The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

The third book in the Inspector Armand Gamache series, The Cruelest Month was a winner. We had originally downloaded this as an audio book for our trip to North Carolina, but with nasty weather, traffic, and all the French names and character iterations, it was hard to follow. After finishing some book club books, I decided to revisit the print version. 

It is hard to summarize an twisted and complex mystery novel. Set in Three Pines, Québec, this book mirrors some of the intricate English mysteries. Over Easter weekend, as villagers are in the midst of holiday preparations, a psychic, Jeanne Chauvet comes to the town and is convinced to conduct a seance. One is held Friday night, basically a dud, and another Saturday evening at the old and deserted Hadley House. On Saturday night one of the attendees, Madeleine Favreau, collapse and dies. Was it fright or was it murder? 

Gamache and the Sûreté du Québec are called in to investigate. His investigation establishes that the death is actually murder and all the séance participants can be considered suspects, with no fewer than 4 or 5 having motive. He adeptly pieces together the case and arranges for another gathering of the group to uncover the murderer. 

In a previous book in the series, Gamache had accused a superior of some very serious crimes and this subplot figures into The Cruelest Month. With stories appearing in the newspapers and circulating in the office, Gamache postulates that there may be a mole within his team. He threatens to resign his position as part of the ploy, but in the end (since we know that there are 15 more Inspector Gamache books) both his name and the murder are solved. 

Louise Penny's books are enjoyable with challenging mysteries to solve and characters that become like old friends. Can't wait to read the next one. 

The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts

This book was exactly what was needed after reading Caste. The Ride of Her Life recounts the journey of Annie Wilkins from Maine to California on horseback with her trusty dog at her side. Annie lived in near abject poverty on a farm in Minot, Maine with her uncle. After he died and struggling with poor health, she decided to sell the farm and take the meager profits to live out her childhood dream of seeing the Pacific Ocean. Given only 2 years to live, she decided that there was no better time in her life to give it a go.

In addition to her dog, Depeche Toi, Annie rescues an old horse, Tarzan, who was destined for the slaughter house and the three take off in mid-November, 1954. For over a year they traverse the country, guided by maps that were picked up in gas stations along the way. The reader shivers with her as she makes it through blizzards, feels how soaked she is after nearly drowning in a wash in the western mountains, and worries about her health and the health of her four-legged companions. In Tennessee, she is given the gift of another horse, Rex, who helps bear some of the burden of her gear and also helps transport Depeche Toi at times. There are some terrifying accidents along the way that are precipitated by the traffic encountered on the highways and the weather. Through all this the reader is rooting for Annie to make it to the west coast along her circuitous routing. 

The account by Letts leaves the reader longing for the days in the United States when people were kind to each other and were eager to help and aid a poor woman on the journey of her life. One acquaintance sent Annie note cards that she could autograph and sell. Annie was becoming famous thanks to all the publicity that was given to her by newspapers and the fledgling television news shows. A family offered her to stay with them for the holidays, a woman dying of cancer met her on the roadside with a card table, table cloth, and tuna casserole, and a rancher in Wyoming offered his hand (and ranch) in a marriage proposal. 

Perhaps, one of the most notable features of the book is the way Letts weaves in a lot of history. For those who lived through the 1950s, it provides a bit of nostalgia as well as many bits of trivia that one did not know. From the history of Milton Bradley games to the discussion of medical care and payment and her appearance on Art Linkletter's tv show, it adds so much to Annie's account. The research, cited at the end of the book, was scholarly, but the book was a heartwarming tribute to a woman who had courage, perseverance, love of animals, and the resilience to make it all work. A wonderful and uplifting read.

 

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

What can be said about one of the most powerful books that I have ever read except WOW! In building on the book The Warmth of Other Suns,  Wilkerson examines the disparity between the words of racism and caste in her discussion of the the state of the United States. She masterfully uses metaphors and simile as she documents the history of the United States' caste system.  

The treatise explores the caste systems of India, Nazi Germany, and the United States. She freely admits that in the United States caste and racism are interwoven and it can be difficult to separate them. But she does define them succinctly on page 70 of the book:

" Any action or institution that mocks, harms, assumes, or attaches inferiority or stereotype on the basis of the social construct of race can be considered racism. Any action or structure that seeks to limit, hold back, or put someone in a defined ranking or seeks to keep someone in their place by elevating or denigrating that person on the basis of their perceived category, can be considered casteism."

