Category: Books

Tidy Tidbits: Reading & Watching

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FAMILY DYNAMICS IN FICTION

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Author Patchett (NEH)

Ann Patchett’s latest book is just out and it’s a good one.  Part of it is built around Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, long a staple of high school English classes.  When I was that age and we read Wilder’s play, I thought it tedious and mostly boring.  Later in life, I saw several stage productions and liked it somewhat more.  Recently, the Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota presented it and, it was wonderful!  Whether it was age (mine) or the quality of the performance, I felt like I appreciated the play fully for the first time.

In Tom Lake, Lara, in a dreamlike way, slowly unwinds for her three adult daughters, the long-ago story of her brief career in summer stock and her love for now famous actor Peter Duke.  She played the role of Emily in Our Town and another part in Fool for Love.  Duke, older than Lara, is magnetic, attractive, and enamored of her, but perhaps not all he seems.  With his steady reliable brother Sebastian and Lara’s dancer colleague Pallace, they make a foursome for swimming and tennis.  Throughout, Lara tells her daughters more than she ever has about that summer, unspooling the events slowly, keeping them in suspense, but also holding back some memories too painful to divulge.  

Set against the pandemic and the family’s cherry orchard in northern Michigan, Emily, Maisie, and Nell eagerly gobble up the details of their mother’s experiences interspersed with bouts of cherry picking.  It’s a novel of young love, friendships made and ruptured, the lure of the stage, and the quiet joy of a stable marriage.  

Lara played the role of Emily in Our Town in high school and then was sought out for Tom Lake.  it’s helpful, but not essential, to be familiar with the play.  Knowing it enriched the reading for me. With three sisters and a cherry orchard that soaks up hours and dollars, there are faint echoes of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.  

Without a lot of fuss, Patchett captures what it was like during the pandemic when time was suspended.  These three young women, a farmer, a vet in training, and an aspiring actress, are “trapped” on the farm helping out their parents since their workers have left.  I liked this novel the more I got into it with its slight twists and ended up loving it.  Recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

A MEMOIR OF LOVE MIDST ILLNESS

Left on Tenth:  A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron

Delia & Peter (NYPost)

More people probably know about Nora Ephron, Delia’s more famous novelist sister who died of acute leukemia in 2012.  Delia Ephron is also a novelist and playwright.  When Delia’s first husband died of cancer several years after her sister’s death, she never expected to find love again and so soon.  She and Peter Rutter got together quickly; he a psychiatrist, she a writer who had forgotten about dating him in a much earlier stage of life.  

There is joy in this memoir and pain and fear when Delia develops leukemia, her sister’s disease.  Hers is a variation. The medical sections of this memoir are not for the fainthearted, but Delia’s path was smoothed and made more bearable by the legions of friends from all stages of her life and the unending encouraging support of new husband Peter.  It’s a bracing, fast-paced, involving story, and if you have the courage for it, it’s well worth it.  I read it in a day!  (~JWFarrington)

RECENT VIEWING

The Empress (Netflix)

Franz & Elisabeth (ComingSoon.net)

A historical German drama, The Empress is about the making of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. In 1863, Elisabeth and her mother and sister Helene travel to meet the young Emperor Franz Joseph. Helene is expected to become the emperor’s bride. Instead Franz Joseph selects the unruly and rebellious Elisabeth.

Thus begins a battle of wills. Battles between Elisabeth and her mother-in-law Sophie who is accustomed to wielding all the power, between Elisabeth and Maximillian, Franz’s disruptive, but seductive younger brother, and between Elisabeth and Franz as she chafes against filling the mold of perfect empress.

The acting draws one in, the costumes are sumptuous, and it’s an engaging series. One might feel some comparisons with the Queen Charlotte season of Bridgerton; one review even praised the costumes here above those. Season 1 has eight episodes and a second season is planned. (~JWFarrington)

Manhattan (Amazon Prime–modest cost for ad free screening)

Abby & Charlie & Frank (Decider)

With the Oppenheimer movie attracting crowds, the availability of the 1981 documentary The Day After Trinity for streaming, it is probably not surprising that this 2014 series about the Manhattan Project popped up for viewing on Amazon. I don’t recall reading anything about it when it was first released.

