A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

With all the stress, strife, and struggles of everyday life, it is a welcome relief to read a charming book like A Redbird Christmas. I am not usually fond of the Hallmark style feel-good story, but for some reason this novel really resonated with me. 

Oscar T. Campbell, a divorced alcoholic living in Chicago is given the news by his doctor that he barely has a year to live due to the fact that he suffers from terrible emphysema and other organ failures. He is counseled to move south where it is warmer and where he can possibly extend his life. The doctor gives him a brochure for a residential home that may accommodate his needs. After making a few calls, he is informed that the hotel has long since been gone and there really isn't another suitable place. However, he is given the name of a person who may be able to help him. And she did, offering to give him room and board for $20/week, which fits in nicely with his pension. 

And so he moves to the tiny Alabama town of Lost River, where the residents are friendly beyond belief. He settles in and, although he keeps to himself, the single ladies of the village are all quite interested in this single man who has moved into the community. He becomes friends with the storekeeper (groceries and sundries), Roy, who has taken under his wing a wounded redbird, whom he names Jack. Jack has free reign over the store and becomes a central character and the one for whom the title draws its name. 

Enter Patsy, an orphan given up by her father to a step-mother and a tiny waif. Patsy bonds with Jack and the two even put on shows together. Midway through the novel, Patsy's step-mother abandons her to the care of the townspeople, who are glad to take care of her. The second part of the book centers around Patsy and the need for her to have orthopedic surgery for which the residents of Lost River pay. 

The myriad characters, their compassion and bonding with each other are central to the book. After a tragedy with Jack ensues, they witness a real Christmas miracle that solidifies for the readers that there is still good in the world. Fannie Flagg has written a dear book, filled with humor, a bit of melancholy, and an ending that will take a twist. Included, also, are a number of recipes for dishes that are served in the book.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

When I first heard about the premise of the book, it seemed like it was going to be a rollicking comedy. Completely missed the mark on that. Indeed, it was humorous in parts, but the overriding them spoke volumes about the rights of people and how far a government can go to regulate its constituents - quite relevant today. The novel takes the form of letters between two cousins, Ella Minnow Pea and Tassie, as well as others associated with the families.

In the middle of the town on an independent island, Nollop,  off the coast coast of South Carolina. The island is devoted to Nevin Nollop, the creator of the phrase, "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." The sentence is memorialized by a series of tiles on a monument to Nollop. All is well on the island until the letter z drops from the monument. The High Island Council decides that this is an omen and that Nollop has desired the inhabitants to eliminate the letter from all written and spoken dialog. If a citizen used a word containing that letter, then punishment would be inflicted, escalating at each transgression. Not only did this have far reaching effects on the people, but the library had to purge any books with z. 

As the novel progresses, so do the number of tiles that fall from the statue, creating quite a dilemma for all. Substitute words have to be invented and the islanders become more frustrated and irate at the authoritarian tactics of the council. An underground resistance movement is founded with the goal to find a shorter sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet so that the council might realize that the tiles falling does not indicate the desire of Nollop to forbid words that contained them. A journalist, Nate Warren, arrives at the island hoping to lend scientific evidence of the reason the tiles are dropping off. Meanwhile, the letters keep getting more enigmatic as Dunn is under the constraint of coming up with words that contain only the approved letters. 

The wordplay throughout the novel is brilliant and puts the reader through his/her paces in deciphering words. This lends humor and farce to the read. However, it like Animal Farm, is political satire, examining how much the freedom of expression of the citizenry can be restricted - book burning and shuttering of libraries. Ella is a strong woman and she perseveres to find a solution. It was a quick, enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
 

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

Miss Benson's Beetle is a curious novel with some very serious themes. It was chosen as the June selection for the book club and met with mixed reviews at the book discussion. Moments of sheer humor and joy were countered with the tragedy of loss and despair. 

