 Harriet's Corner
The Bi-Monthly Newsletter of What to Read
April 2008
My Dear Book Lovers, Well, here I am at home, finally. I am sitting at my desk looking out the window at the huge gorgeous snowflakes.....even though yesterday was totally spring. That's life in the mountains! However, it does make for a perfect day to cuddle up by the fire and read....and write about terrific books. As many of you know, The Sun Valley Writers' Conference is returning this summer after a one year hiatus....and it is coming back in a very big way. I have been reading books by some of the authors who will be here this summer and I have to tell you, I am really excited about this conference. Whether you participate or not, these are the authors and books all of Sun Valley will be talking about in the months to come.
Many of you know of my interest (should I say obsession)? with books about the Middle East conflict and Muslim fundamentalism. Of course I was immediately attracted to a book by conference participant Ian Buruma called "Murder in Amsterdam". Mr. Buruma's book is investigative journalism at its best. Mr. Buruma, who is half Dutch, went back to Holland in the aftermath of the murder of filmmaker, Theo Van Gogh. Van Gogh, as you may recall, was killed by a Muslim extremist who is in fact a Dutch citizen. Van Gogh had just completed making a very provocative and incendiary movie about Muslim women. The screenplay was done by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ali's book "Infidel" which I wrote about several months ago, is a fabulous companion piece to Buruma's book. Buruma really gets to the roots of the race and religious problems that are exploding not only in Holland, but throughout Europe. Holland is particularly interesting as it is known as the most progressive and socially liberal state in Europe yet has one of the largest populations of conservative Muslims. These two groups are like water and oil as evidenced by the murder of Van Gogh and the ensuing riots. Buruma articulates the problem with historical background and clarity. I think he will be a not to miss speaker at the Writers' Conference.
Kati Marton, also a journalist, will be at this summer's conference. I just read her book "Hidden Power", which is not only fascinating...but very timely. Marton has created a compelling study of the power of the First Ladies of the twentieth century....well, most of them. She skips over Hoover and Coolidge because they had nothing to offer her study and also the Eisenhowers because I suppose they were so dreadfully boring. Starting with Edith Wilson, the "power behind the throne" after President Wilson's debilitating stroke up through Laura Bush (who is only given a few short pages as the book was written in 2002), the author offers us personal portraits of these First Couples and how power was wielded. There is the demure public persona of a Nancy Reagan who had a will of steel and made sure that "Ronnie" heeded her suggestions. At the other end of the spectrum we are presented with Hillary Clinton and health care reform of 1993....well, enough said about that. Roselyn Carter attempted to sit in on cabinet meetings and Lady Bird Johnson was the only person who could talk sense into LBJ. The reader sometimes feels like a voyeur as we read about extraordinary details of these relationships. The thing that really screamed out to me was that the press corps up until the 70s, respected an invisible line....a line which kept the personal lives and the affairs of presidents like FDR, JFK and LBJ out of the headlines. Maybe we would be better off as a nation if such a line were still respected.....well, in any event, this is a thought provoking book, extremely readable and highly enjoyable...oh, except for the Nixon chapter. I had no idea that Pat Nixon was such a tragic character, and I mean tragic...of Shakespearean proportions.
So now, I just started another book by Kati Marton. This one, "The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World" begins in the author's city of birth, Budapest. These men, four scientists, two filmmakers, two photographers and an author gave us the atomic bomb, game theory, "Casablanca" and one of the most devastating masterpieces of fiction, "Darkness at Noon". They came from the same schools and the same cafes in the years of Budapest's 'Golden Age'. This period profoundly affected all of these men as did the darkness that descended so quickly....a darkness that some like Arthur Koestler could never shake. But they all knew that they too could change quickly and change the world around them. Although her subject is heavy, there is an appealing lightness to the narrative.
