custer himself.

Years ago, I read a biography of Custer, Son of the Morning Star that I remember as being excellent. It disappeared in one or more of my moves, but I am tempted to get another copy.

The book goes into quite a bit of detail about the battle itself, which lasted maybe 40 minutes. it's told strictly from the Lakota point of view, so all you read is what the Lakota themselves saw--there's nothing about any testimony Reno and Benteen gave later. If I remember correctly, Reno was made to be the fall guy.

It's an excellent book, because it goes into far more than just the battle, but what happened afterwards, up until the present day. The title is very descriptive.

About 248, I think you might be interested in reading The Comanche Empire which has a different take on at least one group of Native Americans - and presents the Comanche's as one of the major players of the early 19th century, often even playing U.S. against Spanish. Comanche is somewhat loose, because non native Comanches were freely adopted into the tribes and the empire often included various allied tribes.

#258, I have The Comanche Empire but haven't read it yet; hope to read it soon along with some other books about Native American encounters/relationships with other peoples that I recently ordered after reading about them in the New York Review of Books: Shadows at Dawn and War of a Thousand Deserts. Of course, I have no idea when I'll have time to do this!

I'm not all that interested in what, or a better term, I'm going to loosely call the Plains Indians--not sure the Comanche fit that category (which shows you how much I know). I have always been interested in the Navajo and Pueblo Indians, particular the Hopi among the latter. Because Laughing Boy sort of re-triggered that interest, I've ordered two books on Navajo culture. In particular, the religions of the Navajo and Pueblo tribes have always been of particular interest to me.

I don't know a lot either - and unfortunately forget much that I read quickly. I believe, though, that the Comanche were originally more Northern, and then did become Plains Indians - at least, they hunted buffalo. They were basically raiders for those parts of their diet that couldn't be met by hunting. The were located in the Southwest, centered in parts of New Mexico and Texas that were Spanish and then contested by the U.S. and Spain. My main interest in the book was in its presentation of a relationship between European and Native that was not so overwhelmingly one-sided. One thing about them that did interest me was their willingness and ability to assimilate people of other cultures.

Like you, my interest has been more centered in the Pueblo cultures, particularly Hopi. I wish I could remember the name of a book I read once about Native American myths and stories. There was one in which the Hopi spoke of journeying to all the four corners of the earth before settling down. According to the story, the Aztec were a people who had started that journey, but left off before completing all four directions - leaving them in an unfinished state.

By the way, have you ever read Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict. She is an anthropologist - I believe she was a teacher of Margaret Mead. Patterns of Culture presents two patters of culture, Apollonian vs. Dionysian, basically more logical, ordered vs. a society that incorporates some kind of disordered transcendence and more individuality - it has been more than 30 years since I read the book, so this is not precise. However, I bring it up because one of the cultures was Zuni, a Pueblo people. If I remember correctly, she put them in the Apollonian camp. I would be interested in knowing your thoughts about this - the usefulness of this classification, whether it matches what you know, etc - as you read on.

#257: Son of the Morning Star is excellent, IMO.

#261, 262: How fascinating--I vaguely remember both of the books you mention. The first one--something about different points in the US, at least, that were way stations, resting places, until the people moved again.

I do believe that I read Patterns of Culture decades ago--the name and author AND the classification system are all familiar. Unfortunately, I don't remember anything else about either one.

Joyce, I am continuing to keep my eyes open for Spanish language children's books. I used to see them everywhere, and now -- nothing. Eventually they will reappear and I will grab a few!

I approached your review of The Angel's Game with great trepidation, as I was certain you would not have liked it given that it is one of my favorite books of the year. But you liked it too! Hurray!

Hey--could be that the "jinx" or whatever it was is broken! Isn't that the second book we've both liked? :-)

Son of the Morning Star will go next to The Day the World Ended at Little Big Horn on the tbr list after those two recomendations.

#267: Aaagh, Mike, hang on--it was YEARS ago that I read it, and my memory is that I liked it a lot. That's certainly true, but I'd try to get it from a library if I were you.

