I just finished this book tonight. I found it wonderfully horrible. This is the story of an eighteen year old Missouri woman during the Civil War. Though based on the historical excerpts at the beginning of each chapter and the gruesome narrative, I can't for the life of me determine what was 'civil' about it.
Adair Colley is eighteen years old, the oldest daughter of Justice of the Peace Marquis Colley. Adair, her father and her two sisters and brother live in southeastern Missouri. Adair's mother is dead. The Union Militia arrests her father and tries to burn the house down. The brother runs and the girls are left to fend for themselves.
The book takes you on the journey with Adair and her sisters as they walk 120 miles to the Union garrison to inquire as to the whereabouts of their father. From the garrison, Adair is arrested and carted off to a prison in St Louis. At the prison, she develops a relationship with an unlikely man who helps and encourages her to escape.
The remainder of the book is Adair's journey from St Louis back to her home, as well as the journey of the man from the prison.
Enemy Women certainly made me happy to be alive now rather than during those times. I certainly could not see myself surviving in Adair's world. I recommend this book for those of you who want a different historical view of the Civil War era. It is not light reading and is even rather depressing, but it is also intriguing and quite poetic.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
East of the Mountains by David Guterson
Book review by Joni:
Continuing to read novels by David Guterson, I recently finished his East of the Mountains. According to the jacket, this book was written five years after my favorite Guterson novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, but I didn’t find this story as well crafted and I struggled a little bit to see it all the way to the end.
East of the Mountains is about a 73 year old retired physician and widower named Ben Givens who, after discovering he is dying of cancer, decides to stage his suicide to look like a hunting accident. He plans to travel east towards the Cascade Mountains where he grew up to finish his plan but, early in his trip, he has a bizarre accident that sets him off course. At this point, the story took on a kind of surreal, odyssean quality. It began to meander from one strange event to the next. He meets several people who remind him of his childhood and of his courtship of his beloved wife and the narrative begins to interweave his present with his past. He has a bizarre encounter in the desert at night – a story twist that seems strikingly out of place – and this encounter eventually leads him toward the (somewhat predictable) conclusion of the story. Of course, throughout it all, he is wrestling with the fact that he is dying and that he has no control over that fact.
East of the Mountains is not a bad novel but I don’t really recommend it. In retrospect, it was the protagonist’s struggles with end-of-life issues that kept me reading. As you all know, I took care of my father, whom I adored, for nearly a year as he lost his life to multiple brain tumors. I honestly cannot imagine a more horrific way to die – and yet, even through the dementia, my father had tremendous dignity. His pain has caused me to be (hopefully prematurely) aware of the very personal process of dying that we sometimes have to go through in a very public way. I was interested in Ben’s struggles between ending life on his own terms and, conversely, unselfishly, giving his loved ones what they needed. I guess, in the end, every story speaks to us on a personal level.
Continuing to read novels by David Guterson, I recently finished his East of the Mountains. According to the jacket, this book was written five years after my favorite Guterson novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, but I didn’t find this story as well crafted and I struggled a little bit to see it all the way to the end.
East of the Mountains is about a 73 year old retired physician and widower named Ben Givens who, after discovering he is dying of cancer, decides to stage his suicide to look like a hunting accident. He plans to travel east towards the Cascade Mountains where he grew up to finish his plan but, early in his trip, he has a bizarre accident that sets him off course. At this point, the story took on a kind of surreal, odyssean quality. It began to meander from one strange event to the next. He meets several people who remind him of his childhood and of his courtship of his beloved wife and the narrative begins to interweave his present with his past. He has a bizarre encounter in the desert at night – a story twist that seems strikingly out of place – and this encounter eventually leads him toward the (somewhat predictable) conclusion of the story. Of course, throughout it all, he is wrestling with the fact that he is dying and that he has no control over that fact.
