Hello All,
We met last Thursday night at Jo Ann Abegglen's. We enjoyed discussing some wonderful books and had some delicious dessert.
Here is the list of books I have so far:
KARLA COX
The Nazi Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer with Josh Mensch
Good choice. Excellent, full account of a difficult time as well
as a little-known situation. This reader is impartial yet passionate, so I
always enjoy listening to the countless books he does (eg, he’s the main voice
for Erik Larson books). This book actually gave me some
significant insights into the Russian portion of the war; perhaps Stalin wasn’t
the butcher of his people that he’s known for. Maybe it was actually Hitler who
should be blamed for more in Russia as well. (The war-related death numbers
match the numbers I’ve heard pinned to Stalin; including the starvation factor,
which was at least partly Hitler’s doing.) Stalin was never a good man, but it
was interesting to hear about his connection to Churchill and Roosevelt as an
Allied power.
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
Everything
you hope for in a Daphne DuMaurier novel is here. The kind of book you can’t
put down, and change your mind about the characters over and over. I think Du
Maurier must have had trust issues, her characters are so unpredictable and
mysterious!
Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner
A sad, humans-can-be-horrible kind of story begins, based in California wine country in the years just prior to WWII. A young girl loses her father, mother and brother all at once, and is left in the world with no one. The pretenses of kindness and later medical choices, combined with her powerlessness, made me wonder why I stayed with it! But it wasn’t long before I could see the comparisons of things done by American psychiatric hospitals and Hitler’s demonic doctors (like sterilization of women). Eventually, kindness and goodness triumph - necessities in a good story for me. It’s also about a unique condition, synesthesia: when senses overlap and doubly manifest; in this case, the girl sees colors and shapes when she hears sounds. Ultimately though, the book is an outcry against Salpingectomy, eugenics, so-called mercy killing, the mindlessness that allowed Hitler to take over and do what he and they did; and the still-present human willingness to turn our heads when wrong is rampant. It’s a powerful book, and a worthwhile read (or listen)! My meaningful quote from this one: “With giving, there is cost. There is always cost.”
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
A
lovely multi-charactered tale that centers on - what else? - the love of books.
It’s beautifully written and a delightful story for any book lover. But it’s
also a cleverly woven mystery that brings surprising characters together, in a
love/hate/revenge/shocker of a plot. Most surprising was the forced containment
- nay, imprisonment - of pregnant lead female characters in insane
asylums in two books in a row! This happened in Only the Beautiful AND The Lost
Bookshop.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
It
was a good time to read this book - after the Dissident Daughter… A
lovely story of female triumph and love that rescues.
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
I’m
sure everyone has read this story - I thought I had. I only recently saw a
movie version with Geri, and it made me curious. Her writing style is so
descriptive and beautiful. There are a few things I want to
comment about. I felt a surprising kinship with She who is never named, who
tells the story - a poor, neurotic girl who imagines much and overthinks everything. 
And I
contemplated about how hard it would be to marry a widower; I think I would
also feel the childish insecurities of the role. Also, the descriptive passages
about aging, about childhood, about the landscapes. It made the story
fascinating. I was also impressed with the elaborate characterizations - Mrs
Danvers with her skull face and sunken eyes; Beatrice Lacey with her masculine,
no-nonsense similarity to Maxim; Mr. Crawley, quiet, deliberate, faithful. What
a fun book to cast for a movie!
The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan
This
was a timely read; and so full of interesting and useful information! I was
impressed that there were, originally at least, leaders who sought for a
balanced country based on “the love for their homeland that the two peoples
share.” (Martin Buber) Names I grew up hearing were
sprinkled throughout the book: Moshe Dayan, Andrei Gromyko, Menachim Begin,
Yitzak Shamir, Ariel Sharon…Nasser. at the time, I had no idea at all of
the implications of these people and their actions. I only knew there was a new
country called Israel, and I was happy for the Jewish people who at last had a
home, safe from anti-semitism. Now I see their place in the huge
challenge that faced the civilized world at the time, and is clearly still not
solved. The overriding questions for me are, why did the
world at large stand by and watch as this took place? And what can be done
about it now?
Just this morning I listened to a podcast that had some answers, however obvious and however difficult. Faith Matters (Tim & Aubrey Chaves) hosted Chad Ford, whose life work is conflict resolution, though he’s worn many hats… He makes the powerful point that as soon as you identify someone as an enemy, you dehumanize them. I could quote so many meaningful things from this podcast; I’ll just use this. “Our job, as Christians and Latter-day Saints, is …restoring those relationships, reconnecting all of God’s children together; and the way we talk about our brothers and sisters - what we advocate for them; not giving justification for …violence, but giving …sanctification for peace. That is how we help them.
