Reading Archives - Page 7 of 30

Maine Writers: Yesterday & Today

September 14, 2021September 14, 2021 JWF Leave a comment

Addendum to Part 1: Contemporary Authors

The author of short stories, novels, and nonfiction, Richard Ford is probably best known for his four novels featuring Frank Bascombe. Bascombe first appears in The Sportswriter (1986) and next in Ford’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Independence Day, published in 1995, then in two later novels. I read and very much enjoyed Independence Day. Richard Ford lives in Boothbay; fellow Mainer Richard Russo lives in Portland. In my last post, I erred on Russo’s residence, and it was Ford who was recommended for inclusion in my blog by my friend.

Lily King

When browsing in Print, a Portland bookstore I like, I discovered that another favorite author, Lily King, lives in Maine. In Portland, in fact. Her earlier award-winning novel, Euphoria, loosely based on Margaret Mead and some of her colleagues, was named one of the 10 Best Books of 2014 by the New York Times. I loved that novel of relationships and more recently, enjoyed Writers & Lovers, a coming into age and love story set in the familiar, to me, Cambridge environs. King’s first book of short stories, Five Tuesdays in Winter, comes out this fall.

MAINE AUTHORS Part 2: Writers of Long Ago

William Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

There was a time when every 7^th or 8^th grade English class read Evangeline, one of Longfellow’s long poems. And many school children also read or heard Paul Revere’s Ride as part of learning about the Revolutionary War. Longfellow also wrote the epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha (1855), about a Native American chief. A writer, traveler, and linguist, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an important figure in 19^th century America. Born in Portland, he grew up and lived for thirty years in a house that today is a museum. The Chief Penguin and I toured the house several years ago and enjoyed learning more about his life and his family.

Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909)

Sarah Orne Jewett was a novelist and short story writer known for literary regionalism. She put more stock in descriptions of country life than in plot. Her best-known work is probably the novella, The Country of the Pointed Firs, published in 1896. I read this book years ago with the library book group at Penn. Other noted works are A Country Doctor and A White Heron. She was born and died in South Berwick near the Maine coast and was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from Bowdoin College in 1901.

Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

A marine biologist, writer, and later conservationist, Rachel Carson’s most popular work is Silent Spring (1962) about the harmful effects of insecticide spraying. An earlier work, The Sea Around Us (1951), won a National Book Award. Carson was born in Pennsylvania and lived in Maryland for some years, but she summered for 12 years on Southport Island. We have gone to Southport every year for the past 30 years. I always pause to read the plaque to Carson at the Newagen Seaside Inn where she was a frequent guest. After her death, her ashes were scattered into the sea from here.

E. B. White (1899-1985)

E. B. White, a noted author of essays and children’s books, also wrote poems and brief sketches. He was a reporter and freelance writer before joining the staff of the New Yorker in 1927. Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., he lived and worked in North Brooklin, Maine, sending in his regular columns and pieces from there. I have fond recollections of my father first reading Stuart Little to me. Our third-grade teacher read Charlotte’s Web to us, and I read it again later for myself. It’s my favorite of his children’s works. White also revised Strunk’s The Elements of Style which became a bible for aspiring writers. White was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom and also a special Pulitzer Prize citation.

May Sarton (1912-1995)

Belgian-American by birth, May Sarton was a poet, novelist, and memoirist. When a child, she and her parents moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. She lived there and in New Hampshire before spending the last five years of her life in York, Maine. Sarton was a prolific writer and considered by some, Carolyn Heilbrun for one, to be a pioneer in the field of women’s autobiography. Heilbrun cited the publication of Journal of a Solitude in 1973. Some years ago, I binge read quite a few of her novels and memoirs. Ones that stand out are Shadow of a Man, The Magnificent Spinster, and Endgame: A Journal of the Seventy-ninth Year. Sarton brought a laser focus and a very personal perspective to issues of friendship and love and the vagaries of aging.