East of the Mountains is not a bad novel but I don’t really recommend it. In retrospect, it was the protagonist’s struggles with end-of-life issues that kept me reading. As you all know, I took care of my father, whom I adored, for nearly a year as he lost his life to multiple brain tumors. I honestly cannot imagine a more horrific way to die – and yet, even through the dementia, my father had tremendous dignity. His pain has caused me to be (hopefully prematurely) aware of the very personal process of dying that we sometimes have to go through in a very public way. I was interested in Ben’s struggles between ending life on his own terms and, conversely, unselfishly, giving his loved ones what they needed. I guess, in the end, every story speaks to us on a personal level.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Jeannette Walls to speak at Allegany College
Posted by Joni
I suspect that everyone in our book club is familiar with Jeannette Walls but in the event that one or two of you may have missed this amazing writer, here is a bit of background:
Jeannette Walls is the author of a heartwreching autobiography called The Glass Castle. It is the story of growing up in adject poverty, one of four children born to a mother with mental illness and a father who is the "town drunk" in a backwoods, coal town in West Virgina. Despite these circumstances, Jeannette Walls speaks of her parents in a loving, almost tender voice and she never, ever allows herself to slip into self-pity or regret. Her writing is so honest and her stories are so true to life that I read the entire book straight through, one sitting, with my mouth open in amazement. This is an an incredible, REAL (no fabrication here!) memoir.
Against all odds, Ms. Walls managed to attend and graduate from Columbia University's Barnard College with honors and she has gone on to become a very successful entertainment reporter working for MSNBC. She has been a guest of Oprah, The Today Show, CNN, and more.
Last March, Ms. Walls was a guest speaker at the Washington Street branch of the Allegany County Library. My good friend and fellow book club member, Kara, and I attended and it was wonderful. Ms. Walls is as powerful a speaker as she is a writer.
I am writing this entry tonight because I am so excited to hear that Ms. Walls is returning to speak in Cumberland! She will be at Allegany College of Maryland on Friday, April 25, 2008 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.
The title of her lecture is "Demon Hunting and Other Life Lessons on Turning Adversity to Advantage". The lecture is free and open to the public and I absolutely plan to be there. If anyone else is interested in attending, let me know! To the best of my knowledge, you don't need to advise the college ahead of time that you are attending and this surprises me because it was standing room only at the library last year. Kara and I arrived an hour early just to get a good parking spot. We planned to leisurely stroll downtown and have a cup of coffee before walking back up to the library to hear the speaker. When we arrived, however, the library was already filling up so we grabbed some seats fast! I plan to get to ACM at least an hour early. I expect the theater to be full well before noon.
If you haven't read The Glass Castle yet, I highly recommend the read. Once you've read it, I suspect you won't want to miss hearing her speak.
I suspect that everyone in our book club is familiar with Jeannette Walls but in the event that one or two of you may have missed this amazing writer, here is a bit of background:
Jeannette Walls is the author of a heartwreching autobiography called The Glass Castle. It is the story of growing up in adject poverty, one of four children born to a mother with mental illness and a father who is the "town drunk" in a backwoods, coal town in West Virgina. Despite these circumstances, Jeannette Walls speaks of her parents in a loving, almost tender voice and she never, ever allows herself to slip into self-pity or regret. Her writing is so honest and her stories are so true to life that I read the entire book straight through, one sitting, with my mouth open in amazement. This is an an incredible, REAL (no fabrication here!) memoir.
Against all odds, Ms. Walls managed to attend and graduate from Columbia University's Barnard College with honors and she has gone on to become a very successful entertainment reporter working for MSNBC. She has been a guest of Oprah, The Today Show, CNN, and more.
Last March, Ms. Walls was a guest speaker at the Washington Street branch of the Allegany County Library. My good friend and fellow book club member, Kara, and I attended and it was wonderful. Ms. Walls is as powerful a speaker as she is a writer.
I am writing this entry tonight because I am so excited to hear that Ms. Walls is returning to speak in Cumberland! She will be at Allegany College of Maryland on Friday, April 25, 2008 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.
