Unrelenting Sadness and Deprivation

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is a memoir of Frank's childhood in NYC and Limerick, Ireland. It is very well written, drawing you into his life in vivid detail. It was as if I was watching a movie, not reading, seeing each setting, each person in amazing detail. It makes me want to read about what happened in his life when he returned to America as a young man.
     McCourt's story is an almost stereotypical description of the Irish drunk father, the long-suffering mother, one child born after another, with survival being a miracle, an exception to the rule. The horrible living conditions, the relentless hunger, the eventual turn to stealing for survival all contribute to a picture of a life of barely surviving. In these conditions, Frank attended school, contended with bullying, with mean-spirited adults in his life who unrelentingly told him in every way that he was no good, not worth keeping alive, a sinner doomed to hell. The few adults who were kind or encouraging shone like a beacon in the never-ending grayness of his existence.
     It is a miracle that Frank survived. I am so curious how he became a writer. Was there further education? What work did he initially find when he returned to America. My next book is Tis by Frank McCourt, the story of his early years in America.

Book Review, Book Review, Book Review

I am catching up on 3 books I have read in the last 6 weeks, for which I have not yet written reviews. Hold on to your seat-belt. These are all review copies from NetGalley. I have received no payment beyond the free book.

Number One: The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind. by Michio Kaku, a physicist who is interested in the mind, and a knack for describing complex concepts in simple, basic terms. I give this a 4 star rating. I refrain from a 5 star because it is simply so beyond my ability to fully evaluate that I really can't tell if it deserves 5 stars.
     I have a very minimal science background, so I struggled at times to wrap my mind around Kaku's explanations of how the brain, machines and/or manipulations of the brain happen/work. I felt I was reading a critique of SciFi concepts of the past that have now come true, and, SciFi concepts of the present that are beginning to come true.     I am a counselor by training and experience, so I am very interested in how the mind works. Kaku's explorations into the functioning of a brain with schizophrenia,  how memories can be erased, healed or implanted, and ways in which the MRI has so vastly expanded how we understand the brain caused my mind to swirl with SF concepts from the past, now coming true.
     I found the concepts to be very dense: I had to read slowly to grasp the concept being presented, but I felt it was well worth the effort. I will probably never fully understand what Kaku shared, but I am abuzz with the hope and possibilities of what we can understand, repair and enhance in the realm of brain functioning.
     I appreciated the fact that Dr. Kaku addressed some of the ethically questions being raised now and will be raised in the future. I kept thinking that "if the bad guys get ahold of this stuff we will be doomed". I had flashes of James Bond movies flashing through my mind.
     If you are interested in the functioning of the brain, research in how to enhance our brain function, and theories about what causes certain problems with the brain, this book is for you. It is written in plain English and technical concepts are explained very well. And discussions on what it all means for the future of human kind is very thought-provoking.

Number Two: The Here and Now by Anne Brashares. This is a SciFi story, a romantic story, a mystery and a lesson in ecological disaster. Prenna and her mother belong to a strict community of immigrants where the rules are stringent and harshly enforced. 
     When Prenna first arrived, a young boy, Ethan, sees her, disoriented and confused. Several years later they are in high school together, but she has no memory of having met him. He does remember, and he becomes interested in finding out more about her. He tries to befriend her, and Prenna is torn. She wants to get to know people in her community and she is very drawn to Ethan, but The Rules strictly forbid it.
    Saying more would spoil it for those who read it, but it is an excellent story, creatively composed, interesting characters, with unexpected twists and turns. It is also a treatise on the consequences of not caring for our planet. I highly recommend this book.

Number Three: Far Gone by Laura Griffin 
     This story is a fast-paced race against time. Detective Andrea Fitch is determined to find out what her brother has gotten himself involved in, and FBI Agent Jon North is determined to find out her brother's contribution to a terrorist ring. As many romance stories go, Andrea and Jon fight and blunder until the sexual tension drives them into bed, against their better judgement. 
    The plot is timely, believable and intriguing, but Detective Fitch drove me crazy with one impulsive, self-destructive move after another. Ms Griffin was a bit too repetitive for my taste, making the same point several times to make sure the reader "got it". I am used to mysteries and suspense, and Ms Griffin is known for romance novels, so that may account to the stylistic dislike on my part. I prefer more egalitarian relationships than the head-strong impulsive woman being saved by the handsome FBI agent.

Well, here are some ideas for summer reading. 

Local Customs by Audrey Thomas

Local Customs is a story set in the 1830's and is based on true events. 

Letitia Landon is a lady of limited means who has turned her love of writing into a way of supporting her family, gaining a certain amount of notoriety in her time. She has enjoyed an active social life, but as she reaches age 36, becomes concerned that she will end up an old woman living alone with her cat.
In walks George Maclean, home on leave from his position as the governor of Cape Coast Castle on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana). In very short order, they marry, and leave for the Gold Coast. Letty dies within 8 weeks of arriving in Africa. She does not have any obvious illness, insect or snake bite, but everyone has a theory about what happened.
This book is written from the viewpoint of Letty, after she has died, and several of the people around her, including George, her female companion, a local missionary, and another governor in the area. Some people did not like the style of moving from one person to another, but I liked "seeing" the situation from different points of view.
I found the book well-written and fascinating in the descriptions of the times, ideas, beliefs and behaviors. It also reinforced  my wonder at how colonial countries could really believe they were "improving" the lives of the people they conquered.
I give it a 4 Star rating. If you like historic settings, and novels based on real events and people, you will enjoy this book. I personally did not like that a definitive answer was not given as to how Letty died, but that's my personal hang-up for leaving things hanging. 
Enjoy!

Trans-Siberian Express or Who is Watching Whom?

I received an advanced review copy of Trans-Siberian Express by Warren Adler through Netgalley. I have not received any other compensation.


