Blogging thoughts

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October, 2024

So, Edna Sloane started slow and finished with a bang.  I loved this book.    This is a charming and compulsively readable novel, told in epistolary form.  It incorporates all 2024 lingo, from texting and emoji’s.  Edna Sloane was a promising author at the top of her game when she published her one and only book.  Then, she dropped off the face of the earth.  Seth is a promising young copy editor who is desperately trying to find his voice……and Edna Sloane who he is convinced is still alive.  What happens in the next pages is just remarkable.

The novel makes one think about what is important in any life, creatively speaking.  What do we value?  How do we put aside the stresses and challenges of everyday to live an authentic existence?  This book will make you think.  Incidentally, I never would have chosen this book but it is the first book that I am reading for my course at FAU on literature.  The course starts this month and I. had to read the book and I am so glad I did.

“...a hilar­i­ous, poignant, and sharp satir­i­cal nov­el — all epis­to­lary, too! — about the dis­ap­pear­ance of a lit­er­ary wun­derkind from the 1980s named Edna Sloane. As it turns out, in addi­tion to being an ​“it girl,” Edna has had to con­tend with sec­ond gen­er­a­tion Holo­caust trau­ma, the intense demands of moth­er­hood, and the pres­sure that comes from instant suc­cess. The sto­ry is told through the eyes of Seth, a smar­tass and self-styled lit­er­ary sleuth who’s try­ing to fig­ure out what hap­pened to Edna. The sto­ry builds us up nice­ly, but it’s when the reclu­sive author’s voice itself comes into the book that things real­ly take off in unex­pect­ed directions."

This review is quoted from Amazon and I could not have written it better myself. 

 “Bassam Aramin is Palestinian. Rami Elhanan is Israeli. They inhabit a world of conflict that colors every aspect of their lives, from the roads they are allowed to drive on to the schools their children attend to the checkpoints, both physical and emotional, they must negotiate.
 

But their lives, however circumscribed, are upended one after the other: first, Rami’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Smadar, becomes the victim of suicide bombers; a decade later, Bassam’s ten-year-old daughter, Abir, is killed by a rubber bullet. Rami and Bassam had been raised to hate one another. And yet, when they learn of each other’s stories, they recognize the loss that connects them. Together they attempt to use their grief as a weapon for peace—and with their one small act, start to permeate what has for generations seemed an impermeable conflict.
 

This extraordinary novel is the fruit of a seed planted when the novelist Colum McCann met the real Bassam and Rami on a trip with the non-profit organization Narrative 4. McCann was moved by their willingness to share their stories with the world, by their hope that if they could see themselves in one another, perhaps others could too.
 

With their blessing, and unprecedented access to their families, lives, and personal recollections, McCann began to craft Apeirogon, which uses their real-life stories to begin another—one that crosses centuries and continents, stitching together time, art, history, nature, and politics in a tale both heartbreaking and hopeful. The result is an ambitious novel, crafted out of a universe of fictional and nonfictional material, with these fathers’ moving story at its heart.

An amazing piece of writing and a book in which I learned, with simplicity, a little bit about the Israeli/Palestinian struggle.

This is a remarkable book.  It is a modern day rendering of Huck Finn told from Jiim’s point of view.  I listened to the audio and the reader was fabulous. .  The use of dialect by Jim as he proved that he was much more than a slave was very well constructed.  Jiim learns that he may be sold by his master, so he escapes and becomes a runaway.  Huck runs too but away from his abusive father.   Word gets out that Jim killed Huck’s father, so Jim and Huck head to the. Mississippi.  What happens after that is just a treatise on the tragedy of slavery.  Jim needs to rescue his family, so they head back to Hannibal, Missouri. 

I loved the images that the author created in this story.  I love how Voltaire talks about treatment of blacks in Jim’s dream.  I love how Jim becomes James!!!  Dont miss this book!!  Certainly, it goes hand in hand with Huck Finn….an American classic.

This is an amazing story.  Such truth about an undeclared war….Vietnam.  This brought up so much about my generation, my memories of friends who went to Vietnam and friends who did not come home.  Now, at a much older age, I am beginning to understand the truth about Vietnam.  Kristen Hannah’s fictional novel delves into the depths of this war, the protests, the media coverage.  She blends the novel into a personal one with fictional Francis McGrath, a nurse who served in Vietnam .  It chronicles her days in the OR tent and the horrors she saw.  Frankie did two tours and came home to a country who did not even acknowledge her.  There were almost 10,000 women who served in different roles in Vietnam and very little is known about them.  This novel brings their story to life.

Frankie McGrath came home with PTSD, severe, drugs, dreams, alcohol….her search for love and acceptance and understanding.  Though fictional, her story is heartbreaking.  There were times when I thought the book was a bit too predictable and almost impossible, but I was able to put that aside and see the MUCH larger picture.   This book has brought VietNam to life for me in a way that I would not ever have known.  
Some important quotes…..

.”There were no women in Vietnam”.
“Do not let them be forgotten”.”
“Bring them home”

This is a book that I probably would not normally pick up.  It was chosen as a book club choice for the Monarch Book Club.  I am glad that I listened and read this book.  It is the story of Benjamin Hall who is a photojournalist for a number of news agencies, but most importantly with Fox News.  He was on a mission in the Ukraine when his vehicle and his colleague were bombed.  Some died, he survived but with life threatening injuries.  He was lost in the Ukraine and though he was not United States military, the US government went to extraordinary measures to bring him home.  He was hospitalized for months and months in Poland, Germany and ultimately  Texas. His rehabilitation, family, friends and government made an enormous difference in his recovery. 

