Spring Potpourri

I can hardly believe that I haven't posted in over a month, and I had been doing so good up until April. All I can do is claim the usual -- busy at work, lots of family stuff, trying to get the garden in, yada, yada, yada. But even though I haven't been posting, I have been reading and logged some great books.

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson - I put this book on my TBR list shortly after it came out in 2010, but only got a copy of it last Xmas. It was absolutely wonderful, epic, in fact. I really never knew about the migration of African Americans from the South to the North, Midwest, and West, so this was basic history for me. 

Wilkerson did a marvelous job of providing appropriate background, contextual information alongside of the stories of the three people she profiled in detail, Ida Mae Gladney who ended up in Chicago, George Starling who ended up in NYC, and Robert Foster who ended up in LA. At times the narrative read like fiction, but it was all the more poignant knowing that these were real lives, real heartache, real danger, real courage that was being chronicled and preserved. 

Wilkerson's latest book, Caste, has been getting a lot of buzz, and I fully intend to read it, hopefully sooner rather than later.

The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog, by W. Bruce Cameron - really enjoyed this fictional, imaginative account of how the first wolf became a dog. Set thirty thousand years ago, between ice ages, it's the story of three tribes, the Kindred, the Wolfen, and the Cohorts. At first, I found it a bit forced but surrendered to the willing suspension of disbelief and enjoyed Cameron's characters and how they lived, hunted, loved, married, raised their families, fought, and dreamed. And, of course, I loved the wolves, and the sweet wolf puppy who was the first dog. The novel ends with the narrator asking, "what comes next?" Smells like a sequel to me.

Edge of Eternity, by Ken Follett - this is book three in Follett's 20th century trilogy, and it covers the Cold War and Civil Rights, from the end of WWII to the fall of the Berlin Wall. I love Follett's historical novels--they have everything, history, interrelated, multi-generation family sagas, and a peephole into the room "where it happened." 

Acqua Alta, by Donna Leon - I'm rereading Leon's Guido Brunetti series set in Venice, and this was an excellent reread. A bit of archeology, a bit of opera, a bit of the Brunetti family at home, and a lot of navigating the streets and canals of Venice. 

La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind, by Beppe Severgnini - I absolutely loved watching the CNN series with Stanley Tucci eating his way through Italy, and in the Milano episode he spent some time with Beppe Severgnini, who he described as a first-rate commentator on Italian culture. Being a fan of all things Italian, I decided to read something by him. It is a short book and one that I read slowly, just a few pages a night. It's interesting, amusing, tongue-in-cheek some of the time, and quotable much of the time.

The Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II, by Liza Mundy - definitely a 5-star non-fiction book. I loved reading about the women, the various methods of code breaking, what life was like in the US during WWII, and how impactful was the work they did. I think this book would make an excellent mini-series, either as a documentary or as the basis for a fictionalized drama. 

Mid-Month Update

I am loving September - the days are warm, the nights are cool, the tomatoes are ripe, and the raspberries are abundant!

Travel - we did a quick weekend trip to Port Townsend, WA for the 43rd annual Wooden Boat Festival. It was wonderful. Flew into Seattle--drove to Gig Harbor for lunch at NetShed #9, then drove up to Port Townsend. Checked into the lovely Palace Hotel (I think we got the last hotel room in town--must have been a cancellation because it was only 3 blocks from the festival dock), and then enjoyed the afternoon and evening. Had a great day on Saturday attending events, walking the docks, talking pictures, and enjoying the beautiful day. Drove back to Gig Harbor--had a fabulous dinner at Brix 25. Flew home to Colorado Sunday morning.  So much fun!

Here's what I've been reading...

Lavinia - my first Ursula Le Guin, very similar to Circe by Madeline Miller in that Le Guin tells the story of Lavinia, last wife of Aeneas, and a creation of Virgil who merely mentioned her in his story of Aeneas fleeing the aftermath of Troy and founding Rome. I enjoy seeing the women who are tangential to the mythic stories finally getting their day. I loved the relationship between Lavinia and the poet, and found her story of pre-Roman life on the Italian peninsula to be fascinating. I'm not a sci-fi fan, so I don't anticipate reading much of Le Guin, but this one was good.

Educated - memoir by Tara Westover, who told the story of her life growing up in a uber conservative Mormon home in Idaho with an abusive older brother, controlling parents, and a mountain on which she could roam at will. It was compelling and inspiring. Westover ended up educating herself with the help of BYU, Oxford, and Harvard. She is also a talented singer and I really enjoyed listening to her sing in a YouTube video that I found.