As a young child Margery Benson was fascinated as her father shared with her a book on beetles. She was intrigued by the Golden Beetle of New Caledonia, which no one had been able to find. Fast forward 30 years and she is a frumpy spinster domestic science teacher at a private school. She had lost her brothers to World War I, her father to suicide after he learned of their deaths. At that point she was raised by her mother and two aunts, who in 1950, the time of the novel, had all passed away. After an incident in one of her classes where she intercepted a student's note calling her "Virgin Margery." she decides to take matters into her hands and set off in search of the Golden Beetle. She posts an ad for someone to accompany her on the journey and expedition. After meeting the responders, she dismisses them, especially a Mr. Mundic, a former POW, who seems to have some serious issues probably from suffering from PTSD.  In the end she decided on a woman, Enid Pretty, who could not spell and whom she never met. 

The two women begin their journey in a comedic and nearly unbelievable way from the train station outside London to the ocean liner, Orion, to Brisbane and then New Caledonia. It is then on to the quest for the Golden Beetle, referenced by Darwin, but never found by him or other scientists. From the very beginning there is something extremely suspicious about Enid Pretty who is quite protective of a red valise with the initials N.C. on it. Through sea sickness, lost luggage, missing equipment, eels, cyclones, and a spiteful consulate's wife, the two persevere and become better friends than either could have imagined. Enter Mr. Mundic into the equation and the situation becomes more suspenseful and traumatic. 

In the end, the reader is impressed by the growth and resilience of the two women as they survive in the jungles of New Caledonia. The women realize early on that they are on their own and do not owe anything to men, a truly feminist theme throughout. Margery does not want to be that woman who waits hand over foot on men. She is feeling her own worth, as many women started to do in the post-war years. She had a dream and she meant to fulfill it at all costs. Rachel Joyce gives Margery Benson the fortitude to be a "woman who is ready for adventure. I’m not here because I am someone's wife or sister. I am here because this is what I want, and now I have a place for my work." With the strength of writing and development of each of the main characters' personalities, it is not likely that a reader will forget Margery and Enid, almost as a movie goer will not forget Thelma and Louise. 

 
 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The hostess for the December book club meeting usually picks a lighter book because we are all caught up in the holiday preparations. The Rosie Project was definitely a light read with servings of hilarity, hubris, insights into the world of autism.

Don Tillman is a professor of genetics in Melbourne, Australia, who has decided that he would like to be married. Hence, he and his best friend Gene devise the Wife Project, composing a questionnaire to filter out or in good candidates. With all his idiosyncrasies, due in part to being on the autism spectrum, it is virtually impossible. He goes to a speed dating event where he meets a few women, but none to measure up to his requirements of a non-smoker, non-drinker, acceptable BMI, and good looking.  But then he meets Rosie Jarman, whom he believes was sent to him by Gene. But actually, she was a doctoral student who was doing a study on the relationship of testicle size and monogamy. He makes reservations at a very upscale restaurant, but then gets into a wrestling match with the owner when he doesn't comply with the dress code of wearing a jacket. The incident leads to a dinner at Don's house and the reader senses a connection that will develop. 

Rosie shares with Don her desire to know who her biological father is. The Wife Project then becomes the Father project and the two embark on a quest to match her DNA with numbers of paternal candidates. This leads to a number of comical adventures and even a trip from Melbourne to New York. In the identity of her father is revealed and Don and Rosie come to an agreement about their on and off relationship. 

Despite the humorous under and overtones of the novel, there are some serious themes that permeate the fabric of the book. Both Don and Rosie have had to overcome adversity in their lives. He has had to try to overcome the traits that Asberger's has dealt and she life without her mother who was killed in a car accident when she was young. Overriding all the action is the search for love and the sacrifice to achieve a fulfilling life. When Don agrees to put aside some of his obsessive traits like the Standardized Meal System and his beloved T-shirts, one knows that he is serious about changing his way of life to be attractive to Rosie.

It was a delightful read, seemingly light, but with some serious issues and topics that become apparent to the reader as the book ends.


 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Oh, what a fun read this was! Eleanor Oliphant is a character that one is not likely to forget soon. The combination of wit, mystery, empathy, and tragedy all come together in this novel set in London in 2017. 

