Category: Memoirs

Tidy Tidbits: Biography, Mystery, & Memoir

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INTIMATE PORTRAIT

The Chancellor by Kati Marton

Kati Marton (The Guardian)

Members of my local book group enjoyed reading Marton’s portrayal of Angela Merkel.  It’s an accessible biography of an intensely private woman in a prominent public position.  It isn’t a comprehensive biography and does not provide detailed analysis of some of Merkel’s questionable decisions and actions.  And the author is perhaps too admiring.  

But it’s an amazing story of how Merkel, raised in then East Germany under the repressive Soviet system, was smart, determined, and motivated, and able to go beyond the constraints of her upbringing to serve Germany as chancellor for 16 years.  

Marton’s style is engaging. I particularly enjoyed the later chapters about Merkel’s genuine friendships with the younger George Bush and Barack Obama and her tussles with Trump.  In occasional footnotes, Marton comments on her own experiences.  Originally from Hungary, Marton was a news correspondent and married to diplomat Richard Holbrooke, giving her some closeness to international leaders and events. Some reviewers found her personal comments annoying or inappropriate, but I did not. Recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

SEEING THE UNSEEN

Exiles by Jane Harper

Jane Harper (Geelong Advertiser)

Exiles by Jane Harper is a fascinating crime novel built around a close-knit family full of revels and rivalries.  Friend and financial detective Aaron Falk returns to the Marralee Valley in South Australia for a christening. It’s a year after the disappearance of a mother, Kim Gillespie, whose baby is left in a stroller on festival grounds.  Friends and relatives have been interviewed and their recent interactions with Kim parsed, but there has been no answer to what happened to her or where she might be.  An older unsolved crime in the same area is reexamined for possible linkages to Kim.  

Like Harper’s other novels, the behavior of family and friends and their motivations are the primary focus.  Teenager Joel, whose father was killed in a hit and run accident, is convincingly cast. Falk is a likable guy, and his personal life gets some satisfying attention here.  I found myself pondering these characters and events anew after I finished reading.  Highly recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

ADDICTION AND PRISON

Corrections in Ink by Keri Blakinger

Keri Blakinger (by Ilana Panich-Linsman)

The title of this book and the fact that it is a memoir caught my eye while browsing in my favorite bookstore.  I had not read anything about it, nor did I know the author.  Reading the flyleaf and seeing Ithaca and Cornell mentioned further piqued my interest. I worked in Ithaca two summers during college, one on the Cornell campus.  

In dated chapters alternating between her years in prison (2010-2012) and years before and after, Keri Blakinger shares in painstaking detail her drive for perfection in schoolwork and competitive figure skating and her descent into heroin addiction.  In 2010, nearing completion of her degree at Cornell, she is arrested with a large wad of heroin on her.  

She describes the cruelty, pettiness, and nastiness of life in a county jail, what it means to be transferred to another county jail and why, and how time in a state prison is different in yet another way.  Throughout, there is a loss of personhood that comes with being in the penal system.  For Keri, who had hit rock bottom in terms of self-esteem, it took a long time after becoming clean and sober to realize that she did have something to contribute and had had an easier time than less privileged Black inmates.  It was a long journey to becoming the accomplished and recognized journalist she is today.  

This is not an easy book to read; at points the prison scenes are painful and unending, and one wonders both why she made some of her earlier poor choices and if she will ever be able to turn herself around.  It is a graphic account: candid, reflective, and wonderfully written.  (~JWFarrington)

Tidy Tidbits: See, Read, Watch

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FOOD FOR THE BRAIN

Barbara Stephenson (UNC-Chapel Hill)

This week we attended in person the first program in the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning (SILL) 2023 Global Issues series.  It was the first time we’d been back live since Covid.  Attendance was sparse compared to earlier years, but the speaker was excellent.  

Former Ambassador Barbara Stephenson is the inaugural vice-provost for global affairs at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.  During her 30 years with the foreign service, she served as ambassador to Panama, deputy ambassador in London, and as president of the American Foreign Services Association among other assignments.  

Her talk on the special challenges the U.S. faces in dealing with superpowers China and Russia was informative, well-illustrated, and well delivered.  It was a great beginning for the series.   She exemplified the kind of speaker who merits a return invitation.  