Amy Bloom will also be at the Conference this summer. Her new book "Away" received a ton of press upon its release. For me, it was one of those books that I appreciated a whole lot more after I finished reading it. I don't know if any of you experience this, but occasionally I read a book that seems not to move me, whether it's the characters, the writing, the subject....something just doesn't work for me. But then, after reading, upon reflection the book is there in my mind, haunting me in a way. That's exactly what happened with "Away". Actually, the book almost comes across as two books. We have our heroine, finding herself in a tenement in New York after fleeing devastation in Russia. Bloom's tale of immigrant life in late nineteenth century New York is fabulous.....dirty, gritty, hard and dream-shattering. When Lillian Leyb learns that her young daughter may have survived the assaults in Russia, she sets off on foot, train, horse...any mode of transportation she can find, to get to and across the Bering Straits to find her daughter in Siberia. This second part of the book is a fascinating look at life in the wilderness of the Wild West of the early twentieth century. The descriptions are intense...one can feel the desolation and the cold seeping in.....Lillian is an amazing character of strength and determination. Now, having written this brief description, I cannot tell you why I wasn't so thrilled with this book while reading it......it has clearly left a very solid impression on me...and yes, I do strongly recommend it. Weird, huh?
While we are still on the subject of the 2008 Writers' Conference, everyone's favorite Iconoclast bookseller, Judy Demetre offers the following about everyone's favorite SVWC author, John Burnham Schwartz's beautifully written and nuanced new book, "The Commoner".
"This is one of my favorite books of the last few months. A compelling story of the life of a young woman chosen to become the wife of the Crown Prince of Japan. Haruko enters an oppressive world of rules and regulations that concern every aspect of her life; she is met with hostility and suspicion and controlled at every turn. Inspired by real stories of the Japanese Imperial family these poignant characters are real and alive and I cared for them and their heartbreak . I am constantly amazed when an author can create characters that seem drawn from the pages of history, in fact I had to look up recent Japanese history to be sure these were fictional characters. A beautifully written story." Thank you, Judy. I concur...stunning observations on a tragically cloistered life.
Here is a good way to catch your breaths after my barrage of Writers' Conference books. "Trail of Crumbs" by Kim Sunee is a total change of pace. As many of you know, books about France tend to jump off the shelves and right into my hands. I was particularly intrigued by this book because the author is Korean, as is my son-in-law. Well, I was not disappointed. This is a memoir written by someone we would think to be too young to write a memoir. It is a loving tribute to France by a non European. It is a foodie's delight as the author finds comfort and security in cooking.....whenever she becomes despondent, its off to the kitchen! And, she shares many of her recipes with us. On a more somber note, it is the story of a young woman who was abandoned by her mother on a park bench in Seoul when she was 3 years old. Subsequently adopted by a young family from New Orleans, Ms. Sunee always felt herself to be an alienated outsider....except in her grandfather's kitchen where they would cook together. Even later as she lived a fairy tale existence in Provence with her seemingly perfect lover, she was still the outsider. Her quest for 'home' takes her to Korea, Sweden and France as the reader cheers her on.
What to say about "People of the Book" other than Geraldine Brooks has written a stunning novel! This fact-based story is original and moving. The story opens in 1996 when Hanna Heath, an Australian rare book specialist, is asked by the United Nations to report on the condition of a carefully guarded Haggadah which had been lost during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. With exacting expertise and a sense of excitement she identifies little clues in this illuminated manuscript that could help her figure out the voyage of this fantastic and rare volume which began in Seville in 1480. She finds a thin white hair, a butterfly wing, blood and wine stains and a drop of salt. These lead to the extraordinary history and journey of the book. All the while, we go back and forth from the peregrinations of the book to the current life of Hanna, which itself is a fascinating story filled with twists and turns along the way. Brooks keeps these two stories moving along at an exciting pace as we race to the end. I really can say no more without revealing some of the thrill of the story. A marvelous book from the winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction!