Eleanor is a 30 year old account specialist for a firm in London. Her life is very routine as she goes to work Monday through Friday and a reclusive weekend with a bottle of vodka, Chianti, and a pizza that she picks up on her way home from work. On Wednesdays she has her weekly chat with Mummy. But then on her way home one day she and a co-worker, Ray, come to the rescue of a man who has passed out on the street. They accompany Sam to the hospital and develop a friendship with him. They meet his family and are treated as hero and heroine. They even are invited to family birthday parties and weddings. 

 Eleanor has some secrets, one that would explain the scar on her face. Because of her desire to keep to herself, she is totally clueless as to social situations. She knows little about buying clothes or style whether it is make up or hair. As the novel is written in the first person, the reader is privileged to know Eleanor's thoughts. She is smitten, as a teenager might be, with an aspiring rock musician, who is nasty and untalented. Her attendance at one of his gigs throws her into the depths of darkness. This forces Eleanor to face her past and to work through those events that have so shaped her personality and life. 

 The players are well-developed and for the most part quite likeable. Ray is a compassionate and caring person despite his eating and smoking habits. Eleanor's boss, Bob, cares about his employee and keeps her best interest about the company's. The setting in London evokes mind pictures of transport by the tube, shopping at Tesco, and British description and humor. 

There were times that I felt like I was watching This is Us. Breadcrumb clues were dropped all along the way that were to give the reader more of an idea of the life of Eleanor Oliphant. In the end Honeyman reveals to the reader and to Eleanor what has happened to her. There, as to be expected, a very surprising twist at the book's conclusion. A wonderful and satisfying read and a character who could possibly see a sequel. 

Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress

December for the The Gables Book Club always means a light read, usually humorous. Crazy in Alabama certainly was no exception to this rule. Yet as funny as this novel was, it was at the same time serious and disturbing. Set in 1965 at the height of the Civil Rights struggle in the American south, Childress fills his book with acts and deeds that leave the reader in disbelief.

Crazy in Alabama is really two stories, not intertwined, but loosely connected. It opens with Lucille showing up at her mother's home with her six children and depositing them there so that she can head to Hollywood to audition and make an appearance on The Beverly Hillbillies. Her mother already has charge of two other grandchildren who were orphaned - Peejoe and Wiley. As Lucille gets ready to depart she lets Peejoe in on a secret. She produces a green Tupperware lettuce keeper (every bride in the 70s got one of these) in which is the head of her husband, Chester. Chester was an abusive man who kept Lucille "barefoot and pregnant" by punching holes in her diaphragm.  Not able to take care of all of the children, Meemaw sends Peejoe and Wiley to live with their Uncle Dove and Aunt Earlene. Dove is an undertaker in Industry, Alabama, a town beset by racial conflict. Dove and Earlene have serious marital issues compounded by his drinking. However, he is a man of reason and compassion and does his best to be an example to the boys. 

Lucille travels to Hollywood leaving in her path a plethora of murders and sexual conquests. She has picked up a haute couture hatbox in which she keeps the lettuce keeper and Chester. She hits the jackpot in Las Vegas and journeys on with her personal chauffeur and the hatbox that never leaves her side with Chester carrying on a conversation with her. Meanwhile, back in Alabama, racial tensions are palpable and when a young boy dies, the two sides are drawn into conflict and riots. This part of the novel is reminiscent of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird where justice is compromised. It would seem difficult to reconcile the two divergent story lines, but Childress makes it works. Childress says:

"Life would be impossibly tragic if we weren't able to laugh at it. And a life of nothing but laughter would come to seem silly and empty if there wasn't always something darker lurking ahead down the road, something to laugh in the face of."