Reconstruction
Eric Foner

The United States has always been a heterogeneous nation, right from the beginning; its politics has always reflected that fact. Nowhere is this more evident than in the period known in US history as Reconstruction, which took place between 1865 and 1877. Though relative short, it was a turbulent time, as everyone--politicians North and South as well as newly freed slaves tried to define what exactly “freedom” meant. At that time, while there was widespread agreement in the North about emancipation, most of the country, the North included, was divided on what “freedom” meant. Foner divides the concept into four areas: economic, civil, political, social. All of these meant something different to the lives of blacks; Foner goes into great detail both what each meant to freedmen (ex-slaves) and freeborn alike.

Possibly the single most important event that shaped Reconstruction happened right at the beginning--the assassination of Lincoln, which elevated Andrew Johnson to the Presidency in 1865. Much of what happened in Reconstruction followed from this single event, and Foner does a brilliant job of recounting the consequences.

There is so much to this book that it’s difficult to put it in a single review. For me, among the most memorable sections were: the violence--not just by the Ku Klux Klan but by other armed gangs of whites-against blacks, massacring blacks to prevent them from voting; the association of the Republican Party, which had been one that represented smallholders and independent merchants, free labor, with corporations, especially railroads, and banks; the violence and overt racism of the Democratic party throughout the country; the suffragette movement; the shift, especially among poor white Southerners, from independent landholding to working for wages; the origin of sharecropping; the increased protests of labor and the violence with which it was put down, North and South; the vast corruption both North and South with both parties; and so much more.

Foner writes extremely well, but the book is so jammed with information that it reads slowly. I found I could not read more than 25 pages a day without going on overload. However, the effort is more than amply repaid with understanding.

Much of what we see today in the US either has its origins or was mirrored in this period. For in-depth understanding of the political and social history of a critical period, this book is a must own and must read.

Reconstruction
Eric Foner

The United States has always been a heterogeneous nation, right from the beginning; its politics has always reflected that fact. Nowhere is this more evident than in the period known in US history as Reconstruction, which took place between 1865 and 1877. Though relative short, it was a turbulent time, as everyone--politicians North and South as well as newly freed slaves tried to define what exactly “freedom” meant. At that time, while there was widespread agreement in the North about emancipation, most of the country, the North included, was divided on what “freedom” meant. Foner divides the concept into four areas: economic, civil, political, social. All of these meant something different to the lives of blacks; Foner goes into great detail both what each meant to freedmen (ex-slaves) and freeborn alike.

Possibly the single most important event that shaped Reconstruction happened right at the beginning--the assassination of Lincoln, which elevated Andrew Johnson to the Presidency in 1865. Much of what happened in Reconstruction followed from this single event, and Foner does a brilliant job of recounting the consequences.

There is so much to this book that it’s difficult to put it in a single review. For me, among the most memorable sections were: the violence--not just by the Ku Klux Klan but by other armed gangs of whites-against blacks, massacring blacks to prevent them from voting; the association of the Republican Party, which had been one that represented smallholders and independent merchants, free labor, with corporations, especially railroads, and banks; the violence and overt racism of the Democratic party throughout the country; the suffragette movement; the shift, especially among poor white Southerners, from independent landholding to working for wages; the origin of sharecropping; the increased protests of labor and the violence with which it was put down, North and South; the vast corruption both North and South with both parties; and so much more.

Foner writes extremely well, but the book is so jammed with information that it reads slowly. I found I could not read more than 25 pages a day without going on overload. However, the effort is more than amply repaid with understanding.

Much of what we see today in the US either has its origins or was mirrored in this period. For in-depth understanding of the political and social history of a critical period, this book is a must own and must read.

Having a little trouble with the site today, Joyce? Me too. It wasn't registering what I was doing, and I ended up with a double post or two.

Hmmm ... I've been looking all over for a review of Eric Foner's Reconstruction. Does anyone know where I might find one?

;-)

It was absolutely infuriating this morning when I was trying to get the review and this post up--and couldn't. I'll just say flat out that I think this is one of the worst Web sites, in terms of user friendliness, that I know of. Quite frankly, Goodreads is MUCH better--much better interface, much easier to use. BUT--and this is the only reason why I'm staying on this paleolithic imitation of hyperlinked stone tablets--you can't beat the forums here. Believe me, I've check out all the major Web sites of this type, and I have yet to find discussions, humor, and just plain interesting people that exist here on LT.