She cites numerous examples of how this system of caste has evolved in the United States and most are quite painful to read. Her comparison of the crowds in Germany waving Nazi flage in supporting Hitler's campaign against those in the lower caste (Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies) to those who gathered in the South to witness lynchings. The violence exhibited against those in the lower castes were nothing less than sadistic and dehumanizing. In our country even the lowest whites, so far down in the caste system consider themselves above the highest Blacks. The Obama presidency has led to a backlash and realization that by 2042  the majority of the citizenry of the US will be people of color. Such resentment by the whites and the desire to maintain caste contributed to the results of the 2016 election. 

Perhaps one of the most painful examples of this caste system is in Wilkerson's discussion of the Eight Pillars of Caste - Purity versus Pollution. The upper caste does not ever want to touch anything from the castes beneath. In 1951 in Youngstown, Ohio, Al Bright, a little league baseball player was forced to sit outside a swimming pool while watching his other teammates frolic and revel in their championship victory. When one of the coaches finally convinced the life guards that Al should be at least allowed a few minutes in the pool, he was put on a float and never allowed to touch the water. 

I was so privileged to hear Wilkerson speak as a part of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures Ten Evenings series. Her articulate examination of caste and her emotional discussion of it was inspirational. It was heightened when the son of Al Bright introduced himself to her and the audience. 

This book deserves a second and third read as we try to come to an understanding that it is humanity and an appreciation that we are all in this together as the only way to escape the hate and derision that a caste system fosters. It should be required reading for all.                                                     

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

 The Nature of Fragile Things engages the reader from the very first page and continues that straight through the last page. Set in 1906 in San Francisco it combines well-researched history with mysterious relationships and endearing characters.

Sophia Whalen, an Irish immigrant living in New York City answers an mail-order bride advertisement and makes her way to San Francisco. She is met at the train by Martin Hocking, who whisks her off to city hall where they get married. He explains that his young daughter, Kat,  was still recovering from his first wife, Candace's death. It is so traumatic to lose your mother at such a young age. They go to the caregiver's home to pick up Kat and then to the new home that Martin has bought for the family. Although a bit surprised at the sleeping arrangements, Sophia understands that it may take a while before an amorous relationship can develop. 

As the months pass Sophie and Kat begin to develop a bond and Kat begins to emerge from her silence. Sophie is puzzled by the mysterious comings and goings of Martin and his reticence to share his work details with her. She meets Libby, a neighbor across the street, and the two share some play-dates with their children. Libby has become used to an aristocratic lifestyle and seems to lord this over Sophie. 

And then one day a very pregnant Belinda appears at the door, looking for a man by the name of James. She reels at the sight of Sophie and Martin's wedding picture and recognizes Martin as her husband, James. The two begin comparing stories and plan what to do. Martin returns home to find the two of them and tragic events ensue - an accident in the house and the April 18th San Francisco earthquake. With detail that leaves the reader truly understanding the dire results of the earthquake and fire and feeling compassion for all those who had to flee their homes, the days in Golden Gate park come vividly alive.

In page-turning fashion, Meissner unfolds the story of all the relationships that soon embraces the third woman, Candace. It is a novel that accentuates the power and bravery of women, the love for their children, and the consequences of one's actions as innocent or harmful as they may be. There are twists to be sure and a very revealing and shocking ending to the book. It is a very enjoyable read, many times extremely emotional with much attention paid to the setting and events of the day. 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

 This was the selection for our March book club gathering. It is the first in a series of books that takes place in a small cafe, Funiculi, Funicula in Tokyo. The book is really a series of vignettes from the action that takes place in the cafe. They could be classified as time travel in that when a person sits in a particular chair at the cafe, they can travel into the past and become a part of that past, without being able to change it. 

A ghost, a woman dressed in white, is the usual occupant of the seat. However, once a day she leaves the seat to use the restroom in the cafe. It is at that time a person can take that seat and travel back in time. The stipulation is that the person must finish his or her visit to the past Before the Coffee Gets Cold.  The central character i s Kazu, the barister with other characters entering and exiting the cafe and the novel. 

The first story opens with Fumiko and  Goro, her boyfriend, enjoying coffee in the cafe. Much to her surprise and dismay Goro has decided to move to America. She doesn't speak up and convey her feelings and for this she regrets that time. This causes her to return to the cafe after a week to try to travel back in time to see what would have happened if she had expressed her love to Goro. She realizes that it wouldn't change things, but it would spur him on to possibly return at some point to Japan.

The second story is that of Kohtake who is married to Fusagi, a man diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The disease has progressed to the point where Fusagi doesn't remember her, but had intended to give her a letter 3 years previous. She decides to take the seat to travel back and read the letter that affects her deeply . 

