Maine Time: Reading Nonfiction & A Mystery

THREE RECENT READS

In this post, I offer three books I’ve read recently. One is Doris Kearns Goodwin’s conversational inside scoop on the 1960’s as experienced by her and by her spouse, Richard Goodwin, politico, speechwriter, and occasional sounding board for both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

Judith Jones was a book editor who received little acclaim in her professional life for the outsize role she played in bringing to the fore literary figures like Anne Tyler and sensing the market’s readiness for cookbooks by noted chefs such as Julia Child. Sara Franklin details her career.

Lastly, for a change of pace, a mystery with archaeological and mythical roots. Meet archaeologist Ruth Galloway, if you haven’t already, in one of this long series of mysteries by Elly Griffiths.

INSIDE POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE 1960’S

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960’s by Doris Kearns Goodwin (from my summer reading list)

Richard Goodwin (politico.com)

When Dick Goodwin reaches 80, he and Doris, his wife, make a project for the weekends of going through his 300 boxes of speech drafts and memorabilia from his working life in the 1960’s. Dick Goodwin, a consummate wordsmith who worked with two presidents, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, was able to translate their distinctly different styles and cadences into memorable words.  

He traveled with JFK on the campaign trail in 1960.  He drafted noteworthy speeches for him and later for LBJ on civil rights, Latin American policy, and the like.  Politics was in his blood, and he was both ambitious and brash, resulting in the occasional clash that might have been career-ending.  Goodwin also developed a close friendship with Robert Kennedy, a relationship that bugged Johnson who had little love for RFK.

Looking back on events that took place fifty years ago, Kearns Goodwin shares their mutual recollections, their years of disagreement about Kennedy and Johnson, and how the passage of time softens bitter memories.  More than a decade younger than her husband, Kearns Goodwin was a White House Fellow who worked with Johnson somewhat when he was president.  After his presidency, she became especially close to him helping on his memoirs and on what became her first book.   

This work is a marvelous inside look at presidential and personal politics in that tumultuous and consequential decade, the 1960’s.  I, like many of my readers, came of age in high school and college during those years.  This trip back refreshed my memory about some monumental events and provided the messy back story behind others.  As Doris Kearns Goodwin and her husband review his voluminous files, she offers up recollections and details of her own experiences in a way that is conversational and very accessible.  I enjoyed too her portrait of a long and fruitful marriage.  Highly recommended!! (~JWFarrington)

NOTABLE KNOPF EDITOR

The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara Franklin

Judith Jones in the kitchen (nytimes.com)

In her lifetime, Judith Jones was frequently overlooked, dismissed, or just tolerated by the male publishing heads for whom she worked.  Even publisher Blanche Knopf initially had Judith doing her scut work and only reluctantly let loose the apron strings.  To her credit, Jones rescued The Diary of Anne Frank from the reject pile, edited Anne Tyler and John Updike’s works for decades, and both discovered, mentored, and guided chefs and cooks the likes of Julia Child, Claudia Rosen, Marcella Hazan, and Edna Lewis from recipes on paper to finely wrought noteworthy cookbooks.  

Jones was both a traditionalist and a maverick.  She was deemed “a lady” and she wanted marriage and children.  At the same time, she discovered that besides her early love for poetry, she was passionate about food and cooking.  To her dismay, she and husband Dick Jones never had children, but to her delight they routinely cooked together and explored new ingredients and new recipes.  She found her métier in the publishing world and worked extremely hard; in fact, she became the primary breadwinner.  Jones also developed relationships with many of her authors that went beyond the professional to genuine friendships.  These were life-enriching for her and Dick.

As someone interested in both publishing and food, I was engrossed in Judith Jones’ story.  I came of age and married in 1970; Franklin’s account of the cookbook authors Judith worked with was, for me, a walk down memory lane.  I was in my first post-college job when Mastering the Art of French Cooking, volume 2, was published.  My librarian colleagues were ordering copies and wondered if I wanted to buy one also.  I assented, and quickly, some of Julia’s recipes became household favorites: her elaborate beef bourguignon and Potage Magali, a tomato rice soup with a hint of saffron, to name just two. 

Later, I put Marcella Hazan’s Italian cookbooks to hard use, and Madhur Jaffrey’s Invitation to Indian Cooking became a must purchase after an Indian cooking class.  Other additions to my cookbook library included A Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis and later books by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin.   Jones was on the scene at the right time as cooking and food in the U.S. expanded to other cultures.  She very successfully translated the recipes of these talented chefs for the home kitchen.   Recommended! (~JWFarrington)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERY

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths

Author Griffiths (thebookseller.com)

For a change of pace, I picked up The Night Hawks, a recent entry in Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway Series.  A few years ago, I read the first book in the series, The Crossing Places, and liked it enough to acquire and read the second one.  This is #13 and I really enjoyed it, racing through it in the space of 24 hours! The Ruth Galloway series runs to fifteen books, and Griffiths has said that #15 is the last one she plans to write.

Ruth Galloway is an archaeologist living and working in Norfolk, England.  When bodies or strange bones are found by the local police, DCI Nelson calls her in to consult.  In this book, a Bronze Age body washes ashore which attracts the interest of the local amateur metal detector group known as the Night Hawks.  Subsequently, there is what appears to be a murder-suicide at a very remote country farm.  Add in a local myth/folk tale about a huge black dog who is a harbinger of death, and it’s a complex case with numerous strands to untangle.  

While The Night Hawks is a mystery, the principal characters, Ruth, Nelson, and others, are well-developed and intriguing. The relationships between them evolve as the series proceeds, adding to the satisfaction of a story well told.  Recommended!

Note: Header photo taken at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens by JWFarrington.

Summer Reading 2024

READING GOALS

Each June, I set myself the goal of reading a set list of books over the summer.  Most years, I read some of them, but seldom all.  Along the way, I purchase or borrow books, and they end up taking priority.  This year’s list is a mix of notable books and bestsellers, both fiction and nonfiction. 

I’ve read many of Verghese’s earlier works and almost all Toibin’s and Strout’s novels; they are favorite writers of mine!  Years ago, I read Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips for my book group and then later her Quiet Dell.  

Claire Keegan is a recent discovery, and as part of becoming a Tar Heel, I will read Wilmington’s Lie.  Sadly, Jacqueline Winspear is giving up Maisie Dobbs, detective, and the title here is her last appearance.  Overall, this list includes many writers whom I’ve read previously.  

MY SUMMER READING LIST

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (#18, end of the Maisie Dobbs series)

Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

The Demon of Unrest by Eric Larson (Abraham Lincoln & the months before the Civil War)

Homecoming by Kate Morton

Long Island by Colm Toibin (return of Ellis Lacey of his earlier Brooklyn)

Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo (2024 Pulitzer Prize winner in biography)

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

North Woods by Daniel Mason

Tables for Two by Amor Towles (stories)

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

The Marriage Question by Maggie O’Farrell

The Postcard by Anne Berest (autobiographical fiction, Holocaust family)

Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin (life & politics in the 1960’s)

Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan (stories)

Wilmington’s Lie by David Zucchino

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

Summer 2023: Reading Roundup

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

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.)