Mark Childress infuses Crazy in Alabama with iconic personalities of the '60s. There are the Civil Rights notables of Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Wallace, the Hollywood luminaries like Cary Grant, Bob and Dolores Hope, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Gregory Peck and Soupy Sales. The novel creates its its own playlist of songs from the era with classics like Cannibal and the Head Hunters' Land of 1000 Dances, Brenda Lee's - Emotions, Petula Clark's - Downtown, and Herman and the Hermits' Missus Brown you've got a Lovely Daughter. He drops TV show names liberally: Have Gun Will Travel,
Gunsmoke, Ben Casey, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock, Patty Duke Show, and The Danny Kaye Show. 

The book was great fun, although sobering at the same time. The movie starring Melanie Griffith and directed by Antonio Banderas was entertaining enough, but not nearly as deep and satisfying as the book. It was a good December read. 

The Cursing Mommy's Book of Days by Ian Frazier

Ian Frazier has been a columnist for the New Yorker magazine among other jobs. He is well traveled and is has a particular interest in Russia, namely Siberia, as well as Native Americans of the west. The Cursing Mommy's Book of Days is based on his New Yorker column. If it were not for him speaking at the Monday nights Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, this reader would not have, most likely,  chosen the book to read. 

Though nameless, the Cursing Mommy, chronicles a hellacious year in her life and the life of her family: a pretty much worthless husband, who is more interested is collecting his capacitors; son Kyle who breaks out in hives when he is stressed out by going to school; son Trevor who is a bad seed with the habit of starting fires among other "prankish" behaviour; and her father, resident in a nursing home who just refuses to die. Impacting her life from outside the family are her husband's lecherous boss, her best friend who runs away with a poet leaving a husband and children behind, Trevor's therapist, her book club, and the school that seems to have been overtaken by a cult. 

Frazier captures the day-to-day frustrations of a wife and mother, albeit one who is also struggling with pill and alcohol addiction. As the Cursing Mommy recounts the events of her days, the reader can laugh and at the same time empathize with her. At some point every woman has had her thoughts. She offers Martha Stewart style hints for cooking and cleaning that pretty much end in disaster - a common thread throughout the book as is her frustration at those events that causes a proliferation of the F... word on the pages. If it is not cursing, then it is invoking the horrendous actions of the Bush/Cheney administration that is really to be blamed for all dire incidents. 

There were times when I was really enjoying Cursing Mommy, but then the amount of profanity really turned me off. I was annoyed that I had to read through all the F-bombs to get to the diary. When we heard Mr. Frazier lecture, he was even reticent about referring to the book because of all the expletives. His talk on Siberia, however, was most interesting and offered some quite hilarious commentary.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Published posthumously, A Confederacy of Dunces is the Pulitzer winning prize novel by John Kennedy Toole that recounts a few weeks in the life of Ignatius Reilly. Reilly is described in the novel

"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs. In the shadow under the green visor of the cap Ignatius J. Reilly's supercilious blue and yellow eyes looked down upon the other people waiting under the clock at the D.H. Holmes department store....."

He has been commemorated in New Orleans by a statue that stands in the city. And it's no wonder since he is one of the most memorable characters in American contemporary literature. The book is both comedic and tragic at the same time because of the escapades of Reilly.

by Natalie Maynor on Flickr

Ignatius is a bafoonlike person who lives with his mother in New Orleans. He is educated, but cannot keep a job, a major bone of contention with his mother. He is plagued with flatulence and general malaise. To his credit, he does try to get a job and lands one first as a file clerk in the Levy Pants factory, and then as a hot dog vendor for Paradise hot dogs. Each one ends as a result of an episode of lunacy on Reilly's part as well as the supporting cast of characters.  We look in on these episodes through a window of Ignatius Reilly's mind. He gives us insight into his actions through prolific journals that he keeps. 

