West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

It would seem that the Gables Book Club is heavily animal themed for 2023. Previously, it was an octopus and for this month it is giraffes. 

West With Giraffes is a novel that is based on a true historical facts and is captivating from the very first page. It opens with an aide at a VA home cleaning out the room of a recently deceased 105 year old resident, Woodrow Wilson Nickel, whom the reader learns is Woody Nickel. For the most part the novel is told in the first person by Woody both as he recounts his life as well as the events of the fall of 1938 as they are happening. 

Woody survives the dust bowl of Oklahoma and makes his way to New York to live with his Cuz, who unfortunately is killed in a devastating hurricane. 

Belle Benchley, the ground setting director of the San Diego Zoo has managed to procure a rhino and 2 giraffes from Africa. On the journey the ship on which they were being transported is is shipwrecked in the same hurricane during which Cuz is killed. The rhino is lost, but the giraffes survive. Riley Jones (referred to in the novel as "Old Man." was hired by Benchley to supervise the journey  from the dock to San Diego. He discover the girl giraffe has a wounded leg and calls in a vet to treat her. Woody sees the giraffes and is determined to follow them to California. At the same time Woody steals a motorcycle to follow them. In a turn of events, the driver hired by "Old Man" turns out to be a drunk and Woody convinces him that he, even as a 17 year old, can handle the driving of the rig and the huge crate that is carrying Boy and Girl. Enter Augusta Lowe knownas "Red", young woman who is photographing the trek for Life Magazine, or so she says. 

 

The novel moves quickly even as the journey moves slowly from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. over Skyline Drive and into Tennessee. "Old Man's" intention is to replace Woody with another driver, but circumstances create a bit of chaos and Woody convinces him to allow him to drive the entire journey. Red follows the rig in her green Packard, but there is something strange about her story that is confirmed by an encounter with the police and a man known as "The Big Reporter."

 The journey is precarious at best with detours, low clearance tunnels and challenges presented by nature and nefarious travelers they meet along the way. Because it is a novel based on historical truth, the reader knows that the giraffes arrive safely in in San Diego. The novel shifts as Woody recalls his life to his post World War II life and his return to civilian life. He is haunted by the giraffes and the journey and sets out to find Riley and Augusta. 

The journal focuses on Jones, Woody and Augusta, but it is really the giraffes that steal the readers' hearts. They seem so lovable except when it is necessary to protect their humans.  Rutledge has given them their own personalities and they take over story as the go coast to coast. Throughout the writing, Rutledge stays true to language of the late 1930s. We read words like pipsqueak, Tin Lizzie, 2-bit, and dunderheaded. 

A great selection for the book club and enjoyable read. On to Horse.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

This Tend Land has had many excellent reviews and was considered a novel similar to Where the Crawdads Sing. It is the story of four vagabonds who escape an incredibly hard life, only to embark upon a harder one. It was selected for the September selection for the Gables Book Club.

Odie, short for 12 year-old Odysseus, O'Banion and his older brother, Albert, have been orphaned and sent to live at the Lincoln School in Minnesota. Set in the throes of the great depression in 1932, the novel recounts the struggles of their summer and those of two other orphans, Emmy and Mose, a Sioux Indian. The Lincoln school was not one that was characterized by a loving and caring environment. Thelma and Clyde Brickman run the school and supposedly are responsive to the needs of those taken in for charitable reasons. Through a series of misfortunate events the four run away from the school after breaking into the Brickman's home and "kidnapping" Emmy and stealing the contents of the school safe. They set off in a canoe down the Minnesota River. Among the contents of the safe is a letter that Odie finds from his Aunt Julia, who lives in St. Louis. This discovery gives them a destination as their goal. Surely, they could live with her.  

From the Minnesota River to Mankato to St. Paul to St. Louis proves to be a dangerous and harrowing one for the children. It is filled with murder, revivals, revivalists, snake bites, childbirth, prejudice, a bit of young love, and some startling discoveries. It was certainly an odyssey for them, that fittingly concluded on Ithaca Street. The characters whom they meet along the way including Herman Volz, Sister Eve, Gertie, Mike Kelly, and the One-Eyed Jack, all are significant in moving the adventure along and contribute to the maturation of the protagonists. They all play a part in their realization of the importance of family, home, and forgiveness. Understanding that family is not just the blood relatives you know, but it also encompasses those with whom you connect.