So--under major protest to the barely competent who develop and maintain this site--someone should tell them we're in 2009 NOT 1999, maybe suggest some training courses they could attend--I'm keeping on, but am having more and more difficulty staying interested when it's so hard to do anything. This morning's struggle really torqued me off.

So--the self-proclaimed misanthrope has to admit that people--yes, people--are the reason why I'll continue to labor with this creaky, ridiculous site. I'll have to give up my ideals, I see.

For heaven's sake, Joyce, do you always have to be so damn wishy-washy when you comment? Can't you just say outright what is on your mind? Get it off your chest, so to speak?

"paleolithic imitation of hyperlinked stone tablets . . ."

I have to admit, though, that this one is excellent.

Sheer fury always inspires me.

Believe me, I was p.o.d Here we were, trying to get out of the house to get Ethel into the vet for her twice-yearly checkup and blood workup (she's on 100 mg of Rimadyl a day, and we monitor her pretty closely, plus she's 14 3/4 years old), I'd been agonizing over the review for three days, everything ran smoothly on Goodreads (always does) and I must have spent a half hour trying to get one lousy post up. Because of course, I have don't have enough sense to let it go--I get the bit in my teeth or my teeth sunk into the bit or whatever, and then it's me against the dragon and devil take the hindmost.

I am glad to see the review of Reconstruction personally since I just got my copy of it a couple of days ago, so thanks, Joyce, for the effort you put forth with the review!

It's a long, read, Stasia, but definitely worth it. And also as a reference book.

What a lot of pressure you're putting on us, Joyce. We must stay clever and stimulating at all times, or we're liable to lose you!

#280: You've been put on notice, Linda! Now get with it! lol

Thanks, Linda. I've been somewhat afraid to come around here because I'm already due for a thrashing from something else I said. My ice is thin, so to speak.

I hope Ethel is okay, Joyce. It's so dicey and sad when our best friends get old.

And getting thinner, I might add, Charlie!

This is routine monitoring for Ethel. At her age, I always have a complete workup done for her every 6 months. Thanks to my being incapacitated myself, it's been a little longer this time. But she acts as if she's just fine--just getting incontinent, and we manage that with her pretty well. And when accidents happen--well, they happen. Our floors are tiled--no problem.

I'll call the vet tomorrow for the results.

The Day of the Owl
Leonardo Sciascia

A Sicilian, thinks Captain Bellodi, of the Carabinieri, doesn’t really relate that much to the national government; that’s just the outside entity that imposes taxes, police, military service. What counts--the only thing that counts--is the family, which defines a Sicilian in much the same way that a contract does between, say an Internet service provider and a client. Such a contract clearly states the rights and responsibilities of each side. This thinks Bellodi, who is from the mainland--from Parma, in central Italy--is the basis of the formal code of behavior that underlies all actions in Sicily, especially those of the mafia.

So reflects the Bellodi in this short (more a novella than novel), tautly written police procedural. It is a penetrating essay of 1960s Sicily and the almost allegorical human figures who populate the country. Bellodi is an idealistic, cultivated sensitive northerner; he meets his Sicilian counterpart in Don Arena, a mafia boss. These two characters make a whole, in terms of portraying Sicilian society and its effect of Italian politics.

Sciascia, a Sicilian who was considered one of Italy’s foremost post-war writers, was a survivor of Fascist Italy and a critic of Sicilian life in a country he loved. That what he wrote about--the power of the mafia--was dangerous enough is clear from his afterword in which he makes the usual disclaimer that all characters are fictional. But Sciascia goes a big step further by saying that he did not have the freedom to write that most authors usually possess. “In books and films, the United States of America can have imbecile generals, corrupt judges, and crooked police. So can England, France...Sweden and so on. Italy has never had, has not and never will have them.” He makes it clear that writing about the insidious control the mafia has over Italian life is dangerous.

It’s intriguing to compare Sciascia’s story with those of Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano set in contemporary Sicily. Camilleri’s stories occasionally include mafia figures, but he touches lightly if at all on their political influence. Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series, set in Venice, does describe the spreading, like a cancer, of the mafia northwards into areas that were previously untouched. But while she writes about corruption in the Italian government, she does so in general terms, more as commentaries by Brunetti and his wife Paula on the state of Italian politics (sick). Even in the era of the post-Milan crackdown on the mafia, both authors write cautiously in that regard.

