Category: Books

Maine Time: Politics & Fiction

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POLITICS—BRITISH STYLE

If you’re fed up with the American political scene, here are two video offerings for an English change of pace.

Margaret  (Amazon Prime)

This 2-hour production traces the wheeling and dealing and backroom haggling that transpired in November 1990 and resulted in Margaret Thatcher’s ouster as British prime minister. Think lots of older white men all angling for their continued place in the sun (i.e. the Cabinet) or for more, the prime ministership itself.  Lindsay Duncan is strident, determined and even occasionally screechy as the indomitable Margaret while Roger Ashton-Griiffiths is appropriately deferential and caring as her long-suffering spouse Denis.  Very entertaining, although some might find Duncan’s portrayal of Thatcher caricaturish.  Released in 2009.

A Very British Scandal  (Netflix)

In three parts, this mini-series chronicles the calamitous career of MP Jeremy Thorpe beginning in 1961 with his affair with a young lower class man named Norman Scott.  This was when homosexual relations were still illegal in the U.K.  Thorpe set Scott up in a flat and wrote him affectionate letters.  Scott later made the letters public and talked freely to any and all about their relationship.  How Thorpe dealt with this threat to his rising career and the lengths to which he went to try and silence Scott are so extreme and farfetched as to seem unbelievable.  But all true.  This slice of British politics stars the usually impeccable Hugh Grant as Thorpe with Ben Whishaw as the charming, flaky, and appealing Scott.

 

SUMMER READING

#10  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I found Ng’s first novel, Everything I Never Told You, masterful and poignant.  This one is even better, excellent, in fact.  Ng gently skewers life in the perfect suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, during the Clinton era.  And she “gets’ and skillfully portrays the foibles, frenzies, and frustrations of teenage life.  The Richardson children, Lexie, Trip, Moody, and Izzy are well intentioned (except for Izzy) and appropriately self-centered.  Outsiders Pearl Warren and her mother, Mia, a rootless, talented artist, who rent an apartment from the Richardsons, are different, and each child is attracted to one or both of them.

They become catalysts for upheaval when Mia champions a Chinese woman whose baby is slated for adoption by the wealthy, white McCulloughs, close friends of Elena Richardson and her husband.  Newspaper reporter and busybody Elena runs a well-ordered household and lives a mostly rule-following life.  Lacking in self-awareness, she uses her reporting skills to investigate Mia and reaps much more than she bargained for.

With a punchy opening sentence:  “Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer:  how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down,“ this novel about motherhood, art, and how we live in society will linger in your memory long after you’ve finished it.  For more about Ng and her upbringing, here is a link to a 2017 interview.  (~JWFarrington)

 

#11  Love and Ruin by Paula McLain  

Paula McLain writes historical novels about intriguing women, women who are notable in part because they are the wives or amours of famous men.  In essence, she writes love stories.  I first read The Paris Wife about Ernest Hemingway’s time in Paris and his marriage to Hadley Richardson, wife #1.  It was good, particularly for its depiction of the literary scene and all the famous writers who congregated there in the 1920’s, but not great.  I did not read Circling the Sun about Beryl Markham, but was attracted to this latest novel by the very positive press it’s been getting.  And it didn’t disappoint.

Martha Gellhorn was an accomplished and noted war correspondent who covered all the major 20th century conflicts from the Spanish Civil War to the Second World War to Vietnam and even Panama in her early 80’s.  She was the first journalist and the only woman to be on the beach in Normandy.  She was also Ernest Hemingway’s third wife and reputed to be the only woman who stood up to him.

Effectively told primarily in Gellhorn’s voice with two wars as backdrop, it’s a gripping and graphic account of the turmoil of battle and the tempestuous relationship between two intense individuals.  Gellhorn’s desire to accede to the demands of marriage fights with her strong determination to forge ahead in her own career as a writer and journalist.  As a reader, I also gained a better understanding of the Spanish Civil War through this novel.   (JWFarrington)

 

#12 From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein

Probably most of us didn’t realize until recently that there are stenographers assigned to the president to transcribe his every public word.  I certainly didn’t until I read about this memoir by Ms. Dorey-Stein. She worked for President Obama for five years and stood in the shadows recording and then transcribing.