RECENT READING

Spare by Prince Harry

I pre-ordered Prince Harry’s memoir before we watched his Netflix series.  With all the leaks about the book’s content and the somewhat negative, or at least, mixed reviews, I half wondered if it would be worth reading.  For me, it was.

While most of us know Harry was traumatized after his mother’s death and have read and heard a lot about his and Meghan’s departure from the U.K., there is much about his military service and his family life between age 12 and meeting Meghan, that was new. 

After Princess Diana’s death, Harry did not receive the necessary help nor figure out himself how to move forward in a balanced way.  The Windsor royals eschew showing emotion publicly and even privately are reported as not a demonstrative family.  Harry’s memoir is all about feelings and emotions and yes, he overshares.  

Reading it, I felt empathy for the troubled teen and young man he was and admired his efforts to want to do some good in the world.  Notable examples are his work in several African countries (where he felt free) and his establishment of the Invictus Games for wounded service members and veterans. 

As expected, he puts a lot of blame for some of his anxiety and issues on the British press and on a few individuals in the palace’s communications office.  While being in the public eye and putting up with press attention are expected of the royal family, the hurtful and false media articles and constant surveillance, especially targeting Meghan, come across as beyond the usual and unwarranted.  With their escape to California, perhaps Harry and Meghan and their children will be able to enjoy more peaceful settled lives.

A word about the writing in the book.  It is compelling and even elegant at points.  Thanks to the laudable work of collaborator J. R. Moehringer, Harry’s memoir has an arc and a shape that make it very readable.  For one of the better reviews, I recommend Rebecca Mead’s piece in the January 23rd issue of The New Yorker, The Haunting of Prince Harry. (~JWFarrington)

FOOTNOTE ON VIEWING

Characters Joon-ho & Woo Young Woo (soompi.com)

I finished watching all sixteen episodes of Season 1 of Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix and still highly recommend it.  It’s engaging, the legal cases are intriguing, there’s underhanded politics, and occasionally, it’s even funny.  Over the course of the series, Attorney Woo astounds, annoys, and sometimes badgers her colleagues.  She is uneasy and often blunt in social situations causing embarrassment, yet she has a phenomenal memory for case law.  Part of her coming into her own is learning how to accept affection. Her fragile romance with colleague Joon-ho is beautifully played out and even sweet. 

Note: Header photo of Meghan and Harry is from Global News.

After Ian: Diversions

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HURRICANE IAN

It was a wild and crazy week for many residents of Florida, especially those on the southwest coast. Ian initially was predicted to hit near the Tampa area and a bit south and then went farther east and pummeled the folks in North Port, Englewood, Ft. Myers, Sanibel, and Captiva. We left our home after we were under a mandatory evacuation order and went an hour south (which turned out to be closer to the storm) to stay with a longtime friend.

We stayed with him for three nights and had some loss of power and lack of water, but were safe and dry and well protected. He’s a good cook whose stove is gas, and we were well provisioned. We were gratified when we returned home yesterday that our condo building was here and intact. Most of the storm damage here was restricted to landscape issues.

As an antidote to the Ian’s wild winds, I offer up a wonderful memoir about friendship and a TV series that doesn’t seem like it should be compelling, but the Chief Penguin and I have found it somewhat addictive.

MARVELOUS MEMOIR

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg

When I commuted to Penn by car years ago, I used to hear Nina Totenberg on NPR.  Her analysis of Supreme Court cases was always clear and insightful, and I became a fan.  Long before Ruth Bader Ginsburg became a household name, Totenberg interviewed her, got to know her, and they became friends.  They were both pioneering women in their professions. They shared conversation and bonded over their work’s importance to each of them.  As time went on, they socialized with their spouses and were supportive of each other in times of illness and sorrow.

Totenberg’s focus is on female friendships in her life (her colleagues Linda Wertheimer and Cokie Roberts being other prime examples) with a specific spotlight on her almost 50-year friendship with Ruth.  Ruth was a great support to Nina when her first husband endured years of illness.  Later Nina and her second husband David were protective and caring toward Ruth after her husband Marty’s death and during her last illness.  

