Category: Books

Watching, Reading, & Eating

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FEEL GOOD MOVIE

Downton Abbey:  A New Era

Lady Mary with family and staff (TVLine)

The characters in the original Downton Abbey TV series, are the favorites of many, me included.  This latest movie, the second one, brings everyone together again prompted by Tom Branson’s wedding to Lucy.  There are several children running around, Lady Violet is hanging on, just, and Lady Mary has grown into her lady of the manor role.  A short trip to France raises some puzzling family history.  Against this backdrop, Lord Grantham grudgingly agrees to let the abbey be the set for one of the first talking films.  The filming provides fodder for several subplots.

Isobel Crawley (Baroness Merton) & Lady Violet Crawley (NPR)

Overall, this is a set piece rather than high drama.  There are sweet vignettes between Downton’s married staff and some couples who aren’t.  Add in nostalgia and the recognition that the mantle is being passed on to a new generation.  What would have been the logical ending was instead followed by a scene preparing the way for yet another film.  

The Chief Penguin and I thoroughly enjoyed this return to Downton.  It’s fun and affirming in a good way.  

CIVIL WAR NOVEL

Wild, Beautiful and Free by Sophfronia Scott

Author Scott (Rob Berkley)

E-mails from Amazon bring newly published titles to my attention.  A few are freebies while others are bargains from mostly unfamiliar authors.  This new novel from Sophfronia Scott came via that route.

It’s the story of a Jeannette, a mixed-race young woman in Louisiana.  Her slave mother died in childbirth, her white stepmother loathes her, and her rich landowner father dotes on her and oversees her education.  He also tutors her in the layout of the Catalpa plantation and tells her she will inherit a portion of it one day.  When he dies, his wife sells her and sends her to a distant plantation.  

Jeannette’s greatest wish is to someday return to Catalpa and claim her heritage.  Narrated in the first person, this is a compelling story of hardship, danger, determination, and love.  Boldness and daring acts shape Jeannette’s journey, making for a most absorbing book. 

Scott began her career as an award-winning magazine journalist and is the author of other novels and numerous essays.  Her young son was at school in Sandy Hook on that fateful day in 2013; Scott’s memoir, This Child of Faith, outlines how religion has played a beneficial role in his life.

WHITE LINEN ITALIAN

Lusardi’s (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

We returned to Lusardi’s for dinner after a long absence.  It’s traditional and elegant in an Old-World sense. Wait staff is all male and the service is impeccable, but not stiff.  It’s perfect for a special occasion, but so welcoming that I could easily dine here frequently.

On this night, we shared an order of tagliolini cacio e pepe to start.  These pasta strands coated in butter sauce with Pecorino cheese and pepper and the added ingredient of strips of zucchini were sublime. The zucchini elevated the dish.  

For our mains, I had delicious almond-crusted John Dory on sauteed spinach while the Chief Penguin went for the chicken breast with black truffle sauce accompanied by butternut squash and Brussels sprouts.  It was a lovely meal. The menu has so many temptations, we’ve vowed to go back again soon!

Chicken with black truffle sauce (Lusardi’s)

Note: Header photo of Lusardi’s dining room is from lusardis.com

Tidy Tidbits: Mostly Watching

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RECENT VIEWING

INTERWOVEN LIVES IN A CAR CRASH

Collision (Amazon Prime)

Detectives John & Ann (The Movie Database)

Collision is a British police series from 2009. The Chief Penguin and I decided to watch it because it stars Douglas Henshall of Shetland fame.  A traffic accident involving 12 cars occurs on a superhighway and three people die.  Detective Inspector John Tolin (a young Henshall) and Inspector Ann Stallwood (Kate Ashfield) analyze the crash scene and talk to the survivors to determine how and why it happened on a perfectly pleasant day.  Tolin lives with his disabled daughter, and you quickly sense he is haunted by a tragedy, but have no details.  Rather than doing the standard follow-up, John becomes caught up in personal aspects of the survivors’ lives.  

We see the accident over and over and the activities of the principals in the several days leading up to it.  One or more crimes may have been committed, and John and Ann follow all sorts of leads to tie it all together.   While not fast paced, we found this a fascinating crime/mystery series.  It was written by Anthony Horowitz (think Foyle’s War), and there are 5 episodes.  

DEADLY CRIME AND QUESTIONABLE COPS

Bloodlands (Acorn) 2 seasons

Detectives Brannick & McGovern (Radio Times)

Set in Northern Ireland in present day, this police procedural handles complex cases with links to Northern Ireland’s past and the IRA.  The principals are Detective Chief Inspector Tom Brannick and his assistant, DS Naimh McGovern, and their boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Jackie Twomey.  Brannick’s wife went missing more than 20 years ago, and he is obsessed with solving these new cases.  Single, Brannick has a college age daughter and a somewhat checkered past.  As he and his colleagues hunt for the infamous assassin called Goliath, one begins to question Brannick’s motives and intents. 