Fall of Giants - book one of Ken Follett's Century Trilogy, covering WWI through the experiences of a Welsh mining family, German and British aristocrats, Russian peasants, American politicians and journalists and gangsters. I enjoyed it immensely. It helped me wrap my head around the places and battles as well as the politics and societal stresses the marked the beginning of the 20th century. Follett is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. First rate storytelling against a huge backdrop. Definitely my kind of book. I fully intend to read the rest of the trilogy.

Hope you are enjoying this bridge month - as we shift to fall in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern.

Two big summer books: The Essex Serpent and World Without End

I participated again this year in the Big Book Summer Challenge, hosted by Sue at Book by Book.

Not only did I finish three marvelous big books as part of the challenge, but I also won the prize, a gift card at Amazon! Talk about the icing on the cake--and yes, I've already spent it on two books that I plan to read this fall: The Black Arrow, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by M.R. James. Thanks, Sue!

So my three big books were Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens, The Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry, and World Without End, by Ken Follett.

The Essex Serpent almost didn't make the cut to qualify as a big book, clocking in at 418 pages, but it did so I counted it. I picked up this book a year ago in the Manchester airport, waiting for my flight home after walking the Hadrian's Wall Path. I had heard about it and loved the cover and felt the premise had promise, and had a few extra pounds I needed to spend. So glad I picked it up as I really enjoyed it.

Here's part of the Amazon blurb:

When Cora Seaborne’s brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at nineteen, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.

 While admiring the sites, Cora learns of an intriguing rumor that has arisen further up the estuary, of a fearsome creature said to roam the marshes claiming human lives. After nearly 300 years, the mythical Essex Serpent is said to have returned, taking the life of a young man on New Year’s Eve. A keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, Cora is immediately enthralled, and certain that what the local people think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species. Eager to investigate, she is introduced to local vicar William Ransome. Will, too, is suspicious of the rumors. But unlike Cora, this man of faith is convinced the rumors are caused by moral panic, a flight from true belief.

 These seeming opposites who agree on nothing soon find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart—an intense relationship that will change both of their lives in ways entirely unexpected.

I loved so much about this novel--the weaving of science and folklore, the psychology of fear (not unlike the hysteria of Salem), and the interesting mix of characters. I particularly liked Stella Ransome, the wife of vicar William Ransome, and her yearning for blue things as she copes with the disease that is consuming her vitality. Once again, this book left me wanting to read about Charles Darwin--maybe next year!

World Without End by Ken Follett is the second in his Kingsbridge trilogy. I loved Pillars of the Earth, and World Without End picks up the story of Kingsbridge and its inhabitants 200 years later in the early 14th century, during the time of Edward III.

Whereas Pillars of the Earth focuses almost exclusively on the building of the cathedral, with some tangents into areas such as town building and the wool trade, World Without End has a variety of topics that are interrelated but fascinating in their own right. To name a few: the plague or Black Death, how the clergy and townspeople and villagers survived, and how it affected them (namely, more opportunities for people to rise socially, rid themselves of the yoke of serfdom, earn more and become more mobile); the interconnections of  European economy (i.e., the wool trade in England versus Florence); the beginning of the 100 Years War between France and England and how the tactics of the French were slow to adapt to developing warfare technology; and the always fascinating role of women and use of accusation of witchcraft as means of keeping smart women home and quiet.

All of that, plus a wonderful cast of characters and a tightly constructed plot that had political intrigue and that connected the main characters to each other throughout the long novel made for a wonderfully enjoyable historical romp in fictional Kingsbridge.

I will definitely finish the trilogy next year with Column of Fire, which takes place during Tudor times.

I've always really enjoyed Edward Rutherford's historical novels that track a few families in a specific location over the centuries. The criticism I and others have about these novels is that the stories of the individuals are really just short stories--you don't have time to really get to know and love them. Not so with this trilogy--you still get the family stories that span generations over the centuries, but at ~1000 pages each, you have ample time to get to know and love or loathe the characters.

Final note about World Without End--at times I did feel like Follett was recycling parts of Pillars of the Earth. For example, the main characters line up pretty well:
Pillars of Earth     World Without End     Trait
Lady Eliana           Caris Wooler               Strong, smart female with an incredible business saavy
Jack Builder          Merthin Fitzgerald      Wiry, smart male with an intuitive engineering sense
William Hamley    Ralph Fitzgerald         Thug of Shiring--given to rape, murder, vengeance, pride
Waleran Bigod      Godwyn/Philemon       Corrupted priest/prior/bishop - unscrupulous, thief

All that said, the story of Gwenda, Wilfric, and Annett was fresh and I was honestly and refreshingly surprised by how their story worked out at the end. Gwenda really was a great character and one of my favorites.

I'm not sure if I will watch the mini-series or not--I like faithful adaptations of books, and I've heard this one is not faithful. For one thing, it looks like they completely eliminated Philemon as a character.