You might think that this is a sad book, but rather, it is a wonderfully uplifting and endearing account of deep friendships that enriched Totenberg’s life, including her friendships with male judges and justices.  Along the way, I also learned more about the functioning of the Supreme Court.  Highly recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

ADDICTIVE TV SERIES

Suspects  (Acorn)

This crime series set in London is about 10 years old, of lesser technical quality, and  with dialogue partially adlibbed.  Yet, the Chief Penguin and I are finding it quite addictive.  A crime has been committed, and three detectives are involved in finding out who did it.  Detective Jack Weston and his colleague, Detective Charlie Steele are usually first on the scene, sometimes accompanied by their boss, Detective Chief Inspector Bellamy.  The crimes are messy and nasty and often are attempted murder or rape.  

Each episode then consists of the team bringing in a series of suspects and interviewing them and then following up on possible arrests.  Almost no time is spent on the detectives’ lives outside work, and in the early episodes, it’s sometimes unclear if they have really resolved who will be charged with the crime.  Each episode is an hour, and so far, we have watched almost three series or about 8 episodes.

Ibises enjoying the view

Header photo shows trees bowing into the water, thanks to Ian. Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Manhattan Moments: Screen, Page & Plate

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DC SOCIAL SCENE ON SCREEN

Georgetown (Amazon Prime)

Elsa and Mot (nytimes.com)

Georgetown, a movie offering from Prime, is inspired by shocking real events.  Mot, an immigrant to the U.S., aspires to grand adventures and a role in the diplomatic world.  Charming and debonair, he meets a grand dame socialite and former journalist, invites her to lunch and flatters her.  When Elsa’s husband dies, he re-establishes contact and then marries her.  She is several decades his senior, but he is not above using her connections to host Washington notables at elegant dinner parties.  

From there, with her smarts, he parlays his way into advising and counseling heads of state and other eminent individuals.  When Elsa dies, the manner of her death raises questions, and Mot’s behavior gets a thorough examination.  

The narrative arc is shallow and the ending predictable but watching Mot maneuver makes for good entertainment.  And the cast includes notables Vanessa Redgrave and Annette Bening.

RISING TO THE TOP IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT

Lessons from the Edge by Marie Yovanovitch

Former ambassador Yovanovitch (theguardian.com)

Foreign Service Officer Yovanovitch gained fame and notoriety when then President Trump fired her from her position as ambassador to Ukraine.  Her testimony during Trump’s first impeachment trial was riveting.  Her memoir is a fascinating account of the political climate after the Cold War and the end of the communist state in the USSR.  Of Russian heritage and an immigrant to the United States herself, Yovanovitch was very interested in serving in Moscow and the former Soviet countries.  

During the 1980’s and early 90’s, the Foreign Service Office was a male bastion; the very few women there were routinely either ignored or discriminated against.  Ms. Yovanovitch details both her professional struggles and her personal insecurities in her climb up the diplomatic ladder.  

I’m about a third of the way into her memoir and find it an informative look at the U.S. diplomatic efforts in Somalia, Moscow, and Ukraine.  She is candid to the point of rawness and does not stint on criticism of herself and some of her superiors, while praising those who listened to her and gave her opportunities.  

ETHIC DINING

One of the pleasures of being in Manhattan is the wide range of ethnic restaurants.  As has been the case for a while, Italian cuisine predominates, but there are good Chinese, Indian, and Turkish restaurants too.  Here are a couple we enjoyed recently.

Wa Jeal

Chicken broccoli and Shrimp with peppers

This Upper East Side Sichuan restaurant interior is light and attractive.  We had lunch here and were delighted with the warm welcome from our waitress and with the clean flavors of the dishes we ordered.  The scallion pan cakes and the Sichuan pork dumplings were excellent.  Sliced chicken with broccoli and the sauteed shrimp and green peppers in a hot pepper sauce were equally delicious.  Pair those offerings with white rice and a Tsing Tao beer, and you have a fortifying meal!  Take out and several delivery options are also available.

Agora Turkish Restaurant

Interior of Agora

We like A La Turka restaurant on 2nd Avenue but decided to venture farther up that avenue to Agora for lunch.  Paintings adorning the walls and Turkish oil lamps on each table give this restaurant a charming Old-World feel.  We liked our waiter and ordered hummus to start followed by chicken shish and lamb adana.  Each entrée was accompanied by rice, onion salad, red cabbage, and tomatoes and green pepper.  

The chicken seemed a bit dry, but the Chief Penguin found the lamb very tasty.  Another place to add to our list of regulars!

Note: Unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).