I hadn't planned it this way....but here we are, still in the throes of the war in Bosnia. "Pretty Birds" by Scott Simon poignantly demonstrates the futility, stupidity and tragedy of this ethnic war. Irena Zaric was a typical teenager....star of her high school basketball team, she wore funky clothes, flirted with boys and listened to loud music. Amela Divacs was her best friend and her team mate. The girls paid no attention to politics or religion....but that was not to last for long. They lived in Sarajevo...in 1992. The war started suddenly for Irena. In a matter of days, she and her family were forced to flee their home because, as her father said: "Half (Serb) isn't half enough for them. Yes, them...don't you see? They want 'purity.' My father was a Serb married to a Jew. I married a Muslim whose mother was a Croat. Serb, Croat, Muslim, Jew - what does that make you and your brother? We have no name. And now we have no place." Irena and Amela who was a "Serb" (Christian) could not understand why suddenly they had to be separated, why suddenly their religions mattered. Thinking she was taking an innocuous job to help the family finances, Irena was trained as a sniper......young girls were often used as snipers because they were lithe and small and could get into tiny spaces. This war story is painful and tragic but it is also filled with irreverent humor and sweet familial relationships. Man's inhumanity to man is truly the great tragedy of our world.
Wow, I'm on a role here with another great segue into "Sarah's Key" by Tatania de Rosnay a marvelous work of historical fiction. July 1942 marked a dark period in the history of France when thousands of Jewish families were rounded up and forcibly kept in the Velodrome d'Hiver. They were then sent off to transit camps before being packed off to Auschwitz. The worst part of this entire operation was that it was put into action by the French authorities, not the Nazis. So here we are in 2002. Our protagonist Julia Jarmond, is an American married to a Frenchman. She has been living in France for more than half of her life. She works for an English language journal. Her editor calls her into his office to tell her that it is the 60th anniversary of the roundup at the Vel' d'Hiv and that she should write a story about it. Well, of course, she knew nothing of this dark event. As she begins to investigate, she is shocked by the indifference and nonchalance of the people she interviewed. Julia becomes consumed by this incident and as she digs deeper she uncovers very dark secrets surrounding her husband's family. The author deftly goes back and forth between 1942 and 2002. She gives us two compelling stories on the suppression of guilt and what that can do to a person and a society. As a francophile, I often obsess about this particularly dark time in France's history and the profound prejudice that gives rise to such behavior. This is an extremely thought provoking and thoroughly engrossing book.
My dear friend and great reader, Susan Cutter has contributed the following review. Sounds like one to take on the next airplane trip! Thank you Susan.
If you loved “When Harry met Sally,” then you’ll want to read "Beginner’s Greek" by first time author James Collins, who was a former Time editor. Only this romantic comedy is a notch above the usual fare. It is a light airplane book with a story line that begins on an airplane. Peter Russell believes that the love of his life will occupy the seat next to him because he believes in fate. So when Holly, a good hearted teacher, sits in the aisle seat on his latest NYC to LAX business flight, they do, in fact, become attracted enough to set up a date. Only Peter loses Holly’s phone number. From here, the story takes off with many miscommunications, lost loves, an evil boss, the inevitable womanizer, a desirable temptress and in the style of good British farces, bad timing. Several mini-plots keep the action moving until the nicely wrapped resolutions at the finale. The setting is in today’s financial world with all its Blackberries, iPods, and cell phones, with New York society as a backdrop. The moral of the story is that true love really does exist and the route to this discovery is a well-written tale that has been described as having a bit of Tom Wolfe in the process. For a pleasant change from heavy fiction, this offers a good break.
Ok....time to go, I am already eyeing some marvelous books for my next newsletter. So with a thank you to my 'contributors' I wish you all a springtime of good reading!