In any case, Manhattan offers a different perspective on life in Los Alamos. It has fictional characters, but their activities are based on historic events. There are two competing groups of scientists working on the atomic bomb, one under the loose direction of the determined, almost maniacal Frank Winter and the other guided by Reed Akley and the arrogant and ambitious Charlie Issacs. But Los Alamos is run by the Army, so there are soldiers and numerous rules and regulations to ensure the secrecy of the mission.

And there are the wives and families of the scientists, many reluctantly and grudgingly trying to create a life midst dust and dirt with few amenities. Liza Winter is a PhD botanist frustrated at having had to give up her career, a character I find especially appealing. Abby Isaacs, high-toned mother of a 3-year old, becomes a switchboard operator.

Passion, both scientific and sexual, drives this compelling drama, and the Chief Penguin and I are completely hooked on it. Season 1 has thirteen episodes and Season 2, ten episodes, each about 45 minutes long. Highly recommended! (~JWFarrington)

DAILY BREAD

Bread Bandits

Sarasota has a brand new bakery on Osprey Avenue. Two guys from Canada are using European methods to create some wonderful breads and pastries. The Chief Penguin and I, he the very particular baker in our household, visited their shop the other morning and joined a line of six people at the counter. We went home with a loaf of sourdough for me and a loaf of multigrain for him plus several kinds of croissants, plain, almond, and chocolate almond. The breads make delicious toothsome toast. The lovely croissants have a crisp outer layer and are the best ones I’ve eaten in some years. So, if you’re up for a new treat, gander down and meet the Bread Bandits!

Note: Header image of fall foliage ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Summer 2023: Reading Roundup

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WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED

(downtowngreensboro.org)

I set myself a goal of reading 12 books from the summer reading list I created.  True to form, I did not read all the books on the list, but I read some other good books in addition.  Here’s my reading report.

I did well on the fiction side and read seven of the nine titles.  They were as follows:

Fiction

Many Rivers to Cross by Peter Robinson (this instead of the listed mystery I discovered I’d already read)

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls (excellent!)

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (4 stars)

Horse by Geraldine Brooks (5 stars)

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (3 stars)

Trust by Hernan Diaz (appreciated it after I finished it)

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear (Winspear is back on her game!)

Note that I still plan to read This Other Eden and Three.

Nonfiction

As for nonfiction, I still have The Grimkes and The Lobster Coast on my stack.  I read a long Atlantic excerpt of The Best Minds and so decided to skip reading the entire book.

(wired.com)

OTHER NOTEWORTHY READS

Fiction

The Majority by Elizabeth Silver (Supreme Court justice loosely based on RBG, a fast read)

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (coming in a future post)

The English Teacher by Lily King

Think of Horses by Mary Clearman Blew

Nonfiction

Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron (memoir of illness & love, coming in a future post)

Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel (memoir)

The Codebreaker by Walter Isaacson (biography of Jennifer Doudna & history of gene editing; reading currently)

Note: Header image of row of readers is courtesy of lifeisthisway.com

Maine Moments: Late Summer Reading & Viewing

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AFTERMATH

Peaceful view of Sarasota Bay

When Hurricane Idalia came barreling toward the Florida Gulf Coast, we watched, worried, and wondered from Maine.  Had we been home, we would have once again landed on the doorstep of our good friend in Venice where we sheltered last year during Ian.  

Our little island was a lucky place. Idalia left only storm debris and extra water here and there, but no damage to our building or others.  Anna Maria Island and downtown Bradenton, however, had significant flooding.  A big sigh of relief here and a cautious hope that Florida escapes further big storms this season.

As summer waned, I dove into several more books, and the Chief Penguin and I found some entertaining and some serious viewing. Next week I’ll share an overview of my summer reading.