She has a fresh voice and an enduring sense of wonder at being where she is:  witnessing history, traveling on Air Force One to U.S. cities and countries around the world, and living in a very special bubble.  For the twenty-somethings who support POTUS, it’s a life fueled by alcohol and constrained by the demands of being available 24/7, but ripe with opportunities for affairs and hook-ups.

Reading Dorey-Stein is a bit like being on a careening roller coaster as she shares her doubts and insecurities and details her relationships with boyfriends and work colleagues all the while demonstrating her ability to write.  She matures and becomes more confident over these years, and I appreciated the up close view she provides of living and working in such a rarefied atmosphere.  A quick read that will either entrance you or drive you nuts with all the boyfriend angst!  I was entranced and always rooting for her to have good sense. (~JWFarrington)

Note:  Header photo ©JWFarrington.  Book jackets from the web.

Maine Time: Reading & Midyear Book Review

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The first few foggy days here were perfect for nestling into the couch with a book and that I did.  I spent two entire days just reading!  An absolute treat.

SUMMER READING  (Tracking 20 by Sept. 1)

#9  My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie

Historical novels can be a painless and enjoyable way to delve into history and to discover the personalities behind famous individuals.  This six-hundred page novel was so absorbing and fascinating I read it in little more than a day!  For anyone who has seen Hamilton, the musical, it provides intriguing counterpoint, being the story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton told from her perspective.  It’s all here—from her youth as the child of a Revolutionary War general who took her to negotiations with the Iroquois nation, to her marriage to upstart Alexander Hamilton, to her role as his helpmate and the mother of his children, to the fifty years after his death she contributed to society as social activist and philanthropist.

Authors Dray and Kamoie are both published novelists and Kamoie has the added distinction of being a former history professor.  They have researched the historical record in detail, read countless works about the period and the founding fathers, and used Alexander and Eliza’s own words whenever possible.  Few original documents exist about Eliza herself.  In fleshing out this lively and accomplished woman, they have invented what they imagine might have been Eliza Hamilton’s emotional responses to Hamilton’s adultery and his death by duel as well as her relationships with her sisters, Peggy and Angelica, and her friendships with Lafayette, James Monroe, James Madison, and Martha Washington among others.

In two long afterwords, they explain where they diverged from fact and how their portrayal of Eliza differs from and expands upon the Eliza in the musical.  If you like history and complex women, this would be a great book to take to the beach! (~JWFarrington)

 

MIDTERM REVIEW:  MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2018

Of the books I’ve read in the first part of this year, these are the ones I consider the most memorable. In no particular order, I’ve listed them here.

Best Contemporary Novel

American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Best Historical Novel

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Most Creative Sequel (What Came after Portrait of a Lady)

Mrs. Osmond by John Banville

Best Historical Novel about a Real Author (George Eliot)

Honeymoon by Dinitia Smith

Most Compelling Memoir

Educated by Tara Westover

 

Note:  Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

Maine Time: Pausing in Portland

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PORTLAND INTERLUDE

As is our wont, our annual trip to Maine included about 36 hours in Portland.  Portland is red brick and squawking gulls (Florida seagulls don’t seem to squawk, at least I haven’t heard them).  It’s also home to a branch of the ubiquitous Sherman’s (books lowercase, gifty items uppercase), the seriously good Longfellow Books, and a plethora of good to great restaurants.  It’s a real foodie’s town.  And in our short time there, we managed to squeeze in a tasty lunch at the Garden Café, two superb dinners, and an atmospheric, but somewhat disappointing, lobster roll lunch in the Old Port.  