This book was originally released in 1977, and re-released this past Dec as a Kindle book. It is a story of the cat and mouse game between the three world powers: USA, the Soviet Union and China. And most of the story takes place on the train, a seemingly confining space. But as the train rumbles across Russia and Siberia, the tension builds.

Dr. Alex Cousins is asked by the President to go to Russia to treat Soviet Politburo Chief, Viktor Moiseyevich Dimitrov, who has leukemia. Dr Cousins is uniquely qualified as a renowned doctor specializing in blood illnesses, and descendant of a Russian immigrant from Siberia, and was raised fluent in Russian. He is asked to treat Dimitrov to prolong his life as long as possible, and find out what plans Dimitrov has made as his final official act.

I do not want to expose the various lines of intrigue,  but the book is well written, the characters interesting, complex and evolve as the story progresses. A great deal of history is woven into the story, reminding me of my childhood and young adult years as the balance of power was carefully maintained. 

I had the privilege of visiting St Petersburg and Moscow in the summer of 1994, during Glasnost. We took a night train from St Petersburg to Moscow. The ever present samovar was present in the corridor, but no one was making tea or heating the water. There was no matron to clean the compartments, but there were plenty of soldiers walking up and down the train. My ride on the Russian train added a great deal to my experience of this book. 
I highly recommend this book. There is intrigue, hide&seek, love/lust, dreams and desolation. It is an excellent vehicle for young people to feel the tension of Soviet Russia in all it's complexities, and for us older folks to remember.

When Molly Met Cameron

What Nora Knew is a fun romp through romance. Molly is nearing 40, divorced, and a writer, working for an on-line magazine EyeSpy. She is dating a bland man that she can rely on but who does not set her heart palpitating. She has been such a failure at love, that she has decided that there is no such thing as a "soul mate" or "true love", But she sees it all around her and can't figure out why love doesn't come her way.
If you love Nora Ephron movies (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seatle, etc...) you will enjoy the razzle-dazzle repartee' through the New York City love-scape. It is not an in-depth character study. But it is a fast-paced, fun look at love. Enjoyable, it is worth the time if you are looking for a witty diversion for your reading choice.

Wives of the Bomb

I received a review copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for publishing a review. I have no connection to the publisher or the author. This is my true perspective.

The Wives of Los Alamos: A Novel by TaraShea Nesbit

This is not so much a novel as it is a catalogue about the experiences and feelings and perspectives of the wives of the scientists that lived in secret isolation while they built the atomic bomb. I have a small personal interest since the pastor of my church in the early 70's was a graduate student who worked on this project. His PhD thesis was so highly classified that his review committee was not permitted to read it, and therefore, he never received his PhD.
The information is interesting, enlightening, and part of our national story that needs to be preserved. This book was not my cup of tea because it wasn't a narrative. It told a story in what felt like a fairly impersonal, at times choppy, manner. I would have preferred a more traditional novel. I am interested in character development more than a list of facts and feelings. Some are calling this book ground-breaking, and the use of the "collective we" perspective innovating. So I want to emphasize that my disappointment is not echoed by all previewers.
I kept thinking about how I would have felt if I had been in the wives' shoes. I love the southwest, but I have visited for 20 years before buying our retirement home in AZ. If I were in my mid-20's, with small children, and no friends or family near me, I would have found that very painful. Add the secrecy and the deprivation living conditions, I am sure I would have struggled to remain loyal to the project or my husband. No matter what your perspective on the creation of the atomic bomb, the sacrifices made by the scientists and families was strenuous and deserves attention.

Flavia de Luce

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia de Luce Novel

This is the 6th book in the Flavia de Luce series. Flavia is an 11 year old, eccentric, genius chemist. She lives with her father and two sisters in the family estate owned by her mother, Harriet, who disappeared in Tibet 10 years earlier, while on a mission draped in mystery.

This book opens as Harriet's remains are returned to the crumbling estate. Her body was found frozen in the Himalayas in Tibet. And now the government is bring her home, including Winston Churchill. Flavia cannot imagine what her mother had been doing when she died that would warrant the former prime minister to be involved.

As the family is moving from the train platform to the waiting limo, a tall stranger falls from the platform and is crushed by a train. As Flavia reaches his body, he whispers a strange message that makes no sense to her. "The Gamekeeper is in danger."

Flavia retreats to her beloved uncle's chemistry lab, that has been her refuge as far back as she can remember. She is initially focused on finding a way to bring her mother back to life. Flavia has finagled to stand vigil with her mother in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep so that she can be alone to try her idea for reviving Harriet. In preparation she opens the coffin, and sees her mother for the first time in her memory. She reaches inside her mother's frozen coat and discovers an oilcloth wallet containing her will. Then she hears a commotion in the hallway outside her mother's room. She hides her items under the catafalque holding her mother, and sneaks out through the door into her father's bedroom.  Agents from the Home Office take over the vigil, and Flavia can no longer gain access to her mother's body.

To go any further with the plot outline would ruin the story for those who haven't yet read the book.

I am a huge Flavia de Luce fan and hope others will enjoy these well written, creative and often funny adventures of Flavia. But The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches is a huge departure from the previous 5 books. This story is much darker with excruciating sadness. This is not the Flavia without a care in the world trying to find useful ways to exercise her genius curiosity. This book explains many family secrets only hinted at in previous books. It ties up loose ends. It feels as if it is the end of an era, and possibly the end of the series. I sincerely hope that Mr. Bradley will continue the series with new adventures as Flavia grows and matures. But if he doesn't, it has been a grand journey!

Though this book can probably stand alone, the richness of the characters will be lost if you haven't read the series. Start at the beginning and work up to this 6th installment. For those who have read the earlier books, wild horses won't keep them away from this book.