JUST BECAUSE FICTION

I call this group “just because” fiction, because they are books that I came across or picked up that I might not otherwise have read.  But did read.  Summer is a time to do something different, read more widely, read remaindered titles, or just dabble with an unfamiliar author.  Did I love all these works?  No, I didn’t.  Did I finish them?  Yes, even if in one case, I skimmed a lot.  So, proceed with caution.

The English Teacher by Lily King

I got this on deep discount at Sherman’s in Boothbay Harbor because I’m a fan of King’s more recent novels. Published in 2005, The English Teacher is a story of adolescence and of a new marriage.  Peter is a high school sophomore with a new set of stepsiblings whom he desperately wants to like and to have like him.  His mother, Vida, never a wife until now, is the English teacher and her class is studying Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles.  

Vida is struggling in the marriage and her life.  Peter gets assigned to her class and discussions there bring to a head Vida’s unresolved issues.  King’s writing acutely portrays the anguish of both son and mother.  It’s an emotional book and one I found painful at points.

Margreete’s Harbor by Eleanor Morse (2021)

Appropriately for my summer, this is a novel set on the Maine coast from 1955 to 1967.  I did not know Eleanor Morse, but she has written several other novels and lives on Peaks Island.  

The character who catalyzes events is Margreete, a 70ish woman who is becoming forgetful and showing signs of early dementia.  This character alone may be enough for some of a certain age to set the novel aside. 

Liddie, Margreete’s daughter, and her husband Harry and their children Eva and Bernie, move from Michigan to start a new life with Margreete.  Liddie is a professional cellist and Harry a high school history teacher who holds strong views about the Vietnam War.  

This is a domestic novel in the truest sense capturing the small details of daily life as seen from the individual perspective of each family member.  I liked parts of it, but found it overly detailed and wished that it had been shorter.

Think of Horses by Mary Clearman Blew

Author Blew (inland360.com)

As a memento of our June trip to Montana, I purchased this novel in Big Fork.  Blew is the author of other books and nonfiction. Think of Horses, published in 2022 by the University of Nebraska Press, is the last book in her Montana quartet and set in the present. The other three take place in 1925, 1975, and 2012.

Tam Bowen, a successful romance novelist, has returned to her home county for the summer.  An unwed mother at 17, now age 50, she has had no recent contact with her adult son, Rob.  Tam relates easily to horses as her deceased father was a consummate horse-breaker, and he trained her.  Through horses, she makes the acquaintance of James, a neighbor, and his half brother teenage Calvin.  

Tam’s early life story made her the subject of gossip and in some quarters, hatred.  Returning to the area, she raises the ire and the violent tendencies of some of her neighbors.  These four individuals, Tam, Calvin, James, and even Rob, are all fragile with heartbreak in their histories.  

How they deal with each other, and both come together and disconnect, makes for a poignant story set midst the roughness and the beauty of the west.  (~JWFarrington)

VIEWING EXTREMES

FUN CHANGE OF PACE

Red, White & Royal Blue (Prime Video)

First Son Alex & Prince Henry (Town & Country)

After all the crime shows, we’d been watching, we needed something lighter and humorous.  Red, White & Royal Blue was just the thing, a political rom-com.  I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time.

Alex Claremont-Diaz is the son of the U. S. President while Prince Henry of the U.K. is the spare.  The two don’t hit if off initially and cause an embarrassing display at a wedding.  When they do become involved romantically, they must keep it a secret.  With a female president, a Hispanic first son, and a gay couple, this is contemporary comedy.  It’s great fun. Highly recommended for relief from everything serious!

TRAGEDY OF WAR

Generation War

Charly, Greta, Wilhelm & Friedhelm (The Telegraph)

Generation War is a German series aired in 2013 that follows five young Berliners as they serve and suffer in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945.  When first aired in Germany, it was watched by millions, but also the focus of much public debate.  

Greta is a bartender who aspires to become a popular singer; Viktor, a Jew, is her tailor boyfriend; Charlotte (Charly) is enthused about the prospect of nursing at the front, while brothers Wilhelm and Friedhelm are an army officer and an enlisted soldier respectively.  