A NOTE ON PORTLAND BOOKSTORES

Portland, Maine supports three notable independent bookstores, each of which is worth a visit. Probably the best known is Sherman’s on Exchange Street which is just one of about five stores in this group. Sherman’s began in Bangor and has a big presence in Boothbay Harbor, with other stores in Camden, Damariscotta, and Freeport. They sell lots of new books, but its larger stores are also a source for children’s toys and games, some housewares, along with stationery and other paper goods.

Longfellow Books, centrally located in Monument Square, has been around for about 20 years and is spacious and inviting with attractive storefront windows. During the pandemic, they were closed except for curbside pick-up, but in recent months have more fully opened. These folks are passionate about books and stock new titles plus used ones and have an especially colorful children’s corner. When browsing, I always find a title here that I’ve not seen elsewhere. Magazines and a good selection of note cards round out their offerings.

Print, located on Congress Street in the East End, is the newest sibling in the neighborhood, having opened in 2016. Its co-owners bring a wealth of bookselling experience and are also the offspring of writer parents. One, Emily Russo, is the daughter of Richard Russo. Print is cozy and welcoming (I was greeted as soon as I stepped through the door) with a well-chosen selection of current fiction and nonfiction, sections on Maine writers, and a slew of cooking and baking books, especially about pies. For its size, they have an impressive section of middle reader books. My 9-year-old granddaughter is a voracious reader, so I’m always on the lookout for books for her.

Attracting readers and providing great customer service are hallmarks of what keeps a bookstore in business. To some extent, each of these stores has book signings and author talks and will order books not in stock upon request. Some also publish free e-mail newsletters. There is no requirement to live nearby to receive their e-mails. I receive Longfellow Books’ weekly update on recommended new titles out in hardback and paper and also a quarterly e-mail from Three Lives & Company in New York. These newsletters are a fun and easy way to learn about what’s new and get the opinions of various bookstore staff.

Note: Header photo of Maine’s waters ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Tidy Tidbits: Of Roosevelts & Cookbooks

July 4, 2021July 4, 2021 JWF Leave a comment

HAPPY 4^TH OF JULY!

On this year’s Independence Day, there is much to celebrate. With the waning of the pandemic, we can be out and about and gather safely with friends and family. Particularly if we are fully vaccinated. We have been through a bruising few years. It is heartening to now have a president who is compassionate, committed, and balanced, qualities sadly lacking before.

Yet, we are a deeply polarized nation—witness the thousands of people who showed up at a Trump rally last night here in the neighboring town of Sarasota. I would like to be optimistic that the ideals on which the United States is based, freedom and equal opportunity, will prevail, but fear that we will live through more contentious times until civility returns. Nonetheless, I remain hopeful for the future. Let’s celebrate today and cherish what is good in our society!

ER–COMPLEX AND COURAGEOUS WOMAN

I am currently immersed in David Michaelis’s new biography of Eleanor Roosevelt entitled simply, Eleanor. I am old enough to recall some of the news coverage when Eleanor Roosevelt died in 1962. Over the years, I’ve read a number of books about Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, including one by Joseph Lash, as well as Blanche Wiesen Cook’s massive three volume biography of Eleanor. I read good reviews of the Michaelis biography but did wonder how much new information it might contain. A lot.

With a decade’s research and access to new source materials, Michaelis presents an even fuller picture of Eleanor than Cook did. Eleanor’s mother died when she was eight. Two years later her father, whom she idolized, also died. Orphaned, she was raised by her grandmother, but always felt like an unwanted outsider and lacked self-esteem. Belittled and berated by relatives for her height, her lack of beauty, and her stilted adult demeanor, it was several decades before Eleanor came into her own as a person of worth. Early on she learned not to show any emotion, and this hindered how she dealt with Franklin and their five children.

Franklin and Eleanor were distant cousins, but a mismatched pair as husband and wife. Both were needy in their own way; he always desirous of being the center of attention and more aligned with his mother Sara than his spouse. Eleanor wanted to do something worthwhile and was frustrated by the strictures put upon her actions by her social class and the place of women in society overall. She felt unacknowledged and unappreciated by Franklin and was devastated by the discovery of his affair with Lucy Mercer during WWI.