I am grateful  that the book club chose this timely . book  

I read this book a few months back and it has stayed with me ever since.  I am now suggesting it to friends, who are like minded.  In truth, I should be sending it to everyone, like minded or not.  It is an important book that could serve as a guide to recognizing tyranny in our world today.  I quote "How we defend ourselves against the suppression of fundamental freedoms has once again become a matter of great urgency". So, how do we defend democracy in the age of Trump???  This is a wonderful and chilling discourse.  Dr. Snyder has laid out in simplistic, brief, comprehensible language what could be happening in our world.  

I would welcome your thoughts.........

It seems that I have done lots of reading and listening lately. But it was not until now that I felt like writing about any book.  The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store,  by award winning author James McBride,  is a TOUGH read.  Many times, I put it down.  Totally confused....who were these characters and how did they relate to each other.  Story takes place in a fictional place called Chicken Hill.....a poverty area where Black, Jewish and poor Whites reside.  The characters, Chona, Moshe, Nate, Dot and Monkey Pants are incredible.  Doc Roberts and Son of Man are despicable.  And therein lies the story where the themes of mercy, compassion, justice and building inter cultural communities fill the bill:  where understanding disabilities is much more than what is seen on the surface; where music becomes another expression of life and friendship.   It is an amazing book.  (Can you tell I loved it??)  When the author was asked the question "what do you want readers to take away from this book?"  He simply answered......... "to understand how necessary kindness and equality are needed in our world".  Please read it and remember that it is a tough read and you will get discouraged, but do not quit. It is one of those books that will be forever in your memory!!!

August,2023......I just plain loved this book.  The way it is written is all encompassing. I  read it and I also listened to the audio, read by Meryl Streep....superb.  We have Lara, the mom, who tells the story of her early life and brief career to her three adult daughters, who have arrived home to help with the cherry farm in Michigan.  The timing is during the pandemic.  Lara's early life story involves a summer stock production of Our Town by Thornton Wilder.  It is there that our heroine meets Peter Duke, a 28 year old handsome actor.  And the story takes off.  It is beautifully portrayed by author Ann Patchett (I love all her books) and it goes back and forth between Lara the actress and Lara the mother.  You will love it and when you do, please let me know.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/07/tom-lake-ann-patchett-book-review

This is a great review.  Be sure to listen to some of interviews with the author available on line

July 2023......This is an amazing and endearing story of a housekeeper and her ten year old son who become as close to family, without being family, to an elderly and brilliant professor.  The professor had been in a car accident and his memory is GONE, except for things that happen within the last 80 minutes.  He is a brilliant mathematician and our narrator is hired to take care of him.  He has already gone through nine housekeepers.  Our narrator and her son, Root, succeed in the most dramatic and sensitive ways.  This book teaches a lesson in compassion and understanding.  It is truly a work of art!!!  I loved it.

June 2023

I listened to this masterpiece, read by the author.  I also followed along in the ebook.  

In the early 1900's through 1970 in India, this story begins.   A 12 year old girl is with her mother and they are both sad because she is being married off to a widower.  This little girl becomes Big Ammachi, the matriarch of an extraordinary family.  We will follow this family for three generations and see how a genetic link is passed down and the damage it can do.  It comes to be known as "The Condition".  The characters are Elsie, Philipos, Digby, Marimba, Baby Mol, Joppan, Shamuel, Celise....to name a few.

"This is a novel – a splendid, enthralling one – about the body, about what characters inherit and what makes itself felt upon them. It is the body that contains ambiguities and mysteries. As in his international bestseller Cutting for Stone, Verghese’s medical knowledge and his mesmerising attention to detail combine to create breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat scenes of survival and medical procedures that are difficult to forget. Tenderness permeates every page, at the same time as he is ruthless with the many ways his characters are made vulnerable by simply being alive. Those scenes when a person must fight for their life make for some of the most gripping episodes that I have read in some time."(quoted from the Guardian)

Please share your thoughts

May 28,2023. I read this book in one day.  It was written for young people but it is definitely a book for adults and the older generation.  The story is race and gender and crime and punishment.  It is also about the power of understanding and forgiveness.  Beautifully done and certainly leaves one wondering about the issues that changed the lives of Sasha and Richard.  AGender Sasha and Richard meet on a fateful day in Oakland, California on the 57.  What happens is riveting!  Please read it and tell me what you think......mbhichborn@gmail.com

May 17, 2023...This is an amazing and eye opening book about Josie and Arlette and their search for Nazi criminals and medical people, who escaped after World War 2.  I was amazed at how complicated and how deep the deception, lies and criminal behaviors were that helped these horrible people escape conviction and justice. Escapes to Argentina, Brazil and other areas of the world were common for some of the most terrible leaders of the Nazi regime.  The power of the Vatican, various governments including the United States were involved and this astounded me.  In this well documented and researched novel, this horrific period in world history begins to come to light.  Never forget.  Please email me at mbhichborn@gmail with any comments or reactions