As presented on American TV, the production is in three parts, each about 90 minutes long.  Narrated by Wilhelm and told from the German perspective, it contains some of the most brutal and almost physically punishing scenes of war I’ve ever seen.  

These 20-year-olds are initially full of idealism for a quick victory and, except for Viktor, accepting of the goals set out by Hitler.  They compromise their values, they see and do things that are horrible, and they are rendered emotionally numb by the machinery of war. 

This is strong stuff.  It’s an excellent series, but one that requires fortitude on the part of the viewer. Highly recommended!  For another perspective, here is a review from NPR that appeared in 2014.  

Note: Header photo of Maine coast and other of Sarasota Bay ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Maine Memo: Maui, Mystery & Memoir

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BEAUTIFUL MAUI

Menu cover at the yacht club

Like many people, the Chief Penguin and I have fond memories of visiting Maui over the years and being treated to insider tours with good friends.  It is wrenching to see the wildfire destruction of so much of historic Lahaina and its residential neighborhoods. 

On those earlier trips, we enjoyed meandering Front Street, checking out the small shops, and then tucking into a tasty lunch at the fun and funky Lahaina Yacht Club, now completely gone.  

Other club pennants on display in Lahaina

Our hearts and thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones and their homes. (Our friends were fortunate that their property was not affected.)

RECENT READING

A WOMAN WITH AN INTRIGUING PAST

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

Author Winspear (Mystery Scene)

This latest novel by Winspear is a standalone one.  I’ve owned it for several months but put off reading it.  Now I wonder why as I found it fascinating, engaging, and occasionally suspenseful.  Elinor DeWitt, also known as Elinor White, was a practically a child during the First World War I when she and her sister were recruited to help the Resistance effort in Belgium.  Their assignments completed, not without danger or continuing mental anguish, they and their mother were taken safely to London, their mother’s early home.  

Elinor completed her education and embarked on a career as a language teacher before being importuned to assist the war effort, this time against the Nazis.  The book goes back and forth in time between the war years, and the present London setting in 1947.  Elinor finds herself drawn to investigate a neighbor family’s business dealings. This leads to re-connections with former colleagues and reflections on her wartime experiences.  

I found Winspear’s more recent Maisie Dobbs’ mysteries a bit tired.  Thus, I was pleased that Elinor White is a complex and intriguing character.  I stayed involved wondering what her fate and that of others would be.  Recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

CREATIVITY OUT OF MISERY

Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel (Published in 2003)

Author Mantel in 2000 (ew.com)

It was an interesting pairing to read Winspear’s novel right after Hilary Mantel’s haunting, graphic, and sharp-edged memoir.  Mantel was born in 1952 in a Britain still suffering the shortages and exigencies of the Second World War.  Much of her childhood was spent in a politically provincial village outside Manchester.  The tensions between Protestants and Catholics reigned supreme, and which you were governed your schools and your daily routine.  Living near multiple sets of older relatives, Hilary received much in the way of family lore and readily accepted that there were ghosts, even recounts personally experiencing sightings.  And to a great extent, she took the teachings and warnings of the family’s Catholicism to heart.

As a teenager, her mother moved her and her siblings to another town along with her live-in partner, Jack.  A life that was already fraught (her father and Jack had both lived with the family before the move) continued to be so in the new setting as Hilary worked to stay under the radar and quiet, if not invisible. Plagued by illness which became severely painful in her late teens, she spent years being misdiagnosed, mistreated, patronized, and ultimately operated on.  

Having lost the ability to have children, she turned to writing.  For anyone who has read Wolf Hall or Bringing Up the Bodies, award-winning novels in Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy, it’s easy to see the seeds of those historical works here in her approach to life.  

This is an unconventional and brilliantly written memoir.  Those novels came much later. Hilary Mantel died in 2022 at the age of 70. Thanks to my friend Margaret for passing this book on to me.  (~JWFarrington)

West coast of Maui, Wailea

Note: Unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)