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. 

 

 

Emily Alone by Stewart O'Nan

 Taking place seven years after Wish You Were Here, O'Nan continues the story of Emily Maxwell. It is such a pleasure to read his narratives that are so character driven. Throughout Emily Alone, vignettes of her life come together to give the reader more insight into this woman, her world, her moods, and all that motivates her in life. 

 Back in Pittsburgh, she and her sister-in-law, Arlene, meet at Eat 'n Park every Tuesday. As the novel begins, Arlene suffers an "incident" and is take to hospital. Emily jumps right in to tend to her needs there and at home, feeding her fish and taking care of her car. The reader glimpses all that goes on in her mind as she goes about picking up the slack. 

When she prepares for her children's visit, she decides to hire a cleaning lady. But before she come she need to ready the house. How many of us do the same thing? Her relationship with her children, Kenneth and Maggie are a central part of the book. She is frustrated by the condescension of Kenneth and the life decisions that Maggie makes. The grandchildren have grown up and have developed individual personalities. 

When Emily's car is totaled by an unfortunate accident, she, reluctantly, shops for a new car. When she buys a blue Subaru, she worries that it might be too flashy! Trips to the Philpps m the Aviary and Mt. Washington are some of her favorite adventures. Some of the most poignant pages in the novel are those describing her cleaning out the basement. She reflects on all the memories that the items she is donating to the church auction bring back. Many are related to Henry, her late husband. Anyone who has ever had to clean out spaces, understands how hard it is to give up those special items. It is noble of her to start this process so that her children won't be burdened with it. 

She confronts her own mortality by learning of the death of close friends and attending their funerals. How true those thoughts are for those in their 70s like Emily. The novel is just the right amount of introspection and humor. O'Nan knows the balance. His style makes the books unforgettable and "unputdownable." On now to Evensong.

 
 

The Jailhouse Lawyer by Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull

Calvin Duncan was incarcerated at age 19 for crime - murder - which he did not commit. He served 28 years before this wrong was finally righted. This narrative recounts his day at Louisian Parish Prison and the infamous Angola Prison. A young white mail was murdered on the streets of New Orleans. His girlfriend after much coaxing and nearly a month later identified Duncan in a line-up. What was never brought up in the trial was that she couldn't really be certain that Duncan was the murderer. But she was white and Duncan was black. That explains his conviction. 

Duncan had such drive to prove his innocence that he immersed himself in law books and judicial review. He worked hard to get his GED while in prison and became a jailhouse lawyer or jailhouse counsel. These were inmates who had knowledge of law who would help other prisoners to appeal sentences or offer writs to decrease their sentences, even to being released. Duncan's detailed accounts of how he tried to work the system to recognize his innocence is truly incredible. The fortitude that made him press on was a characteristic that not many in his position, especially after all the defeats, would embrace. 

Throughout his accounting, the reader meets many of the inmates he helped and they become the characters in the drama. The courts are shown as racist and for the privileged. Duncan is assigned less than able lawyers or indifferent ones. Judge Julian Parker who plays a significant role in denying appeals is a reprehensible man who does not five Duncan a fair trial. His family also come in and out of his life, especially his sister Mamie, his Aunt Gail and his daughter Ayana. 

The result of Calvin Duncans successful final appeal is for him to accept the guilty plea but be released for time served. He admits that this is the only time he every lied under oath. Upon his release from prison he worked for his bachelor's degree and eventually a law degree - the occupation for which he had always believed he was destined. Eventually, he was exonerated of the crime and his record expunged. 

Throughout the book the reader gains incredible knowledge about the appeal process, the conditions in prison and the availability of jailhouse lawyers. It was a fascinating discourse and eyeopening. Duncan's resilience and fortitude serve as an example for all who find themselves defeated by their current station in life. 

He spoke in dialogue with Sophie Cull for the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series on 9 February and conveyed his hope for our country and the judicial system as long as our population will vote!

 

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Dennis Lehane has a stellar reputation for writing investigative crime novels that are chilling and unsettling. Small Mercies certainly lived up to that description. Set in Boston in the late summer of 1974 when court-ordered busing was about to commence, the novel recounts the response to that action by the racial parties of the city.  
 

The main character, Mary Pat Finnessey, a nurse and mother living in the projects finds herself drawn into the tensions of the time because her daughter Jules will be bussed to the black school. The subject of busing takes a backseat when Jule disappears one night after spending time with friends. It was the same night that Auggie Williamson was found dead on the railroad tracks and those friends were implicated in his death. Mary Pat is desperate to find her daughter whom she discovers was mixed up with one of the drug dealing kingpins of the area. 

She enlists the aid of Detective Bobby Coyne, who is sympathetic to her grief as he leads the investigation into the death/murder of Augie Williamson and the disappearance of Jules. But Mary Pat takes things into her own hands and confronts members of the drug ring. The novel is gripping as she puts her life in danger. The deeper the inquisition goes, the more the reader understands the power of the Boston mob, led by Marty Butler, who is feared and obeyed. 

Lehane exposes both sides of the racial coin through the collateral characters, especially Dreamy Williamson and her husband, parents of Auggie. The women with whom Mary Pat attends a protest march and her sister expose the white supremacist attitude of the Southie neighborhood. The tension builds when Mary Pat realizes that her life is void without Jules and is willing to go to any length to unravel all of the events.

This is not a book for the faint at heart. It is violent, profane, and disturbing to the point of how this nation reacts to those who do not look like another person. I was involved the mandated busing/integration of schools in Louisville, KY and this novel brought back those harrowing times. With all that said, it is truly a work of literary art. 

  

Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan

Evensong by O'Nan has gotten a lot of press and sounded like a good book for a Yinzer to read. But it was the fourth an a series and so I began at the beginning of the series. O'Nan is originally from Pittsburgh and his roots shine through this work at almost every turn from the references to the city, its restaurants, and arts and culture. 

The novel covers the week that the Maxwell family spends at Lake Chautauqua  and the surrounding area. It is a favorite summer destination for those from the Pittsburgh and where people have a summer home. The family consists of Emily, who owns their cottage and is recently widowed, her sister-in-law Arlene and Emily's children Meg and Ken, Ken's wife Lisa and their children Sam and Ella, and Meg's children Justin and Sarah. They are all gathering for one final vacation because Emily is selling the summer home. 

Because of O'Nan's incredible mastery of description and insight, the reader understands the personality of each of the characters. In reality, it is very much like a psychoanalytic experience. The interaction between the family members is suggestive of how many families would act and react during a week where they all lived under one roof in small quarters. O'Nan uses the weather, rainy and dreary, to force more dialogue and communication among them. The reader is privy to teenage angst, budding sexuality, sibling rivalry, and marital strife. 

At the heart of the novel is Emily's desire to have her children take items that are especially meaningful to them as remembrances of their many years of vacationing on the lake as well as of their late father. It is something that inevitably every family experiences and the manner in which they go about it will hit home with many. They try to relive past adventures, restaurants, and familiar activities. With his mastery of description, O'Nan allows the reader to be privy to all the thoughts and vulnerabilities of the Maxwell family. 

The book is one of the most skilled examples of character study that I have read. It is definitely a treasure, especially for those who do not mind a long and detailed tome. I really did not want the book to end, but I will meet up with the family in his later books.