Kreuger has written the novel from Odie's point of view. What makes it more compelling is that Odie writes it as an old man, with the ability to reflect on the events and understand their meaning with distance put between the occurrence and the penning of the book. He captures the voice of a 12 year-old in his writing at the same time allowing for that time of a different perspective. As an epilogue, he recounts what has happened to the four in the past 80 years, a technique that answered those questions that Krueger must have known would have lingered in the minds of his readers. It will be difficult to forget young Odie and his harmonica. A very enjoyable and well written read.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim MIchele Richardson

I am not a reader who tends to cry at books, but The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek moved me to tears. During the late 1930s as part of the WPA, books were delivered to very rural parts of the United States, especially the south by women (with the exception of a few men) who journeyed on horses or, in this case, mules. They were referred to as Pack Horse Librarians or the Book Woman. 

Cussy Mary Carter is one of the librarians who lives with her father, a coal miner in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky - not too far from Hazard. Her father, Elijah, is determined that Cussy be married and he sets out to find a suitable husband for her, as he had promised his late wife and Cussy's mother. There is a major obstacle in that Cussy, also known as Bluet, is one of the Blue People of Kentucky. She is a descendant of Martin Fugate, who brought his family to the area around 1800. He and his descendants suffered from a genetic trait that caused their skin to take on a blueish cast. Cussy has no desire to be married, but her father wins out and she is married to Charlie Frazier, a horrible man who rapes her and beats her into submission. He meets an appropriate end and Cussy returns to her father and her job as a Book Woman with her trusty, but temperamental mule, Junia. 

Throughout the novel the reader becomes acquainted with and enjoys the company of Cussy's patrons - Angeline and Willie Moffit (she pregnant and he who is dying from gangrene where he was shot in the foot), Winnie, the school teacher who is waiting to join her husband in Detroit, Henry, the little boy who suffers from pelagra, is starving, but gives Cussy a pineapple lifesaver as a present, R.C., who mans the firetower and anxiously await magazines, Oren Taft, who collects books for a family miles away, and Jackson Lovett, a wonderful man who flirts with Cussy and has a way with Junia. 

And then there are those who figure prominently in her life. She develops a warm relationship with Queenie, a colored co-worker who leaves Troublesome Creek for Philadelphia to become a librarian. Harriett Hardin is Cussy's boss at the library center and is mean, a racist, and jealous of Cussy's relationship to Jackson. Doc is the town physician, who takes an interest in a medicinal way to treat Cussy's blueish color. 

Cussy will take her place as one of my favorite literary characters. She is determined, kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and a lover of books who enjoys sharing that love with others. She accepts her color despite the despicable and insidious racism of Troublesome Creek. When Angeline dies in childbirth and leaves her daughter, Honey, Cussy has no qualms about taking her for her own. 

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek tackles the theme of how religion can be tied to racism and as a threat when used by those who don't understand how a person of color feels. But it also is a testimony to the role that books play in society and the necessity of a family to participate in the education of the children. This theme is echoed throughout and was a major factor in my love of this book. It is definitely one of my favs and Cussy, a soul mate, for her love of sharing books.


 

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorrris

Inspired by a real life story, Sold on a Monday is a novel of despair, hope, and justice. Ellis Reed, a reporter for the Philadelphia Examiner, while out on an assignment, happens upon a sign that reads "2 Children for Sale." The year is 1931 when people are still feeling the effects of the depression and in the time of prohibition. He snaps a photo because he was so taken by their innocence. In a series of events, some propitious and another unfortunate, Lillian Palmer, secretary to the editor, of the paper sees it in the darkroom and shows it to the editor of the paper who assigns Ellis to write a feature story based on it. However, somehow before it can be used, it is destroyed. So Ellis needs to get back out in the country to get another one. However, when he reaches the home, he finds the sign in a heap and no children around. And so he recovers the sign, finds two children and stages a photo shoot.

