This week, I’m featuring a recent TV series, a debut novel set in the South, and a new local restaurant.
RISKING LIFE IN MARSEILLE
Transatlantic (Netflix)
When I’ve mentioned to friends that I’m watching Transatlantic, several told me they had just finished it and are interested in discussing the ending. Then, this morning, I received an e-mail from another friend highly recommending it. Transatlantic is an 8-part dramatic series set in Marseille, France in 1940, before the United States entered the Second World War. It focuses on the efforts of Varian Fry, a real person affiliated with the Emergency Rescue Committee (an American organization), and his colleagues to get refugees safely to Spain and beyond. The players include the local police, the Gestapo, other officials, and bureaucrats.
Fry is initially a rule follower, and his concern is for artists and intellectuals, people like Hannah Arendt and the Chagalls. Money and help sometimes come from unexpected quarters like Mary Jayne Gold, a rich young socialite from Chicago, art collector Peggy Guggenheim, and two Black hotel staff.
The challenges are many and the work is dangerous. There are always more people to be helped than exit visas and available places. Using both a hotel and a private villa as safe houses, Fry and friends plot, scheme, and risk everything for the occasional success. This is a well-cast series and captures an important piece of WWII history. For the record, I’ve now seen six of the eight episodes. Highly recommended!
STRONG BLACK WOMEN
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
I will have more about Memphis after my book group’s discussion this week. Suffice it to say, this first novel by an attorney turned novelist is worth your time and attention.
It’s a story of trauma and suffering, but also of hope and joy in the lives of three generations of Black women from 1937 to 2003. The chapters alternate between Hazel, the matriarch, her daughters Miriam and August, and Miriam’s daughter Joan. The tragedies and challenges of their lives are sometimes front and center, but at other times are quietly revealed decades later. Joan, the youngest voice, has a passion for art and harbors ambitions for her future. Her chapters are the only ones presented in the first person. This window on Black culture is beautifully wrought; it may offer a different perspective for other white women like me.
LOCAL MEXICAN FARE
Avocado’s Cocina Mexicana (Bradenton)
Owned by the same people as the successful Habanero’s Mexican Grill on Manatee Avenue, Avocado’s on Cortez Road West is a tasty addition to the local dining scene. The interior space is attractive and the menu of Mexican fare very good. The Chief Penguin and I sampled their chunky guacamole (very nice, but could have had some heat), the generous sized quesadilla, and a lunch special of one enchilada, rice, and refried beans.
I liked that the plate was not piled high nor gloppy. The chicken in the enchilada was good, the rice nicely spiced, and the beans silky. I was tempted to add a pork tamale to my selection but wisely didn’t and was just as happy with a little less. A casual place we will visit again!
Note: Header photo of nightlife in Memphis from Travel Noire.