It is fascinating to learn how Eleanor came out of her shell, engaged with the wider world, found love, and ignored public opinion on the proper role of a First Lady. She jaunted around the country giving speeches and wrote a daily newspaper column. She became an activist force and an ally to FDR when polio limited his mobility.

David Michaelis met Eleanor Roosevelt briefly when he was four years old, a meeting that made an indelible impression on him. His book is engaging, candid about both ER’s and FDR’s flaws, and written in a lively, almost sprightly style. Highly recommended!

COOKBOOK CULLING

The Chief Penguin and I own more than a hundred cookbooks. They are titles we bought or gifts with the oldest ones from the early 1970’s (think Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking) through the 1980’s (Silver Palate) and 90’s to more recent publications. We have several compendiums including multiple editions of Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking; Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything; The Gourmet Cookbook and Gourmet Today; the French Bible of home cooking, I Know How to Cook; the Italian equivalent, The Silver Spoon; and one of my all-time favorites, Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. Plus, there are celebrity cookbooks by Daniel Boulud, Jacques Pepin, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Hamersley, Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame, Patricia Wells, Georges Perrier of Philadelphia’s Le Bec Fin, and Ottolenghi.

Also, books dedicated to a particular cuisine such as Vietnamese or Chinese or a particular region of a country. We have a bunch of regional Italian cookbooks and several that focus on recipes from Paris bistros and cafes. And last, but not least, a trove of baking books—breads, pastries, and cookies, the province of C.P. A wealth of recipes. What’s fun about this review is discovering notes on dishes I’ve made in the past, a trip down culinary lane.

Some years ago, Philadelphia hosted an annual Book and the Cook festival. Chefs from restaurants around the U.S. were invited to the city and paired with a local chef. Meals were jointly prepared by the two chefs. It was a chance for elegant dining or casual fare with always a meet and greet with the guest chef. You could bring or buy the featured cookbook and have it autographed. We usually signed up for 2 or 3 events each year and often with our good friends Ellen and Bob.

Two occasions stand out. We four have fond memories of being warmly greeted at the dining room entrance by the statuesque Julia Child. She later made the rounds of all the guests and inscribed her book for anyone who asked. Although I like and make many of her recipes, Marcella Hazan was not a gracious guest chef. She was brusque and did little in the way of schmoozing with the diners. But these events were both notable for the food!

So, what has prompted this review of our cookbooks? We have too many to be able to keep all of them when we ultimately move to a smaller place. Consequently, starting with the older less used books, we are reviewing each one, marking recipes we’ve made or ones we like, and then scanning them.

The Chief Penguin is the architect and executor of this project. We both review the recipes, then he takes a photo on his iPhone via Scannable, and it gets sent to Evernote. On Evernote, he’s created a folder for each cookbook with the cover image and then the recipes get filed with the book. The beauty of this is that they are all searchable by ingredient, author/chef, and so forth. This makes them available anywhere we have access to Evernote and will enable us to give away some of the cookbooks. I’d love to find a local college or public library that would like them; failing that they may end up at Goodwill, my last resort.

Tidy Tidbits: Historical Figures in Fiction

June 19, 2021June 19, 2021 JWF Leave a comment

NEW NATIONAL HOLIDAY

Today, June 19, is Juneteenth. It is now a federal holiday and yesterday, government workers had the day off. It commemorates the date in 1865 when Texas got the word that American slaves were emancipated. Many states already have Juneteenth celebrations, but this bill, passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law on Thursday by President Biden, reinforces this date as one to celebrate both freedom and African American culture. Thus far, nine states have also made it an official state holiday. Sadly, legislation to enact this in my state of Florida died.

HISTORICAL NOVELS

A successful historical novel engages the reader in a good story. Simultaneously, it provides a context for events of a time and place distant or just different from our own. The focus can be on notable events depicted through fiction or the creation of a three-dimensional real individual about whom we know not much. And because it’s fiction, timelines can be altered and love interests, probable or simply imagined, added. A good author makes history come alive through her novels. Here are two that I recently enjoyed, one that’s particularly fitting for this holiday.