Upon returning to the scene, he finds that the Dillard children, Ruby and Cavin, have actually been sold when their mother received a dire health diagnosis. As the novel progresses, Lily and Ellis feel responsible for the sale of the children and they concentrate their efforts to returning them to their mother, who has been informed that the health diagnosis was wrong. Along the way there are depictions of speak easies, heart-to-heart talks with Ellis' parents about what happened to his younger brother, romantic involvements for Lily, a brush with the mob, and self-realization for both Lily and Ellis. After an escapade that begs the reader to suspend reality, the novel comes to a satisfying and emotional conclusion. 

The characters are well drawn and elicit emotions from the reader: Clayton, Lily's romantic interest is kind, the Millstones are not what they appear to be, and the Palmers are understanding, kind and supportive. 

Kristina McMorris has penned a poignant and telling novel about how perseverance, guilt, and family ties influence the acts of individuals. It is a very good read and deserves the praise that it has garnered. 

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

So much attention has been paid to the 1936 Olympics and how Jesse Owens was such a hero. Hitler was trying to show how wonderful Germany was and did everything in his power to create a venue that would elevate the German people. Imagine his mortification when Owens won 4 gold medals. But Owens wasn't the only thorn in Hitler's side. The U.S. rowing team with member Joe Rantz was another group of unlikely winners.

Although the story of the 8 man rowing team, Brown focuses his account on Rantz and his life and place on the team.The book, in addition to being a life history focuses on the themes of survival and perseverance. Rantz overcame so much to be even able to make the rowing team in Washington as  well as the Olympic team. His home life was basically nonexistent as he was virtually abandoned by his father after his mother died and his father remarried. At a time he survived by foraging in the woods near his home for food. 

Brown also brings the reader into the world of the sport of rowing. The descriptions of the building of the rowing boats and the training that is involved in becoming a part of a world class rowing team. The sport was usually considered for the rich and elite of the East Coast in the 1930s, but the team from Washington dispelled this legend. Can you imagine a ticker tape parade for a rowing team in today's world? 

Upon arrival in Germany, the team faces an even greater obstacle to success - the inequitable treatment of teams not from the Nazi and Fascist countries. At Kiel, where the rowing events were held, the U.S. team was given the outer lane, subject to the wrath of the winds and weather of the North Sea, while Germany and Italy were given the inner lanes, protected from those conditions. 

The book reads like a novel and, although you know the results, the ending is a real page turner. Brown's list of references gives evidence of his thorough research. The interviews that he conducted with Rantz add personal touches. I will be anxious to hear Brown when he speaks in Pittsburgh on 14 March 2016. It should be an interesting and entertaining evening.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

The Newbery Committee of the American Library Association once again surprised the library community by choosing Clare Vanderpool's debut novel Moon over Manifest as its 2011 winner. Set in Manifest, Kansas, the story takes place in 1936 during the Great Depression with flashbacks to 1918 and World War I.

We meet Abilene Tucker as arrives in Manifest by jumping off the train because it's "best to get a look at a place before it gets a look at you." She's come to stay with Shady Howard, a sometime pastor, salon owner, and bootlegger. Her father, Gideon, has taken a job on the railroad in Iowa and it wasn't appropriate for her to accompany him. Abilene is a spunky girl used to hopping trains and living without too many comforts. She arrives in Manifest the day before school is out for the summer. She meets Lettie and Ruthanne and the 3 become good friends.

Abilene discovers a little tin of momentoes in her room at Shady's. Each has an important significance in the life of the towns' people and indirectly or directly Abilene's life. The stories, told in flashback to 1918, are woven by Miss Sadie, a diviner. She is quite the character who knows the history of the town inside and out. Each time and place has its own story, mystery and excitement. I wondered if the young audience for whom the book was written would be able to follow the switching back and forth. Throughout the novel the parade of memorable characters make appearances from Sister Redempta, nun and teacher to Hattie Mae Harper, journalist and historian. Abilene must sort out the stories as she and Lettie and Ruthanne try to find a spy, understand who Jinx and Ned are, and why Abilene's father has left her. It was helpful to have a listing of the characters at the beginning of the novel.

This novel reminded me so much of others I have read: A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, Nowhere to Call Home by Cynthia DeFelice, and Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. This is a solid piece of historical fiction, though not groundbreaking. I liked the book, but did not love it. It would appeal to both boys and girls, but I think a hard sell on its own. Perhaps it is best shared by teacher reading it to his or her class.