That this book was considered an important work is reflected in the fact that is was republished in the US by the New York Review of Books, with an excellent introduction by George Scialabba. Highly recommended.

Some time ago, I posted my skepticism about donating to aid organizations. Honduras right now is in political turmoil, but this quote from La Prensa there confirms what I've said at least in part. The exiled President, Zelaya, is a nightmare--he was deposed by orders of the Honduran Supreme Court, but the US media in particular has been utterly lax in any investigative journalism. It was not a coup, it was not anything except the Honduran people having had enough. Now--do I think that the interim politicians are better? Probably, given Zelaya's connections to the drug trade. They'll be corrupt, but hopefully less so than the previous batch.

While hospitals are short of basic drugs, a warehouse full of expired and nearly expired donated drugs was being held by Red Solidaria. Red Solidaria was under the direction of Xiomara de Zelaya, the former first lady. The warehouse also contained school supplies, children's clothes and shoes, wheel chairs, and beds had not been distributed to the poor.

The reason why they hold this aid is that they then sell it on the black market or even just sell it, and pocket the money.

#284. Based on your review, I'll read it.

#285. That's enough to make me want to puke.

The above quote from La Prensa was posted in La Gringa's Blogicito, which those who follow my blog know is the blog of an American woman who lives in Honduras. Here's another quote from La Prensa in Honduras, also posted in her blog.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Rodolfo Padillo Sunseri, mayor of San Pedro Sula thought to have fled to the US, for abuse of authority and malversation of public funds. Interim mayor Eduardo Bueso does not know where L. 172 million went, especially since some municipal employees have not been paid for up to six months. Some municipal employees continue to strike. Trash collection service was suspended because contractors have not been paid since February.

And here I site with three big boxes of books for the Potrerillos library donated by people on LT--and I can't get up there. Mary has threatened to hide the car keys. I really can't drive yet--not because I can't drive per se but because I can't walk any distance even with a cane. I had to go with Mary the other day--not so much to the vet but shopping--and the walk inside a CostCo-type place darn near killed me. I simply can't do it.

So the books are sitting here, on my desk, waiting until I can get up there. mary could do it but her Spanish is nowhere near so good as mine and neither of us has yet to meet the new librarian. I also want to take pictures of the books or of the librarian accepting the books or something like that to post here and on my blog. I can't do that yet.

#285, 287 I don't know how they sleep at night. It's one thing to treat your enemies badly, but to deprive your own people of food and medicine.... They should be taken out and shot.

Those people have no souls. If they sleep poorly it's only because they're wondering if the goons they use as bodyguards are functioning or too drunk to do well. But they're good at running to the US for sanctuary.

The really tragic part about it is that Honduras is not the only country where this has occurred. Sadly, I think practically the entire continent of Africa has the problem.

The only reason why I know more about Honduras than some other countries is that a) it;s a Central American country and therefore gets big play here, not only among the press but among the ex-pat community here as well and b) I've mentioned La Gringa, who has an extremely popular blog read by a huge number of people, and she has been writing nearly exclusively on this topic lately.

The problems are all over. Just take a look at Mexico, for example. We only see what gets into the main stream news and not much does.

People of the Book
Geraldine Brooks

In this wonderful novel, Brooks uses a real object--the Sarajevo haggadah or prayer book for seder--and its known and intriguing history to construct a novel of speculation as to the people who might have taken part in its near-miraculous preservation. Starting in contemporary time, with an Australian book conservator, Hanna Heath, the story is revealed in episodes, each going back further in time to an important moment in the book’s history. Each episode is illuminated by some small object--an insect wing, a white hair--that Hanna has discovered in the course of her renovation. Each object has its own tale to tell in the book’s history.

Very well written, People of the Book is a fascinating look at history and a wealth of information about book conservation. The episodic nature of the plot is extremely well done. I have only one quibble with the book, and that is a too-slick scene towards the end that I still can’t figure out why Brooks wrote i except perhaps for an overeager desire to resolve one ambiguity. It seems over the top especially in a book where ambiguity is going to be the rule, not the exception, given the structure and nature of the story.

But other than that, it’s an excellent read. Highly recommended.

I really liked People of the Book when I read it last year too, Joyce, and had the same quibble with it. The ending was just a bit too pat.

