The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy

The Wilderness was not a book for the faint of heart or for those whose minds work in a linear fashion. Following the friendships of four women with distinct personalities through two and a half decades of their lives, the novel is craftily and creatively written. Flournoy is a master of that style and at times leaves the reader scratching his/her head. 

The first friend to whom we are introduced is Desiree, who is accompanying her grandfather to Switzerland because he has made plans to end his life in a dignified way. They spend a couple of days in Paris before the journey to Switzerland giving him a chance to live out some dreams before his death. Desiree has a sister, Danielle, who had been kept in the dark about those plans and as a physician was not pleased at all. 

The other friends are Nakia, who has climbed the ranks to become a chef with her own restaurant, January, who spends a good deal of her life trying to find some direcion and who becomes a graphic designer with a financial backgroud. Finally, there is Monique, a librarian who has turned blogger and who preaches against book banning. There are also myriad characters who come in and out of their lives.

The book's setting goes back and forth between New York and Los Angelos and the time periods span 2002 through 2027, an interesting look into the now not too distant future. The women support each other through life-changing highs and lows, and confront the changing world sometimes successfully and other times not. Flournoy does not hide her contempt for those who are not sympathetic to the conditions in American cities, medical care, or attitude toward the LGBTQ+ community or those whose skin color is black or brown.  

 Although those themes play out through the book, the theme of friendship is the paramount one Florunoy expounds upon. The women rally around through the birth of children, award ceremonies and marital relationships. The ending is totally unexpected as Flournoy moves her novel to 2027. It was worth re-reading to understand its compelling action. 

 It was interesting to hear Angela Flournoy on 23 March 2026 when she spoke to the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures audience. Her explanation of how her brain works and how she can write a book with so many shifts in time and place, was enlightening. It does baffle one whose mind travels along a more linear route. 

Angela Flournoy

 

Angela Flournoy autographing my book

 

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick

Set in 1963, The Book Club for Troublesome Women, is one of those books that almost requires you to have some knowledge of time, place, mores, and cultural recognition. The four main characters, who live in the affluent community of Concordia, Maryland, are brought together as they form a book group. 

Bitsy is a 23 year old married to an older man who considers himself to be a very superior veterinarian. Charlotte is from a wealthy family and married to Howard, whom her father has selected as his son-in-law when Charlotte gets pregnant out of wedlock. Viv is a nurse with six children, married to Tony, a Pentagon official. Near the beginning of the book she discovers that she is pregnant with her 7th child. Finally, Margaret (Maggie) Ryan is really the main character of the book. Her husband, Walt, appears at first to be the patriarchal husband of the 1960's, but eventually has an epiphany after his father's death. 

Maggie's first pick for the book club is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and the club becomes known as The Bettys. Their lives become interwoven and their support for their female friends is such a powerful part of the book. They see each other through life events like pregnancies, husband's affairs, addictive behavior, and problem children. All of this is set against the background of how women were viewed in the 1960's and their nascent struggle to assert themselves as equal partners in a marriage and in society. 

Bostwick has researched the time period and has included so many popular books, foods, music, and current events. For a married woman not to be able to get birth control pills without the signature of her husband, for a high school girl spurned because she wants to play the trombone, and for a woman who knows as much about horses as her husband to be dismissed are examples of the culture of the early 60s. It is hard to think about how it was, but also frightening to realize that woman could be relegated to that place in society again. 

The reaction at our book group was mixed. Some liked it, some were ok with it and a couple didn't like it at all. That is the beauty of book clubs. I was on the liked it side and would consider it a good read, if only for reminiscing about the time. 
 

Evensong by Stewart O'Nan

 In Evensong, the reader is introduced to the Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of Pittsburgh women who get together socially and also help members of the community by running errands, visiting when ill, and helping with chores. The focus of the novel is on a few of those women, including Emily Maxwell, who figured prominently in Wish You were Here and Emily Alone. 

Joan, one of the instrumental leaders of the group, falls down the stairs and is not discovered until the next morning. The members of the HD are thrust into the job of finding someone who can take her place as she recovers for the broken leg and arm, hospitalization and rehabilitation. In addition, someone needs to temporarily adopt Oscar, her cat and deal with Darcy, her out of town daughter. 

Other members of the group include Kitzi, who assumes the role of leader, Emily Maxwell, Susie, who for lack of companionship, starts dating and gets involved in a relationship, Arlene, Emily's sister-in-law, who is starting to show signs of dementia or Alzheimer's Disease and Jean, married to Gene, who is a hoarder with oodles of cats. Again, as in his other books, O'Nan is a master of character development. The reader knows these characters in and out and can sympathize with them on how they are approaching old age.  