. Miracle in Seville by James Michener 4 Michener recounts the experiences of a reporter who ‘embeds’ himself with a rancher whose family has provided champion bulls for bull fights. The reporter discovers how these bulls are so effective but since the process involves a miracle he cannot publish the magazine article.
Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson 4 it is late 1930s, the London-born Cook sisters, opera aficionados, travel to Germany for performances where they are begged by Jewish performers they know to transport jewels & funds to England so they can be considered for refugee or emigrant status. The Cooks help 29 families at great personal danger, traveling back & forth between Germany & London openly wearing the jewels & furs. (Based on a true account)
Mrs Polifax & The Golden Triangle by Dorothy Gilman 3.5 Mrs Polifax & Husband are vacationing in Thailand when he is kidnapped.
Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende 4 stars 1520-80 historical novel Spanish conquest of Chile through the eyes of a historic Spanish woman. Some graphic descriptions of Spanish torture tactics used to subjugate the indigenous peoples.
The Joy & Light Bus Company by Alexander McCall Smith. 3.5. A feel good story of wise detective work that sets the world right.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Va a ergasse. Rated 4.5 31 hrs. a tale of post-British India. A female doctor. A female artist. Their lovers. But not just a love story. A story of life & struggle.
The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson
Historical Fiction, but closely following the real story (with footnotes explaining the discrepancies). Two unmarried sisters from lower middle-class London fall in love with opera, forgoing lunch and bus fare to save for gallery seats. In the late 1930s, they begin going to Germany to see opera, but really to help Jews escape the Nazis. They smuggle out jewels and furs by wearing them, and at home arrange for people to sponsor the refugees. They become adept at all the ways to get people out. Fascinating story of two brave and generous women. Paul and I went to hear the author speak at the Provo Library this month too. Good to hear the story of her research.
Unexpected by Chris Thomas
Written by the publicist who assisted the Smart family after Elizabeth was kidnapped. An inside view of the search for this 14-year-old girl, and also a view into the LDS culture that was so important to the search.
GERI CHRISTENSEN
FORTY AUTUMNS: A family's story of Courage and Survival on both sides of the Berlin Wall
by Nina Willner
This was a wonderful book and definitely worth reading. It gives so much insight and history of how it was for the people who were left in East Germany after the Russians took control. It tells about one family and how they dealt with the oldest daughter who defected and escaped to the West, but the sorrow she lived with for the rest of her life being separated from her family. It was so well written and researched. I loved this book.
A STREET CAT NAMED BOB by James Bowen
This was a book I wish everyone would read. It tells about a young man who was left to fend for himself by both parents when they divorced. He ended up living a homeless life on the streets of London and got involved in drugs as a result. But then he met Bob, the most amazing and wonderful cat I have ever heard of and Bob literally saved this young man's life. It is a heart-warming and sometimes funny book written by this young man himself as he tells his journey from addiction to success as a writer and he says it is all due to Bob, his wonderful cat.
THE CRADLE WILL FALL by Mary Higgins Clark
This is a typical book by this author who writes crime stories. You always know who the killer is from the beginning and follow through the story just to see how he/she is finally found out and caught. It is a good suspenseful story and not too long. I enjoyed it.
THE BEEKEEPER FROM ALLEPPO by Christy Lefteri
This is a very touching and interesting story about refugees from Syria who are trying to get to England and how difficult it is and how much they have to leave behind in order to make their dream of freedom come true. I highly recommend it.
THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN by Jim Defede
This is the story that we here in the US never heard about. It is about 9/11 and when all the planes were not allowed to land on US soil. The planes that were supposed to land iin New York were diverted to Gandor, Newfoundland. The people there were so kind and welcoming and took them int io their homes and provided food, clothing, hot showers and beds for them. Those who were stranded there in Gandor formed life-long friendships and came to love and appreciate the people and the wonderful town. It ws one of the best books I've read in a long time. PLEASE READ!!!
MRS. POLIFAX PURSUED, MRS. POLIFAX ON SAFARI AND A PALM FOR MRS. POLIFAX by Dorothy Gilman
These are my favorite "go to sleep" books that are just like taking Melatonin before bedtime for me. I love the voice of the narrator Barbara Rosenblatt. She does such a marvelous job with the audio books. I never get tired of reading and re-reading them.
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