And it was so unnecessary! That's the major problem I have with it. It really doesn't do a thing to advance or resolve the story. And in fact it strains credulity.

At the Saturday book sale at the library, they were selling books for 1¢ each! Most were romances that they were trying to get rid of, but I got some chapter books for school AND 3 MORE Spanish children's books to put on my pile to send to Joyce!!!! Can't beat that with a stick!

Joyce, Joyce, Joyce, at last I've caught up here! I haven't been LTing very much for most of July for a variety of reasons but I should have kept up with you because there is so much good stuff going on here and it's rather daunting when I don't (approx. 150 posts later, she says).

Yonks ago I read the 1st book in the Russell/Holmes series, not realising that it was a series. So I have tons to catch up there *rubbing hands delightedly*.

I've been trying to find the movie of "The Leopard" with Lancaster because I absolutely loved the book.

I've added the dog health book to my wishlist, not only for my own use but to give to one of my lads who has a beautiful year old German Shepherd (my father-in-law breeds them and is one of the top breeders in Canada, breeding for utter quality and sound genetics...he's 91 years old!).

So very happy to read about the excellent books you've received for the library and want you to know that I'm still trying to find them here (French I could do like rolling off a log, Spanish, not so easy).

Very glad too to read that you are healing well and have been reading up a storm. I won't let you slide so much again. Nothing personal: my creative self has begun to come to life after decades of suppression as a working stiff, so I've been savouring it and trying to nurture it. All that and a bathroom reno.
xo

tiffin, Netflix has The Leopard -- don't know if you can get Netflix in Canada.

#295, Roni: Such a deal!! I told Stasia that I'm just about positive I can get up to the library to meet the new librarian some time this coming week. Drove for the first time yesterday--wore me out but now I know I can do it, nothing's gonna keep me in the house!

#296, Tui: Given the huge dropoff in traffic everywhere on LT, I'd say that summer is taking its toll. I figured you were in your garden. And anything to do with plumbing usually sends me straight under a table to hide until it goes away.

The dog health book is absolutely terrific.

And good luck with the care and nurturing of the creative spirit. Mine is continuing on vacation (been going on for decades). Lately, I've been much taken with computer games, which has served to keep me occupied and out of trouble while recovering.

John Adams
David McCullough

I knew very little about the US Revolutionary War history before I started this book. Although I knew John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams had been presidents of the US, I don’t think I could have told anyone that the father was was the 2nd president and the son the 6th. And I thought that the late colonial and revolutionary war periods were sort of boring.

Well, I certainly was wrong about the boring part! McCullough’s splendid biography of Adams brings both periods to life and provides a fascinating account of the politics of the time (sleazy). He offers truly intriguing portraits of the prominent figures of the times: Jefferson ( a lot less noble than he is ordinarily made out to be); Washington (fairly inscrutable); and of course Adams himself along with his remarkable wife, Abigail. all these people and more and the times they lived in are vividly portrayed mostly though their own words. It was a letter-writing era, and some of the most important and most illuminating have survived. The correspondence between John and Abigail alone is worth reading the book. Abigail was no demure “little woman”, submissive and silent, leaving important matters to her husband. On the contrary, she was quite a match for John, who was one of the most erudite men of his age--more so, actually, than Jefferson.

Through these letters, between these prominent figures (and Abigail kept up a spirited correspondence of her own with Jefferson), we see the age and its issues in quite a different, more vibrant light than is usually taught in history books. Far from boring, it actually is thrilling; we know the end of the story, that US independence was won, a constitution framed and signed, and a young republic born. But how this was done--what the controversies were, the terrible odds against all of it coming to pass, the intrigues in England and France--are never exposed so thoroughly as in the letters that passed among all the principals.

I know that many times I’m tempted to think that US politics has never been worse than they are at the moment, that there have never been politicians of such low integrity, such partisanship as exist in our times. Actually, slander of all types--lies, smearing of reputations (the noble Jefferson was adept at this), blatant falsification of positions--was much worse right after the US was born that it is even now. And the US public was just as gullible, just as uninformed as it is now. McCullough does modern readers a service to point out the origin of these attitudes and behavior; while it may be depressing, it perhaps can give some comfort to know that modern US politics is no different from the way it’s always been, and that the basic issues have not changed. That may not be McCullough’s intent, perhaps; if not, then it is a serendipitous result of an affectionate look at the second president of the US.