BLACK LIFE IN RICHMOND & PHILADELPHIA

The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen

Most of the novels about slavery that I’ve read have been set on a plantation, detailing the hard lives of house slaves and the brutality and mistreatment of those who worked in the fields. Mary Bowser was a real individual, born into slavery in Richmond who, at about age 12, was bought by Bet Van Lew, the daughter of her owner. Bet freed Mary and sent her to Philadelphia to live free and be educated. Mary’s mother had also been freed, but her father was still enslaved and working as a blacksmith, so they stayed in Richmond.

The first half of this absorbing novel depicts the differences in urban life in Richmond, where most Blacks were slaves, and in Philadelphia with a population of free Blacks. The rules for living in Richmond were very clear and strict; in Philadelphia, freedom came with its own nuanced restrictions.

With Civil War looming, Mary made the amazing and courageous decision to leave Philadelphia and return to Richmond. Once there, she collaborated with her benefactor, Bet Van Lew. Pretending to be a slave, she got taken on as a maid in Jefferson Davis’ home. During the war years, she collected and passed on information on the Confederate plans to the Union side.

Much about Mary Bowser is not known, and there are no known photos of her. But Mary, Elizabeth Van Lew, and Thomas McNiven, another character, were all real people who spied on the Confederacy for the Union. Leveen’s novel creates the environment in which Bowser lived and worked and gives us a fictional, yet wonderfully rich, portrait of Mary’s thoughts and actions. Highly recommended!

For a differing perspective on this Mary, this article questions some of the claims made about her.

BRIDGE BUILDING

The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood

This novel is about Emily Warren Roebling’s role in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. I found it fascinating and compelling. So much so, that I raced to finish it. There is a lot of description of the various steps and processes involved in the bridge construction which might put off a few readers. I gained a greater appreciation for what went into the beauty of this monumental structure. Like many folks, I have walked across it!

Emily was married to Washington Roebling, whose father John was a successful bridge builder and the one who drew up the original plans for Brooklyn. Washington was a former military man who took over the chief engineer role after his father’s death. Unfortunately, he suffered severe illness from working in the caissons (underwater tubes) and was an invalid for much of the construction work. Over the next eleven years, It fell to Emily to be the messenger transmitting plans, ideas, and decisions between Wash and the working team at the bridge site. Later she took over supervising, calculating, and deciding on materials.

Emily Roebling pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable for women in the late 19^th century. She was limited in her participation in the women’s suffrage effort by the all-consuming bridge project. Wash’s illness had a negative impact on their life together, although they remained married. Appropriately, Emily was one of the first individuals to cross the completed bridge in 1883!

My mother was always interested in architecture. She was especially fascinated by bridges. In my teens, we made a family trip to see and drive across the famed Mackinac Bridge linking Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas. The Big Mac, as it was called, is one of the longest suspension bridges in the Western Hemisphere. It opened in 1957.

Another reason for my interest in this novel is the hint of a family connection to the Roeblings: if not a relative working on the Brooklyn Bridge, then on one of Roebling’s other structures. My mother had two teeny tiny saws, the size of a bracelet charm, which belonged to a family member. I don’t know that she ever figured out to whom they belonged, so the saws remain a puzzle.

LOCAL CUISINE

You know that life is nearly back to normal and the direst days of the pandemic behind us when the Chief Penguin and I return to Cortez Kitchen. Before we moved here, it was our go-to place on our twice-yearly visits to Florida. Once established here, we ate there once a week on average. The other night we decided it was safe to return after an absence of more than a year.

Located in the historic fishing village of Cortez, the restaurant is a semi-covered outdoor space on the water. The menu includes local fish (mainly grouper), shrimp, seared tuna, steamed clams, and a burger for those who prefer meat. It’s a funky kind of place whose clientele includes faithful regulars, the biker crowd, snowbirds, and folks like us. We go not for the food, but for the vibe, the live music that’s occasionally very good, and the slightly rustic, relaxed ambience. We went early this night, ordered our usual fare, and even connected with our favorite longtime waitress!