January 2008
Hola my friends and fellow readers! We have been in Mexico for a few months and the time has gone by at a lovely and leisurey pace. I arrived here armed with wonderful reading material and plans to learn a little bit of Spanish, swim a lot of laps and drink a few margaritas. Everything was going along beautifully until I breathlessly got to the last page of Ken Follett's "World Without End" a sequel (albeit two hundred later) to his best book "The Pillars of the Earth". What I discovered was that I had horribly miscalculated the number of books I would read during this Mexican idyll. I needn't explain to you, dear readers, of all people, how miserable one can find oneself without a carefully selected stack of books sitting on the night table waiting to be read! There are in fact a few lovely little English language used books stores around town and I will soon make my way over to find some books to read...but of course they won't be the exact books I WANT to read WHEN I want to read them! So before I go, I thought I would share with you the books I have been reading. Back to Ken Follett, when he is in form, he is among the best storytellers. And he is definitely in form in "World Without End". The story is set in Kingsbridge, the same town as in Pillars. The main characters are descendants of the characters in Pillars.....remember Tom Builder? It is 1015 pages of delightful reading.....the only problem for me was that it was very heavy to hold at the beach.....I know, you are all feeling very sorry for me......
I am excited to tell you about a discovery. I have been quite taken with a few novels written by Ariana Franklin, especially "The Mistress of the Art of Death". I recommended this book in one of my earlier newsletters. Well, while doing some research on Arianna Franklin I discovered that it is the nom de plume of Diana Norman, a British historian of some repute. She wrote a trilogy of historical fiction that takes place during the American Revolutionary War period. "A Catch of Consequence", "Taking Liberties" and "The Sparks Fly Upward" are set in the American colonies, England and France. Don't be put off by the cheesy covers of these trade paperbacks. This is seriously good reading. The heroine, who is with us in all three books, is Makepeace Burke, a fiercely independent, strong willed tavern owner in Boston. The day after a riot in response to the Stamp Act, Makepeace leaves her tavern to access the damage. She spies something that looks like a body floating in the Charles River. She takes out her little boat to investigate...."That's not to imply that Makepeace was a gentle woman. She wasnt; she just hated waste, and unnecessary death was wasteful". Her 'catch' was a titled Englishman who changes her life and instigates three volumes of drama, passion, intrigue and danger. These book are funny and heartbreaking. The clash of cultures in the first volume is priceless. Volume two, "Taking Liberties" is a bit hard to find. Not to worry, Gary can track it down for you. Don't miss these delightful books. As it turns out, these are not just for women....my husband RIchard enjoyed all three citing the fine writing and historical accuracy. There is limited availability on these books...so get your copy now. Note: Ariana Franklin's new book, "The Serpent's Tale" is in bookstores January 31..... can't wait!
You know, there is really no one out there now writing like Michael Chabon. He is quite amazing. I heard him speak at an out of town bookstore and he explained how he first creates his worlds...maps and all (kind of like Tolkein) and then he peoples it. He certainly did that brilliantly with "The Yiddish Policeman's Union", which I am sure you have read endless reviews of (I know, I ended my sentence with a preposition. I just couldn't get it to sound right otherwise...it was too stilted. Please forgive me.) It was a unique and in many ways, a chilling read.
However, what I really want to talk about is his charming novella called "Gentlemen of the Road". This book appeared originally as installments in the Sunday New York Times Magazine. I guess that is the reason why each chapter ends as a complete cliffhanger. So the time is tenth century in Khazaria, a fabled kingdom of wild red-headed Jews on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The gentlemen of the title are the pale and rail thin Zelikman and Amram, a gray haired giant Nubian. They are con men who work the Silk Road. They get unwillingly and unwittingly caught up with Filaq, the head strong and unlikeable heir to the recently deposed king of the Khazars. The story is absolutely hilarious...it's a pulp adventure which features drunken Vikings, marauding armies, prostitutes and, oh yes, can't forget the rampaging elephants! Escapism at its best...written by the best.