It's also an account of a remarkable family--not just John and his wife, but their other children as well who, with the exception of the brilliant John Quincy, led tragic lives.

McCullough is not the best writer of the current crop of historians, but he is more than adequate for his subject. A very fine book--highly recommended.

About 285, 290 and 295 - I really must share my seething resentment about something. I have a sponsor child in Hondurous through Childreach, also called Plan. I hope that it is not one of the aid organizations you are referring to, Joyce, but that is not really the source of my irritation. The thing that really upset me recently was that I had searched for books in Spanish to send to my sponsor child who is 12 or 13 now. I've been his sponsor for about 8 years, and they had a gift policy of restricting gifts to things that were flat and only weighed 5 oz. except for twice a year. The reason given was the cost of postage, and they suggested contributing for extra postage for items heavier than that amount. So, recently I sent a birthday packet of two books, with extra postage. I received a letter that this time my present was sent on, but that in the future the 5 oz limit would be enforced, and this time the reason given was that anything more than that caused jealousy in the community. This means I can no longer send books unless they are under 5 oz. This would exclude anything hardback, I think, and probably many paperbacks appropriate to that age. I had sent Harry Potter in the past, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. I don't think Harry Potter will make it, and Unfortunate Events, I'm not sure. While I can see their point to an extent, and I accept it that the money I donate monthly is not used directly for the family of my sponsor child, but on projects in the community, still, they do get sponsors, by appealing to people like me who want to connect directly with a child, and not being able to send books is a little much for me. Ironically, I could contribute to one of their campaigns to contribute 1 million books to Africa, and that is a good thing. But it is not the same thing.

ok, the rant is over.

#300, solla: I know absolutely nothing about Plan. In general, the only organizations in which I have any trust whatsoever are church-affiliated and to a much lesser extent, NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Some of the latter have done really good work--but sometimes after abysmal failure. I've personally known people from a European Union NGO that have invested nearly $100,000 in a small project in a village in the interior of Brasil--but did not take into account the character of the people in the northeast. Without going into details, the project failed--drastically. It is the second one like that for this particular village. the buildings stand empty and unused.

Here is a link to La Gringa in Honduras--it's her blog, she's an American woman married to a Honduran living in La Ceiba, Honduras, and she knows the country. Right now she is obsessed, as are most Hondurans, with the political turmoil in the country, but I think if you contact her through her blog, she may be able to give you advice. for outsiders, laws and rules look inflexible, but for insiders, many times there's a way around them. She's very good at answering on her Comments page and you may be able to get her to answer through email. Her readership is huge, particularly at the moment, since she is one of the few who is getting the truth out about what happened in Honduras. So, it might be a while before she answers, but I think she would.

I'm so sorry to hear about the roadblocks you've run into but that benighted country has been miserably managed for forever; there's a reason why it's the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (Haiti being the first).

The only reason why books are going to get to kids in this area is that I'm here, and I have every intention of making this a big deal with the library, getting the representante, if I can, to attend some sort of book handover. All politicians are alike--this one's just been elected and I doubt that he'll miss a photo-op. I can get my friend Maricin in the InfoPlaza to put it up on their Web site, so it will get good coverage.

Other gringos have donated things to the library here--bookcases (which are about 50% empty), a computer that is too new to be hooked into the network. I have no idea in the world how popular these books will be, but I think over time a few children, anyway, will read them. That's all you can expect here.

Check with La Gringa, see if she has any suggestions for you. Good luck.

And please--never be afraid to rant on THIS blog! :-)

>299 Joycepa:: Joyce--so glad you liked it! Now let's see if we can get you to read biographies of Hamilton and Jefferson to round it out. I have found it interesting in reading these biographies that, no matter how objective the biographer, the subject of the biography always seems to be the best of the group. Having said that, John Adams (and Abigail) are still my favorites.

Thanks for the link Joyce.

#302, Lisa: Recommendations for the biographies? Hamilton has been the one post Colonial figure that has always intrigued me, if only slightly, because of his connection with the Treasury and his push for a central bank.

Actually, I've read one biography--of Braxton Bragg--where that wasn't true! The author hated Bragg at the end. With good reason.

#303: Good luck!