The book creates a quiet arena for reading. It is serious, but witty, especially the scenes with the pets. It feels good to read it and get a glimpse of the goodness of people, their kind acts, and their strong motivation of living each day to the fullest, even when it is hard. The scenes around Pittsburgh are familiar, their concert attendance, and church activities. Especially of interest was the description of Calvary Methodist Church where the Allegheny City Society holds its meetings:

Calvary United Methodist on the North Side hosted their annual Messiah Sing-along, a Christmas treat Emily and Arlene never missed. Though the other Calvary’s choir wasn’t the juggernaut Viv’s bunch was—the paid soloists were graduate students, the organist a guest—the church boasted exquisite Tiffany windows gifted by an otherwise forgotten robber baron. The concert started at four, doors opening an hour early so music lovers could enjoy the late-afternoon sun flooding the sanctuary with color. (p. 219)

I am in awe of O'Nan's writing and will strive to read as many more of his books as I can fit into my reading time. 

 

 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

 There are not too many books that we have read about society following World War I.The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club gives an interesting perspective into that time with its focus on women in a small seashore town in England. Poppy Wirrall is the owner of a motorcycle courier service who is staying at the Palm Court Hotel and accidentally meets Constance who is also at the hotel aiding Mrs. Fog who is recovering from influenza. Constance rescues Poppy from a serious faux pas (wearing trousers) and the two become friends, 

The novel introduces the reader to a plethora of characters, many of whom are members of the motorcyle club and also to the families of Poppy and her mother, the venerable Mrs. Wirrall. Poppy's brother, Harris, has returned home from the war in which he lost a leg. Constance grew up a farmer's daughter, but she is educated and would love to move on from being an elderly woman's companion. As such she has followed the social norms and acts with propriety and good taste. Poppy, on the other hand, is free wheeling and throughout the course of the novel tries to bring Constance out of her set ways. 

There are so many themes that permeate the book - racism, the thwarted role of women, disrespect for the disabled, and growth after grief. Mrs. Fog rekindles a romance with a man of mixed race and is virtually ostracized from her family by her daughter, Lady Mercer who has married a baron. Klaus, a waiter at the hotel is a naturalized citizen, but fears for his life because he is originally from Germany. The women fight desperately to maintain their business or get a job, but are stymied by the fact that jobs need to go to men. Harris is denied employment opportunities because he is disabled and remarks that his brain and hand are in full working order, despite his one leg. Harris' friend Jock, struggles to overcome the loss of his family to the flu epidemic and relies on his friends. 

The novel was hard to get into and seemed slow in spots, but the insight into the mores of the times and watching Constance's growth were worth it and make it a rewarding read.  

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

After reading so many excellent reviews and with a bit of time for some free reading, and seeing a great price in the Kindle store, I picked this book up. It is an epistolary novel that reveals the life of the protagonist, septuagenarian Sybil Van Antwerp. She has spent her life writing letters to friends, family members, and even her favorite authors. She has also transitioned to email when it becomes necessary. 

Letter writing is almost a lost art, but Evans manages to capture the importance of it in The Correspondent. Through her letters, Van Antwerp manages to engage the reader in a life well-lived, but with regrets, sadness, guilt and surprise. Sybil lives outside of Annapolis next door to a very attentive neighbor, Theodore. She is going blind and is mostly accepting of that, but still wants to be in control of her life. There are hints to her past life, e.g the death of her son, Gilbert, her divorce from Daan, and her job as a lawyer. It is through correspondence with her children Fiona and Felix, best friend, Rosalie that over the course of the book those fragments become a vivid picture of her life. 

She is ousted from her garden club, maintains an email chain with a man who is a representative from a genetic testing company, harbors a teenager, the son of a colleague, who has been bullied, and tries to understand a strained relationship with her daughter. Interspersed with the actual posted and emailed correspondence are fragments of a letter that is labeled "unsent." This is the most revealing of the correspondence in that it is an admission of the regrets and actions of her life that have contributed the ongoing guilt she has felt. To the reader it was heart-wrenching.

The reader meets two men who vie for the attention of Sybil. It becomes apparent that both would like a long-term relationship with her, but she denies that prospect. The reader, on the sideline, routes for her to become involved with one of them to provide companionship and love. 

One of the most interesting aspect of the novels is the inclusion at the end of most chapters what books she and her friends are reading. It was an eclectic series of titles and worthy of exploring to read. The Correspondent was a gem of book and one that is a most pleasurable read. I am glad not to have missed it.
 

The Frozen River byAriel Lawhon

Based on an actual event, The Frozen River, takes place in Hallowell, Maine, a small village on the Kennebec River in the winter of 1789. The body of Josh Burgess is pulled from the nearly frozen river and Martha Ballard, the town's midwife, is called to exam it and give a cause of death. She notices that there are ligature marks around his neck, leading her to believe that he was hanged. However, no rope was found near or on the body. For a small town, Hallowell had it fair share of scandals and villainous men who thought they could have their way with any woman they desired. Burgess was named by the parson's wife, Rebecca Foster,  as one of two men who raped her. The other, a judge on the local court council was Joseph North. She is pregnant as a result of that rape. 

Martha's findings were disputed by Dr. Page, a new physician from Harvard, whose opinion carried more weight than hers and the judge one of the rapists dismisses the charge of murder. Martha is a strong woman and she will not be quieted. Her position as midwife for the town's women is being usurped by Page, who is stealing her patients and who has delivered a number of still births because of his practice of treating the women with laudanum.