On an more serious and tragic note is "Night of Sorrows" by Francs Sherwood. Set in the twilight of the Aztec empire, this love story and adventure story mixes fictional characters with historical ones to portray a time of horrific violence and savagery in the 'Empire of the Sun: Tenochtitlan'.....what we know as Mexico City. Ms. Sherwood portrays the clash of civilizations that formed the New World....and let me tell you that Cortes was no angel! We are introduced to a young Indian girl named Malintzin (Malinche) who was at times an Indian princess, a slave to another Indian tribe, a slave to the Spanish, lover of Cortes and ultimatley his spokesperson before none other than Moctezuma. Actually, before I saw Laura Esquivel's book "Malinche", I have to admit I had never heard of her....but she was a real person and in fact, Moctezuma used the term 'malinche' when speaking to Cortes and Malinche later became one of the names the Aztecs used for Cortes. Ms. Sherwood viivdly brings to life an exotic period in Central American history in a very colorful and literary adventure. Needless to say, it was particularly enjoyable reading it in Mexico!
I guess I am experiencing my wanderlust vicariously as I realize that every book I have read and recommended lately is in a different country in a different time period. ....Oh! To be able to travel across centuries as well as oceans! In any event, we now move to Greece in the years leading up to WWII through the present day. Victoria Hislop has given us a gem of a novel in "The Island". Up until the late fifties, there was a leper colony off of the coast of Crete where all the Greeks who were infected with leprosy were sent to live....and never return. That island was called Spinalonga and apparently can be visited today by boat from Crete. Although this book seems to follow the standard family saga....in this case, four generations of the Petrakis family who haunt young Alexis who then decides to head off to Greece to discover her family secrets. The formula stops there......Ms. Hislop, whose prose will not necessarily take your breath away, develops her characters so completely that they will stay with you long after you finish the book. The fascinating details of life on both islands, Crete and Spinalonga were spellbinding. The heartache and devastation of the life sentence of a diagnosis of leprosy honestly reduced me to tears. There is the intriguing side story of the doctor whose research sheds new light on the disease. There must be another way to describe a 'page turner' short of this shop worn phrase. While I try to figure that out, read this book!
Now we go to Ireland with Anne Enright's "The Gathering", which won the Man Booker Prize for 2007. In many ways, this is the typical Irish novel......dark, depressing and stunningly crafted. Family (10 siblings, of course), death and dying, 'the drink', madness, unreliable memories, disappointments and the perfidy of England swirl around the middle child, Veronica, as she has the grim job of bringing her elder brother Liam's body back to Ireland for burial. There are old family secrets that come to light, there is Veronica's current marital situation (also bleak) and a myriad of other relevations as the family gathers for the wake. At this point, you may be asking yourself why I would be recommending this book...it sounds absolutely dreadful. Well, it certainly was not the most pleasant of books...BUT a book I was very glad that I had read (after I finished). The reason? Very simply, Ms. Enright's haunting and often beautiful prose. There is something about those Irish writers.......
Well, much to my surprise....see paragraph one.....I went to one of the local bookstores and bought and read a gem of a book! It is called "The Hummingbird's Daughter" by Luis Alberto Urrea. Based on the life of Urrea's great-aunt Teresa and set in the tumultuous years leading up to the Mexican Revolution, this book has one foot, as it were, grounded in the gritty realities of ranch life in the state of Sonora and the other foot in the realm of Catholic magical mysticism. Teresa was the illegitimate daughter of a fourteen year old Indian and Tomas, the philandering patron of the estate. Recognizing her intelligence and her seventh sense, Huila, the local medicine woman, trained her in the healing arts. Teresita was also taken into her father's house where she was cleaned up, put into Spanish clothing and learned to read and write. After a horrific and traumatic experience, she appeared to have died..... days in a coma, being washed and laid out in her coffin for a wake....she suddenly sat up and asked what's going on. After that, her powers of healing became fierce as did her fame around the north of Mexico. All the while, Porfirio Diaz was losing his grip on the country.....to the point of even feeling threatened by a 19 year old healer. Urrea's vivid descriptions of the Mexican landscape are breathtaking. There is a great amount of humor in this book as well. Well researched and clearly written from the heart, this is a loving story of Saint Teresa de Cabora. It was most interesting to do a bit of research online after I finished reading this dazzling novel.
2007 Newsletters
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