Summer Reading

June 13, 2021June 13, 2021 JWF Leave a comment

PURE ESCAPISM

Summer is often viewed as the time to indulge in lighter reading fare—mysteries, thrillers, beach reads and the like. Here are two recent notable novels (one a first novel) that are well written and meet the criterion of being thrilling or suspenseful.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

First time novelist, Penner has penned an historical thriller about an 18^th century female healer or apothecarist who also dispenses poisons. Nella will provide them to any woman desiring to kill off a cheating or abusive man. She mainly provides women with helpful herbs and salves, but her own life situation led her down this alternate path.

In the present day, Caroline Parcewell has learned that her husband was unfaithful, but proceeds alone to London on their anniversary trip. On a mud larking expedition, Caroline discovers an old vial which leads her to a hidden apothecary. Seeking answers, she consults someone at the British Library and delves deeper into the historic record.

Penner does an amazing job of detailing Nella’s life and her interactions with a young girl, Eliza, and then linking that with Caroline’s research. Some readers might think that the parallels between Nella’s work and Caroline’s marriage strain belief, but I found them convincing enough. A most accomplished debut!

The Survivors by Jane Harper

Australian Jane Harper is a recent favorite author of mine. I’ve now read all four of her mystery novels. The Survivors is set on the Tasmanian coast and concerns the recent death of Bronte, a young woman working as a waitress at the local Surf and Turf tavern.

Twelve years ago, another young woman, Gabby Birch, died, and two men drowned in a very bad storm. Kieran was eighteen at the time of the big storm and is still haunted by guilt over his own actions that day when his older brother Finn died. Bronte’s drowning brings up memories. Kieran and his wife, Mia, friends Ash and Sean, and his parents Brian and Verity struggle to cope while secrets long festering are slowly revealed. This is an atmospheric mystery with more conversation and less action, but still compelling. You won’t soon forget the underwater caves of Tasmania!

SUMMER READING

Here are some of the titles I hope to read this summer. A couple of them are for my book group so I may put them off until early fall, closer to when the group discusses them. Besides these titles, I have a stack of other books waiting in the wings.

Eleanor by David Michaelis

I’ve read several biographies of Eleanor Roosevelt including Blanche Wiesen-Cook’s monumental three volume work. Nonetheless, I look forward to this recent biography drawing on new research about her life.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

A much-praised novel about the Dust Bowl set in the 1920’s and 30’s. Hannah is the author of twenty novels, but I don’t think I’ve read any of them.

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

This historical novel about a female aviator covers decades and locales from Montana to London to modern day Los Angeles. Cast in the role of aviator Marian for a new film a hundred years later, Hadley’s quest to find her place dovetails with aspects of Marian’s life. I found Shipstead’s earlier novel, Seating Arrangments, finely drawn and am really looking forward to this tome!

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

A novel of the 1918 pandemic, this time set in a Dublin hospital. Donoghue is author of the highly touted and gripping novel, The Room, as well as Frog Music.

The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen

A historical novel about a real person, Mary Bowser, a slave then freed, who posed as a slave to spy on Jefferson Davis.

The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz

For those who enjoyed The Magpie Murders, this is another puzzling murder mystery by a prolific and acclaimed English writer. Like in the earlier mystery, Horowitz himself is a character.

The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers

A novel of the Civil Rights era combining love and music in the marriage of a Jewish scientist and a Black singer. Published in 2003. Powers is also the author of The Gold Bug Variations and Overstory.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

I very much enjoyed Gyasi’s Homegoing so look forward to this novel about a Ghanaian family in the U.S. trying to make it midst addiction, depression, and prejudice.

Note: Header image of reading couple is courtesy of www.mymcpl.org (Mid-Continent Public Library).

Category: Reading

Maine Writers: Yesterday & Today