In the third story Hira, who owns a bar near the cafe, who because of her personal decision to live her own life and not take over the operation of her parents' inn, desires to travel back to make amends with her sister, Kumi, who was killed in a car accident. Hira blames herself for the accident and makes a promise to Kumi that she does keep.

Finally, the fourth story, Kei, the wife of Nagare, who owns the cafe, is the sole person who desires to travel forward in time. Suffering from a medical condition that threatens her life and the baby she is carrying,  she wants to know what happens to both of them. She is able to meet her daughter, Miki, who is 15 years old. This story also offers a surprise for Fumiko from the first story. 

Once the premise of the book became clear, it was easier to understand. What made it tedious, however, were the Japanese names for the characters and how to keep them separate. It was actually quite sad to understand the regret of those characters for actions that they wished to change. Love and relationships often lead to actions and reactions of regret. The emotions that the novel evoked were what made the book seem less contrived and far-fetched.

 

 

 

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar

What began somewhat as a confusing read, finished as a most thought provoking and intellectually stimulating adventure. Although Homeland Elegies clearly states that it is a novel, what was perplexing was that the narrator shared the name with the author, as well as many biographical similarities. Was it fact or was it fiction?

Born to Pakistani parents both Akhtar the narrator and the author share much of the same up bringing. Both parents (not their real names in the novel) were esteemed physicians and both settled in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the novel, Akhtar's father, Sikander, was summoned to be the personal cardiologist for Donald Trump and is flown in to NYC when Trump experiences some heart-related symptoms of ill health. This backdrop provides Akhtar, the novelist, a spring board on which to launch his disdain for the former president. 

Told in a series of often fragmented chapters that often are most like essays, memoirs, or narrative prose, the reader gains insight into the life of a young man who is trying to find his place as an American, after the attacks on 9/11. Akhtar the narrator recounts what it is like to be Muslim in this country as well as American when he returns for a brief time to Pakistan. He is educated in the world of capitalism by another Muslim, Riaz Rind, a hedge fund manager who takes him under his wing. His mother, Fatima,  longs to return to her homeland and pines for that time and regretting that she did not marry a medical school classmate.  The contrast between his parents' views of life in America set an underlying tone for the novel. Akhtar recounts the days after 9/11 where he wore a cross around his neck to squelch thoughts that he was Un-American. He seeks an identity for himself that must bridge both aspects of his being.

Akhtar, the writer's, message becomes clear as he addresses the racism and anti-immigrant feelings that are pervasive in those days and years after the terrorist attacks on the United States. He contends that the hopes that the working class once dared dream were dashed by the failure of capitalism and accrual of debt. It is this state that contributes to such systemic racism. 

In one of the most erudite and informed lectures delivered by authors of the Ten Evenings seried, Akhtar explained many of the nuances of the writing of the book and his view of the United States today. His comparison of the demise of the Roman Empire to the state of our country was startling. Perhaps one of the most forceful quotes of the lecture that resonates today was one from the novel:  

“The established majority takes its "we" image from a minority of its best and shapes a "they" image of the despised outsiders from a minority of their worst.” 

A powerful and mind-stretching read.  

 

 

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.
 

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Shuggie Bain is a novel that embodies every superlative that one could imagine. It is the most heart-wrenching, well written, and exemplary of the most well developed characters. I would defy anyone not to become emotionally involved with the titular character. 

Set in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1980s, the novel is a strong and emotional depiction a dysfunctional family, not necessarily completely through their fault, but as also as a result of societal and economic issues. The reader first meets Shuggie as a young man working in a neighborhood market. He has recently moved into a rooming house on his own despite his young age. After a brief introduction, the novel shifts to the young Shuggie and his early family life in the Bain household. Agnes Bain, Shuggie's mother, an alcoholic, trying to raise 3 children, Catherine, Leek, and Shuggie, on her own with little help from her philandering husband, Shug, a taxi driver. It is not a pretty or calm life with fires being set, attempted suicides, and the struggles of the family trying to coexist in the same small dwelling with Agnes' parents.

From the time he is a little boy, Shuggie has struggled with the idea that he is somehow "not right." He plays with dolls, but they are really beer cans with suggestive pictures of women on them. His father thinks he is enjoying their provocativeness, but Agnes knows different. The family moves out Shug setting them up into council housing and then letting the shoe drop that he is not joining them. From there it is a spiral downward and the reader tries to catch a breath or two as Shuggie grows up, ever devoted to his mother as he watches her try to get on the right track, but always falling short. Catherine moves out and it is Leek who tries to keep Shuggie safe. 