As the novel unfolds, an trial at a higher court ensues with the same result in the failure to convict North of rape and holds Rebecca for the crime of fortification. The number of characters who come in and out of the book were confusing at time, especially since Martha and Ephraim had so many children who also had many suitors. Lawhorn weaves the story convincingly as she leaves breadcrumbs for the reader to discover exactly what has happened. At times the reader may feel that s/he is reading a chapter out of Call the Midwife, or a mystery. 

There are two themes that came across so strongly - the power of a woman and a devoted love between husband and wife.  Martha is a force to be reckoned with. She knows right from wrong and isn't afraid to fight for the right. Through flashbacks to the beginnings of her marriage to Ephraim, she is seen as a woman who learns to read and write and to become a gifted and caring midwife. She is an advocate for justice and for her family as their involvement in the crime emerges. She fights for women who have been taken advantage of and who in the Puritanical culture face shame. 

Through the flashbacks and the relationship of Martha and Ephraim, it is hard to think of another couple in literature who are so devoted to each other. Their love is evidenced in the way they care for each other, challenging the other to be their best. Ephraim expresses extreme disappointment in a decision that Martha makes about providing medication, and it causes her to be remorseful. 
 

The Frozen River is a multilayered novel that will provide readers a wonderful way to spend some hours.  

The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany by Gwen Strauss

It was somewhat difficult reading Madness and The Nine at the same time. Both nonfiction and both detailing horrific experiences of two groups of people who were made to endure situations that in many cases would destroy the human spirit.

Strauss tells the story of her great aunt, Hélène Podliasky who was part of the French Resistance during World War II and eight others who were arrested for their actions and sent to Ravensbrück Camp in Germany. During the journey there they became a cohesive group. The others in the group were

Suzanne Maudet (Zaza), Nicole Clarence, Madelon Verstijnen (Lon), Guillemette Daendels (Guigui), Renée Lebon Châtenay (Zinka), Joséphine Bordanava (Josée), Jacqueline Aubéry du Boulley (Jacky), and Yvonne Le Guillou (Mena). While on a death march from the camp, the nine decided to escape. Their journey to freedom is the crux of the book.

Strauss through her research of the time and with the survivors of The Nine, presents a book that is nearly unbelievable as to the heroics of these women. Their 10 day journey is told through the eyes of each woman who has her own chapter in the book. It presents a bit of biography and the roles that they each assumed while on their journey. Their goal was to get to the front and cross into the area that was held by the Allies and especially the Americans. With bloody feet, tattered clothing, and a dearth of food, the reader is brought along on the painful journey with them. They struggle to find safe places to rest and German citizens to trust. At times they played into the stereotypical role of women to advance their cause - helpless and ignorant about war.

Strauss also gives insight into how the Nazis treated the prisoners in the camps, babies snatched from mothers while those mothers were raped, slave labor and starvation. It was painful to read.

The nine women formed such a bond that gave them the strength to have hope and survive. It goes without saying that if they had tried to do this alone, none would have made it. They developed strategies for survival, including trading recipes, one of the more upbeat sections of the book.

The book is so well researched with an abundance of footnotes. At times, I had wished for a more linear account, but understood the rationale for Strauss to write the way she did. Another interesting feature was how the author managed to find the women and/or their surviving family members. It was an intriguing, tho painful read.



 

The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar

Chosen for the July Gables Book Club, I had a bit of time to get ahead on some reading. The basis of this novel were the letters and diaries of Johanna Bonger, the sister-in-law of Vincent Van Gogh. It was a fascinating interplay between her life and the life of Emsley Wilson, whose grandmother gives her a box containing the memorabilia. 

Wilson is an auctioneer who arranges political auctions for the rich and famous. She owns the company with Trey, a boyfriend with whom she has broken up. This complicates her life as she also deals with the hospitalization and death of her grandmother, Violet. Violet was a well-known New York City socialite and artist. After Violet's death Emsley is charged by her mother to clean out Violet's Greenwich home to make sure there is nothing that would tatter Violet's name. During this process she learns that Trey is plotting to dissolve the business and requires that Emsley come up with the million dollars to buy him out to save it. 

During this time she becomes further engrossed in the diaries in which Johanna, after the death of her husband Theo, makes it her goal to establish Vincent as an accomplished artist. Johanna finds herself a young widow with a little son and refuses to take a back seat to no one. She is an independent woman, much like Emsley strives to become. 

There are some additional, well drawn characters in the book, especially the chicken that is given to her by Violet's neighbor, Mrs. Yang. Johanna's brother, Dries, is well articulated and provides support for his sister as she deals with Theo's illness. Emsley begins to see a real genealogical connection between her grandmother and Johanna and goes to great ends to establish that relationship.  

This was an incredibly well researched book and an entertaining one. There are a number of quotes that resonate with the reader. It was especially ironic that Johanna remarked that Monet had moved to Giverny to paint water lilies and that it will be “will be the end of him in the profession.”