We like to stay at the Portland Regency Hotel in the historic Armory building.  It’s conveniently located close to the touristy Old Port yet also easily walkable to the center of town and to the Portland Art Museum.  Like all of the hotels this season, it’s pricey—summer is when Portland makes real money.

On our way to dinner one night, we stopped in at said art museum (turned out it’s free from 4:00 to 8:00 pm on Fridays) and found the exhibit of the photography of Clarence White most interesting.  Self taught, White gained attention at the beginning of the 20thcentury for his soft focus photos of women and children and was later commissioned to do illustrations for a number of books and for advertising.  He also was one of the first individuals to teach photography in a university setting, at Columbia and also elsewhere.

WHERE WE ATE

Garden Café

This is the Regency hotel’s outdoor dining spot, and when the weather is perfect, which it was on Thursday, it was just right for lunch.  The menu includes the usual coastal fare of fish and chips, chowder, and lobster rolls, but you can also order a quesadilla with chicken or one from their appetizing selection of salads.  Service is leisurely, but who wants to hurry on a beautiful day!

Hugo’s

Hugo’s is a seriously good restaurant and the dinner we enjoyed here was exquisite.  The menu is divided into three sections:  appetizers, to share, and mains.  We ordered mostly from the appetizers section with the addition of one entrée and shared everything.  The cold smoked halibut with almond milk and ramps was different and delectable, the tuna tartare luscious, and the orcchiette with lamb bacon and spinach an inspired and hearty combination.

As a main, we sampled the roasted scallops with mole, probably the best scallops I’ve ever eaten!  Seating is in booths or stools at the bar and the wait staff are all very friendly and welcoming.  For those who may be hesitant about this refined food, the staff will put them at ease.

Chaval

This Spanish style casual place in the west end is celebrating its first anniversary this week. We have dined at Piccolo, its sister Italian restaurant in the Old Port, several times and found it so wonderful, we felt we needed to try Chaval.  Chaval too is marvelous.  There is pleasant indoor seating, but we opted for the walled-in patio out back and were charmed by the bold painted flowers on the building wall.

The menu has a number of tapas dishes on the To Start section of the menu along with Stuck in the Middle and Forks and Knives.  We like small plates and so tried the fried cauliflower, patatas bravas (the Chief Penguin pronounced these the best ever!), deviled eggs with shrimp and caviar, and a special of the night, duck rillettes.  

These were several bites each and thus, we then went on to lettuce and nuts (a salad with walnuts and cabrales blue cheese) and a beautifully presented plate of shrimp a la plancha.  To end, we succumbed to an order of churros.   Another wonderful meal!

READING UPDATE

#8  Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

This historical novel has so many different strands at work that it’s difficult to know what aspects to pinpoint.  It’s a story about a father-daughter relationship, albeit one that exist in bursts with 12-year old Anna recounting a memorable outing with her father, followed by his disappearance, and then her resignation at knowing his fate.  It’s also about the divers who worked at the Brooklyn Naval Yard during WWII and how Anna becomes the first female diver.  And there’s the shadowy background of the mob—the corrupt underworld of nightclubs and shady yet tantalizingly seductive men like Dexter Styles.  Egan brings all this together in a compelling, richly detailed, dark tale that kept this reader wondering how it would all come together and whether any of these characters, Anna, her hapless mother, or her rootless aunt Brianne, would find ease and stability.

For the record, more than fifteen publications included this work on their lists of the top books of 2017. (~JWFarrington)

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).  Header photo is back side of restaurant Chaval.

Tidy Tidbits: Discovering One’s Forebears

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DELVING INTO ONE’S PAST

In my experience, individuals start getting seriously interested in genealogy, their family’s past, when they hit their 50’s.  Middle age has settled in, the kids are grown or on their way out the door, and curiosity about one’s forebears rises to the fore.  In my extended family, my Uncle John, my mother’s youngest brother, was the one with the bug.  He wrote letters to relevant historical societies, searched archives, and visited Texas where my grandfather was born.  He completed the detailed paper fill-in-the-blanks family tree  forms (invaluable) which were pre-Internet.  To a lesser degree, his older brother, my Uncle Bill who lived in Dallas, assisted.  And being the family’s resident librarian, I was enlisted to investigate the occasional query.  Much of this legwork took place in the 80’s and into the early 90’s.  Long before Geni and well before the rise of Google.