Beneath all the emotional pulls of the story is a strong political and religious undertone. It is a condemnation of Thatcherism and the closing of the mines in Glasgow which leaves a great portion of the citizens without work and trying to escape poverty. They know how to circumvent the television and electric meters in which they need to deposit a fee to have a show to watch and heat in their homes. There is also the Catholic vs. Protestantism animosities that plays out in Agnes' family. In the eyes of her parents she should have stayed married to the Catholic (who fathered Catherine and Leek) instead of Shug who was Protestant. 

It was a compelling lecture that Douglas Stuart delivered to the audience of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures subscribers. He disavowed the autobiographical connection to the life that Shuggie Bain lived, but there were some very profound similarities. He was absolutely one of the best lecturers we have heard. Shuggie Bain is not an easy book to read, but a must one for an understanding of the human condition and the struggles of so many.  As Stuart said in his lecture, there is hope for Shuggie and for our society.

 

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

Our January selection for the Gables Book Club provided one of the best reads in the last few years. It was an Oprah Book Club read as well as appearing on President Obama's Summer List. Set in Old Ox, Georgia at the end of the Civil War, the novel seems timeless in its discourse on racial, social, and familial relationships. It is a remarkable piece of writing from a young (30 years) writer, who seems to have a firm grasp of what is involved in all those relationships.

The novel opens as George Walker learns that his son, Caleb, was killed during the Civil War. He struggles with that fact as well as how he can possibly tell his wife, Isabelle the news. Walker is a landowner with some degree of wealth, who has decided to use his land to grow peanuts. While surveying the land he meets two black men who have recently been freed from slavery of a neighbor, Ted Morton. Prentiss speaks for his brother, Landry, who is mute and show evidence of a broken jaw. Walker offers them a job working for him and the three become connected as they clear land and ready the acreage for peanut planting. 

In a surprise for all, Caleb appears, belying the report of his death. He recounts his travels back home from the war and relates that August Webler has also returned. Caleb also alludes to the relationship that he and August had before the war. This relationship continues and provokes an insidious act of violence when their sexual tryst is observed and further the abrupt escape of Prentiss and Caleb from the town. 

Nathan Harris' character development in this novel is remarkable in that they reflect the societal history of the time and place. George and Isabelle are a hard-working couple whose values transcend the typical southern aristocratic snobbery and prejudice, not only against the Negroes, but also the white people in the town. Neighbors Morton, Webler, and Sheriff Hackstedde are those prejudicial men who cannot accept that the slaves have been freed and are able to decide for themselves how to live their lives out of slavery. Prentiss and Landry want to further their station in life and to get to that time when they are self-sufficient and can maybe at some time be reunited with their mother. Caleb struggles with his sexuality, but acts morally when that relationship is put to the test. Two minor characters, Mildred, Isabelle's friend, and Clementine, a prostitute, provide a mirror into the main characters via their interactions with them.

There is so much to absorb and reflect upon in this novel. At times it is haunting, but at those same times so disturbing to think that many of the actions and reactions in that time period are not much different than what we are experiencing in 2022, over 150 years later. Definitely a must read and even re-read. 
 

The Transcendent KIngdom by Yaa Gyasi

Three fold in its themes, Transcendent Kingdom is told by a young woman, Gifty, narrator who is pursuing a PhD in neuroscience at Stanford University. Gifty was born in Alabama to Ghanaian parents who moved to the United States shortly after her older brother, Nana was born. The novel is told in chapters that move back and forth from her youth to her life as a scientist and are multi-leveled as she struggles to put together a coherent look at her life and family. 

As she attempts to complete the PhD and work with the mice whom she is studying with regard to the neural circuits of reward seeking behaviors and who are being shocked or given an energy drink to see which respond to not pushing a lever, her mother arrives in town. In the throes of depression she moves in with Gifty and becomes a recluse in her bedroom. Gifty remembers this same behavior occurred after the death of Nana from an overdose. So intertwined are these reminiscences with the struggles of her life, including her religious upbringing and the racial slurs that she and her family endured. The abandonment by her father, "The Chin Chin Man" has also contributed to those painful memories. 

Throughout the novel Gifty attempts to work through all the conflicts she feels and is able to accept that just because she is a scientist, she need not give up her religion. She becomes open to friendships and even a romantic relationship with Han, her colleague at Stanford. The depiction of the addiction of Nana is both realistic and also forgiving. and enlightening. It is a condition that should not be viewed as a source of shame or criminalized. Through Gifty, Gyasi reminds us of the anguish that the addicted and his or her family suffer. It is heart-wrenching. 

The Transcendent Kingdom was one of the deepest books for its multi-themed approach that I have read recently. To hear Gyasi's lecture added to the complexity of the topics and themes. I have put Homegoing on my "to read list" for sometime in the future.