Surrounding Ignatius are a plethora of characters  that beg to be caricatured. His mother, drunk much of the time still drives and gets into an accident that results in her having to pay major damages. The urgency for Ignatius to get a job is acerbated because of this incident. The Night of Joy is the watering hole of choice run by Lana Lee who is also head of a pornography ring. Then there is Patrolman Mancuso, who believes Ignatius is a pervert and attempts to arrest him. Mancuso himself is the object of his sergeant's wrath and spends days locked up in a bathroom. Mancuso's aunt, Santa Battaglia, becomes close friends and is a bowling partner for Mrs. Reilly. She eventually plays matchmaker in setting up Ignatius' mother with Claude Robichaux. Robichaux believes Ignatius is crazy and advocates admitting him to Charity Hospital. Dorian Green is a flamboyant homosexual who throws extravagant parties. Ignatius wants him and his friends to join the armed forces to replace war with orgies. The Levys own Levy Pants and are the perfect of unconnected noveau rich who have come upon hard times. Finally, there is Myrna Minkoff. In contrast to Mrs. Reilly, she believes that sex is the answer to life's problems. She maintains a correspondence with Ignatius throughout encouraging him and in the end becomes a salvation for him.

 This novel did not engage me at first. However, as I got to know Ignatius and the other members of the novel's cast, I became totally caught up in the escapades. The pictures that race through your mind are clearly painted by the command of words and skillful articulation of description by Toole. At times I thought I was watching episodes of Seinfeld - a series of events that may or may not be connected. Funny, but sad, too. I felt sorry for Ignatius at the same time I was laughing at him. A Confederacy of Dunces  deserves a second read - if only I had the time.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

As much as I have read about the England and the monarchy, I really never thought about the reading habits of the Queen. Bennett explores this concept in a novella that is full of Briticisms and humor.  The Uncommon Reader is the Queen who, upon discovering a mobile library outside the palace grounds, chooses a book out of courtesy and becomes nearly obsessed with her new found literary pastime. She reads in her carriage on the way to the opening of Parliament and as she travels from palace to palace. She even feigns a "sick day" to be able to finish a book. Eventually, she and her staff realize how much time is being spent on the activity and try to find a new way for her to channel her energies.

This was a very quick read, only 120 pages. However, it was chalk full of great lines and situations. Bennett parades a number of authors and works through the Queen's library including Henry James, about whom she remarks, "Am I alone,' she confides in her notebook, 'in wanting to give Henry James a good talking-to?'" But The Uncommon Reader is more than a humorous look at the British. It is a testimonial to the power of reading: it changes lives, it allows one to expand horizons and to vicariously experience worlds far and near. A great read and perfect for a rainy afternoon. All one needs is a cup of tea to complete the experience.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

We are magically transported back to the 1960s in Gary Schmidt's Newbery Honor book, The Wednesday Wars. It is September of 1967 and Holling Hoodhood is starting the 7th grade. He is the only Presbyterian in a class of Catholic and Jewish students and consequently has no place to go when the rest of his class leaves on Wednesdays to go to religious education classes. It is then that he decides that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. She first has him doing very meaningless chores like cleaning blackboards and erasers. (How many remember cleaning erasers against a brick wall?) But when that doesn't work out as she plans, she decides that he will begin reading Shakespeare. Total proof that she hates him.

Schmidt craftily weaves the Shakespearean plays into Holling's life both in and out of school. He becomes totally involved in the plays and realizes that the Bard speaks to junior high boys as well as English teachers. Holling even joins a community group and plays Ariel in the local theatre production. Needless to say he suffers some repercussions from this decision. 1967-1968 were tumultuous years with the Viet Nam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, atomic bomb drills, and the peace movements. They were also the years of Ralph Houck's Yankees and we meet so many of the memorable players of those years like Mel Stottlemyre, Mickey Mantle and Joe Pepitone. There are numerous other subplots involving Holling's father's architectural firm, his sister's running away from home, classmates, and Mrs. Baker's husband who is a soldier in Viet Nam. We get much of the news from the venerable Walter Cronkite.

This book is a gem and well deserving of the Newbery Honor. It is funny, no actually hilarious, and thought-provoking. It is a shame that the cover does not do the inside of the book justice. It is not enticing and that is a definite shame. Read this book and have a thoroughly enjoying experience. For classroom teachers, it begs to be read aloud. Have fun on a trip back in time!