I liked Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton. It was comprehensive and not really biased. I read Alf J. Mapp Jr.'s two books on Jefferson: Thomas Jefferson: A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity and Thomas Jefferson: Passionate Pilgrim. The first was re-released a couple of years ago under the title Thomas Jefferson: America's Paradoxical Patriot. Mapp's treatment of Jefferson was quite sympathetic.

I have seen reviews on LT over the last few months of other Jefferson biographies, but cannot remember by whom or of which books. I remember the reviewers coming away feeling that Jefferson was not such a good guy!

#305, Lisa: What's really nice about this particular period in history is that enough time has elapsed and the nature of historical research has matured enough so that we don't get the stereotypical biographies of famous figures that read more like hagiographies than the lives of real people. I have McCullough's Truman on order; that will be interesting. I've also ordered the latest bio of Washington, that supposedly shows him to have been an intensely ambitious man. Be nice to get him out of the Marble Man status that he seems to occupy.

I'll see when I can fit in the Hamilton bio.

In a nation pathologically obsessed with sex, everyone seems to focus on Jefferson's relationship with his slave, Sally Hennings. I'm far more interested in his political behavior--from the Adams bio, it was pretty darn slimy! And he was a flaming hypocrite--my, my, slavery is so bad but no way I'm going to free my slaves!

I tend not to believe in the standard view of just about any prominent figure, and these days, given my historical reading, I've come to the conclusion that if you're in politics, at the very least you're compromised and usually corrupt in some fashion or another, not necessarily monetarily. Although the Adams bio makes clear that corruption has been a fine, honored American tradition from the beginning.

Also want to say that I have started reading The God of Small Things. This book, at least in the beginning is written in such a puerile fashion that I'm really beginning to wonder about the Booker Prize. Can't remember which one it was, but I know there was another that just astonished me by having been awarded that prize.

The writing in this, so far, is at about a mediocre 8th grade level, and that's being complimentary. Does it get better? It may be one of the rare books I simply can't justify wasting time on.

#304 For recommendations of presidential bios, you should check the US Presidents challenge group. There are lots of comments and recommendations and reviews of different books - especially for the earlier presidents as many folks are reading them sequentially.

http://www.librarything.com/groups/uspresidentschalleng

And glad to hear that you're able to get out of the house and drive a little.

I did finish The God of Small Things, Joyce, because of all the fanfare about it, but to tell you the truth I can't remember a thing about it except that I didn't like it.

#309, Rebecca: Well, THAT certainly tells me something about the book! Yes, I can believe that it is eminently forgettable. I think I'll just ditch it.

#309/310: Rats! And to think I bought that one not too long ago. *sigh*

Another one, Joyce! I read The God of Small Things and couldn't understand the hype.

#312: Oh ye gods, what is happening to us! We're agreeing!! lol

I am going to have to read my copy just so I can disagree with everyone else :)

The Given Day
Dennis Lehane

Lehane has written some chilling books in the noir detective genre. This book is equally as chilling although for different reasons.

The end of the 19th century saw the beginnings of organized labor in the US--certainly the beginnings of demands for reduced hours (the 80 hour week was pretty standard) and better pay. Labor unrest continued into the 20th century and gave rise to the labor movement and the beginnings of unions. The post-World War I era saw increased agitation, along with a new phenomenon--the rise of anarchism in the US, carried out by mostly southern and central Europeans immigrants, both legal and illegal.

Lehane sets his story in this era. There are two main protagonists: Luther Lawrence, a black man living in Cincinnati who has been laid off from his job at a munitions factory in order to make room for returning (white) veterans, and Danny Coughlin, a Boston policeman, whose immigrant father is a highly respected captain on the force. In addition, there is Babe Ruth--still with the Boston Red Sox, just before his meteoric rise to fame. The book is filled with beautifully-drawn portraits of the working class, poor, immigrants, and politicians of the time. Especially powerful are the African-Americans and their lives in various cities; at that time, there were some enclaves of prosperous, “respectable” black families. And there is the appearance of a lawyer for the Justice Department, a man by the name of John Hoover.

What was absolutely fascinating was the history of the anarchist movement in the US at that time. I had no idea it was that strong. Coming from a strong union family, I knew more about the repression of the labor movement, but Lehane goes into great detail about the use of the Boston police as strike breakers.