The title of her lecture is "Demon Hunting and Other Life Lessons on Turning Adversity to Advantage". The lecture is free and open to the public and I absolutely plan to be there. If anyone else is interested in attending, let me know! To the best of my knowledge, you don't need to advise the college ahead of time that you are attending and this surprises me because it was standing room only at the library last year. Kara and I arrived an hour early just to get a good parking spot. We planned to leisurely stroll downtown and have a cup of coffee before walking back up to the library to hear the speaker. When we arrived, however, the library was already filling up so we grabbed some seats fast! I plan to get to ACM at least an hour early. I expect the theater to be full well before noon.
If you haven't read The Glass Castle yet, I highly recommend the read. Once you've read it, I suspect you won't want to miss hearing her speak.
Before Green Gables, the Prequel to Anne of Green Gables by Budge Wilson
Because I felt compelled to add something to the book club, and before I forgot much about it, I thought I would give you my review of the last book I read, Before Green Gables, published in 2008. I didn't read Anne of Green Gables until I was a young adult, and because I like a good story, I enjoyed all of the books in the series. Now I wouldn't expect this book to be on the top of anyone's list, but because I was curious about Anne's life (Anne with an e) prior to Green Gables I thought I would give it a try. The author, Budge Wilson, does a good job in tracing the history of Anne's life before she is adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. Ms. Wilson did a lot of research into the history of Prince Edward Island, where Anne ultimately resides, and the economic and social circumstances of the time. The book explains what Anne's parents were like, where her red hair comes from, how she and her parents were loved by their neighbors, and ultimately the path Anne follows merely by circumstance and poverty to Green Gables. It provides a background for her imaginary friends, her imagination and her vast vocabulary. It is worth reading if only to discover why Anne does not like twins, and what little regard orphans were given in daily life. She was more or less a slave from the age of 4. I would give the book an 8 on a scale of 1-10. If you enjoyed the Anne of Green Gables series, you will appreciate this book for the background information it gives you on Anne's life. That's all for now! Nora
Sunday, March 2, 2008
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
As soon as I heard that Geraldine Brooks had a new book out I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I loved her book MARCH, a Pulitzer Prize winner. PEOPLE OF THE BOOK is about a Jewish prayer book called the Haggadah. It was found in Sarajevo after being saved by a Muslin Librarian, Karaman. Hanna Heath, a rare book conservator has been called by the UN to examine the beautifully illustrated book. As she examines the rare manuscript she find an insect wing, a wine stain, a salt crystal and a white hair. Stories telling where the book has been since it was created and why the wing, salt, wine stain and hair were in it It is mysterious, a love story and has some interesting surpises through the book. I was in the dark on some of the history about where the Haggadah has been. I need to read up on some history. Anything by Geraldine Brooks is going to spark my interest. I am putting her YEAR OF WONDERS on my "To read list".
Marie enjoyed this book and wanted to let you know about it.
Marie enjoyed this book and wanted to let you know about it.
The Girls by Lori Lansens
by Kara
The Girls is the fictional first person account of conjoined twins Rose and Ruby Darlen. This one grabbed my attention from the first page and is now one of my all time favorites. As I was reading it, I had a hard time remembering this was a work of fiction. It's that well written. Some of you might take interest in the fact that Rose and Ruby are conjoined librarians. If you've enjoyed things like The Time Traveler's Wife, The Lovely Bones, & A Prayer for Owen Meany, you'll love this. It's a beautiful story. I own a copy, if anyone living in the area would like to borrow mine.
The Girls is the fictional first person account of conjoined twins Rose and Ruby Darlen. This one grabbed my attention from the first page and is now one of my all time favorites. As I was reading it, I had a hard time remembering this was a work of fiction. It's that well written. Some of you might take interest in the fact that Rose and Ruby are conjoined librarians. If you've enjoyed things like The Time Traveler's Wife, The Lovely Bones, & A Prayer for Owen Meany, you'll love this. It's a beautiful story. I own a copy, if anyone living in the area would like to borrow mine.
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