Today researching one’s genealogy is made easier and faster by several online tools.  Perhaps the easiest one to begin with is geni.com.  You can quite easily create your own family tree for free and then go back and add to it as you have more information.  If you want to be made aware of possible matches for people in your tree, then there are several levels of membership for which you pay an annual fee.  I used just the free service for a long time and populated the tree on both sides of my family using the paper data sheets that Uncle John created.  Adding to Geni can be addictive; usually if I go online to add one date or place of birth or death, I end up looking at other records and puzzling about possible missing relatives.  In general, all deceased individuals are viewable by anyone who has set up a Geni account.

I have also found that just Googling a relative’s name and place of residence or year of death can result in a full obituary or a cemetery record with a photo of the gravestone.  Recently, I turned up the 1966 obituary for my great Uncle Ernst who died at the age of 90.  I well remember him, he was a bit confused in his dotage, but I had not known much about his earlier life.  Some families have also created extensive online records going back many generations so if you have a name that was prominent in history or very common, you might well find a treasure trove of data.  My mother’s maiden name is Hancock, and she and her siblings and many previous generations are all online!

My mother also kept some folders of family history, mostly her side, but also some on my father’s family.  I just received these from my sister.  Included was a journal of a train trip my great grandfather, James W. Findley (1849-1905), made across the U.S. in 1873 that my mother had already typed up.  And also a handwritten log of a trip he made by steamship from Philadelphia to Antwerp in 1878.  He was 29, and he spent about two months in Europe.  I’ve just completed the painstaking process of deciphering his account of the crossing and his penciled notes about where he stayed and what he did in Italy, France, Switzerland, and England.  Thanks to the Internet, I’ve found information about his ship and about some of his hotels, several of which exist today in one form or another.  Once I’ve completed my research, I’ll save the transcribed documents as a PDF in Dropbox and share them with my siblings and extended family.

If one becomes really serious about all this research, like my husband’s brother who has identified and documented relatives going back more than ten generations, then there are other sites and services such as ancestry.com and findagrave.com as well as suggested resources on the National Archives website.  However much you choose to do, it can be both a rewarding and a learning experience, providing perspective on those who came before you.

 

TRACKING TWENTY TITLES

In my self-imposed challenge to read twenty books before Sept. 1, I’ve just added another title to my list.

#7  The Heart is a Shifting Sea:  Love and Marriage in Mumbai by Elizabeth Flock

Emotionally impacted by her parents’ divorce and her father’s subsequent failed marriages, journalist Flock was attracted to the kind of love she saw among Indian couples she met.  She worked in Mumbai (aka Bombay) for two years beginning in 2008 and then returned in 2014 and 2015, but she remained in regular contact in those intervening years with three couples with whom she had become close.  Indian society, and Mumbai in particular, were changing rapidly during this time, more marriages were love matches and not arranged, and Western mores were making inroads.

In her book, in alternating chapters, Flock profiles these three couples’ first meeting, their courtship, and then their marriages, each with its own challenges, disappointments and joys.  Two of the couples are different classes of Hindu and the other couple are Sunni Muslims.  Religion and religious observances play a major role for each of them, but their view of love and romance is often influenced by how it’s portrayed in Bollywood films.  This is a fascinating and intimate account of life, love, and sex, that almost reads like a novel, but is nonjudgmental in its presentation.  What Katherine Boo did for the slums outside Mumbai in Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Elizabeth Flock does in even greater depth for marriage.  (~JWFarrington)

 

Notes: Header image from You Tube; It’s a Family from Wacissa UMC. and the book jacket from the author’s website.