Until the day came--September 9, 1919--when the police themselves went on strike. The description of the days of rioting that followed is surpassed only in the account of the cynicism displayed by the then-governor of Massachusetts, Calvin Coolidge, who went on to become one of the worst Presidents the US has ever had, in a long line of bad Presidents. The consequences of that action reverberated far beyond Boston, and Lehane is brilliant in telling the story.

Many other threads are woven in, such as the expansion of the NAACP into Boston and the politically savvy of its leaders. The book is a wealth of tidbits of such historical information; clearly the time was one of tremendous ferment on the social and labor front, and the US responded typically--with repression.

Ruth as a protagonist and narration from his point of view is somewhat puzzling, except to give an alternative view of events and the time. But in my opinion, the ending of the book is weakened by his inclusion in the story line. Eliminating the last 5 pages would have strengthened the impact. But that’s a minor complaint. The book is well-written and Lehane is an outstanding story- teller. Highly recommended.

Sounds like a fascinating read -- must put it on my wish list.

Darn it, Joyce, I am still catching up on many of your other fiction recommendations while I read some non-fiction, too, and you post this. I just checked the library, and I am heading over there right now to check it out.

One of the ones I am reading right now, Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process, is interesting in the context of the Civil War reading. It focuses on how judges of the time made decisions in cases in which slaves claimed freedom or slave owners sought recovery of slaves under the Fugitive Slave Act. The difficulty with the book is that it is written by an academic and is probably pretty dry for someone who is not a legal academic, a lawyer with an interest in judicial process or someone with some other "career involving the law". You might find the issues interesting, but you probably don't want to put it high on your list!

Another thread caught up! Although I wasn't nearly as far behind on your as I was on some of the others. I know what you mean about being frustrated by the "speed of recovery." I'm getting better and having more energy--but not fast enough nor soon enough! Now that the problem has been found and addressed it is supposed to disappear! Ah, well- I never was know for my patience. :-)

I thought it was just I that was having trouble with LT--every other web site I tried was working but on LT I could only read the thread I was currently on. Couldn't change threads or post to the thread I was reading.

Great reviews as always. Let me chime in on The God of Small Things. At the time it came out I still believed in the "hype" that some books got and I treated myself to a lovely hardbound copy. I tried it a couple of times but just couldn't get into it; I even brought it all the way to California when we moved from Georgia and tried it here. Change of venue didn't work either. :-) It's nice to know I'm not the only one who couldn't see what all the fuss was about. But now I'm wondering if that first experience with Indian literature is why I now don't even read reviews of other books in that genre. Am I scarred forever?! ;-)

Glad you liked People of the Book--I bought a discounted copy of it at COSTCO and now i will put it in the current cue of TBRs for this year.

John Adams is one of my favorite reads of all time. I'm on a hunt to get all of his stuff and read it in the next few years. He makes history come alive. And I agree with your view on politics--I've found it somewhat comforting that US politics have always been sleazy and so far we have survived!

I always enjoy my visits here! Thanks for all the good book suggestions I've gotten from you.

#317, Lisa: Think I'll pass on that one given that I'd have to buy it and pay the usual fortune to have it get here. It's a book that I would love to be able to get from a library, certainly, but that's not in the cards.

#318 Carolyn: Lisa Curcio first got me interested in Adams actually through her high praise for the My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams and I intend to buy that book soon.

And please accept my most grateful thanks for your comments about recovery, because that is exactly how I feel about it--how come, after 7 weeks, I'm not up and out working 3-4 hours a day (when in reality I'm still walking with a cane)? "Patience"? You care to define that word for me?

OK, another thing--this thread is getting too long to download easily so I'm going to set up another here.

My Dearest Friend is on my "to buy" list but I am trying to curb my book spending until we adjust to hubby's retirement income and my "slowing down" on my teaching schedule so we can have more time together. We'll see how long that resolution lasts! :-)

#315 I started The Given Day once several months ago. I hadn't gotten very far into it when I had to return it to the library, but I wasn't very impressed so I didn't request it again. Obviously, I didn't get far enough along. I'll make a point of getting it back again this fall for another try. Excellent review.

#321: I could see how someone might find it hard at the beginning, since he starts off with Ruth. And I personally found the Irish family story a little slow at first but felt that that was part of the back story, and didn't mind it. But it definitely picks up.