I found the first season suspenseful with some compelling twists and turns.  In Season 2, which I’m now watching, I have a clearer view of Brannick’s values or lack thereof and am wondering how he will fare in the end. This is a hard-edged, gripping series with plenty of killings—not for the faint of heart.  

BOOK NOTES

  • My local book group had a lively discussion about Lessons in Chemistry by first time novelist Bonnie Garmus.  The facilitator liked it, everyone else loved it.  We agreed that its humorous moments made what could have been a heavy work enjoyable.  The book’s underlying theme, society’s treatment of women in the 1950’s and 60’s, prompted the sharing of several personal accounts of workplace discrimination or harassment. 
  • I’m currently reading Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson.  Set in London in 1926, it focuses on the indomitable Nellie Coker and her family members who own a series of nightclubs.  So far, I love the writing (meticulous in its telling details) and am finding these characters intriguing.

Tidy Tidbits: Women in Crime & Chemistry

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FEMALE CRIME FIGHTERS

International Women’s Day was this week on March 8th. It seems appropriate, therefore, to focus on women in this post. In the olden days, TV detectives and police officers were pretty much always white men. It’s gratifying and fun to see women—brown, white, Indian, and Irish—as the lead characters in recent crime series. Here are three series, all of which happen to be set outside the U.S., where women are in charge or at least trying to be.

Murders in Birmingham

DI Ray (Prime Video)

Richita Ray & colleague Tony (SBS Movies)

DI Richita Ray is a newly promoted homicide detective tasked to work on a case that is culturally sensitive. Feeling that she is a token hire based on her ethnicity, she faces obstacles from her higher ups as she leads her team in investigating the death of an Asian businessman.  Ray is organized and quick-witted and the episodes are full of action.  She’s also engaged to a white man, also a police detective.  Her relationship with him provides both support and then challenges.  There are four episodes in Season 1, all revolving around the initial case.  I’d call it good viewing, but not exceptional.

Drugs & Terrorists in Ireland

Hidden Assets (Prime Video)

Detectives Emer & Christian (SBS)

Set in western Ireland and Antwerp, Hidden Assets, is a suspenseful series about drugs, diamonds, and international terrorism.  Detective Sergeant Emer Berry and her counterpart in Antwerp, Christian De Jong, work together to solve the murder of an illegal immigrant and to prevent a suspected bombing, both related to a wealthy Irish family.  Tightly written, this may keep you on the edge of your seat.  Recommended!

Crime in Victorian London

Miss Scarlet & the Duke (PBS Masterpiece) 3 seasons

Eliza facing off against William (salon.com)

I’m late to the game of Miss Scarlet …and have just started watching Season 1.  Headstrong and willing to take risks, Eliza Scarlet was always her private detective father’s apt pupil.  When he dies, she defies convention and tries to make it on her own as his successor.  It’s a struggle and she frequently buts heads with Scotland Yard Inspector William Wellington (the Duke) who has little patience and no real interest in helping her succeed.  How she acquires unexpected financial support and gradually gains the Duke’s respect make for an engaging series thus far.

FUN READING—A REBELLIOUS WOMAN

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Author Garmus (Irish Examiner)

Bonnie Garmus’ comic novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was Barnes & Noble’s book of the year for 2022 and continues to ride high on bestseller lists.  I loved it and found some of it laugh-out-loud funny which is unusual for me.

It’s set mostly in the early 1960’s. Any woman who lived through that period, or anyone who has experienced job discrimination due to her gender, will be able to identify with chemist Elizabeth Zott.  Elizabeth is unconventional and determined.  

A talented scientist, she gets short shrift on lab equipment and space and initially accepts her fate.  Taking beakers from “boy wonder” Calvin Evans’ lab, gets her noticed and they become a couple.  But she rejects his proposal of marriage.  When he dies, she is a single mother and soon out of job.  

Her daughter Madeline is unusual also and when Mad and another girl tangle, Elizabeth receives a TV job offer from the other girl’s father.  Elizabeth becomes the host of the cooking show, Supper at Six.  Elizabeth’s straight talk and excessive candor horrify the producers, but over time she wins over her audience as she treats them as capable women.  The novel is a fun tour de force that gallops across the pages with witty twists and intriguing turns and a distinctive cast of characters. Highly recommended! (~JWFarrington)  

Note: Header photo showcases International Women’s Day and is courtesy of Diario AS.

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)