March, 2020 Readings: "It was one of those March days...when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

Quote from Charles Dickens.

I'm starting off March with THE IMAGO SEQUENCE AND OTHER STORIES by Laird Barron and I have YELLOW EARTH, the latest by John Sayles, waiting for me at the library.

>1 CliffBurns: I didn't know he wrote novels! An odd oversight since I have seen several of his films, read a few of his screenplays, used to live six blocks away from him and a block from where he shot several key scenes in Lianna.

Oh, you must find a copy of A MOMENT IN THE SUN.

An epic-length tale, set at the end of the 19th century. Big cast, spans a couple of continents...unbelievably good book.

But you might strain your forearms hefting the hardcover...

Reviews look good but 1000 pages? I'll add it to the list but......

It's a book that zips along and does not seem a page overlong. An epic but not over-padded. I remember it with great fondness.

Jade Dragon Mountain – Elsa Hart
Book on CD narrated by David Shih
4****

This historical mystery is set in the town of Dayan, on the Chinese / Tibetan border, in 1708. The main character is Li Due, former Imperial Librarian, now in exile and on his way out of the country. When he arrives at Dayan, where his cousin is the magistrate, he is surprised by the bustle of activity. He was unaware that people are flocking to the town for a special visit by the Emperor who has promised to create an eclipse of the sun.

I loved the history in this book. I had been previously unaware of the role of the Jesuits; as astronomers and scientists they gained the trust of the “pagan” lords and subsequently began to convert them to Christianity. But politics, religion and commerce did not always have the same interests and conflicts led to untimely deaths.

I felt that I was a real sense of the time and place from Hart’s descriptions and plot. Li Du is a marvelous detective, and also a skilled politician. He knows when to keep his own counsel and when to divulge key bits of information. There is more than one mystery involved here and more than one villain.

I was completely engaged and interested from beginning to end and did NOT guess the perpetrator(s) before they were revealed.

David Shih did a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. He set a good pace and, for the most part, I was able to tell who was speaking. I did think his accent for the Englishman Nicholas Gray was abysmal, however. Still, it was his characterization of Li Due that carried the story for me.

Lab Girl – Hope Jahren
5*****

Hope Jahren was always most comfortable in a lab; as a child she played in her father’s lab. She chose to research botany, and this is her memoir.

Jahren structures the book with alternating chapters; in one she will give a botany lesson, detailing, for example, the functioning of a leaf; in the next chapter she’ll relate a personal story of her journey from childhood to her position as a research scientist. And I was frequently able to draw a comparison between the science and the memory. I was fascinated by the science lessons but was completely taken in by her personal story.

Jahren writes with humor and strength as she reveals her personal struggles with bi-polar disorder, with learning to show love having grown up in a reserved Scandinavian culture, and with being a woman in a decidedly male-dominated field. I particularly loved the stories she told of her adventures with her student and eventual lab partner, Bill. This is the kind of guy who will drive you to distraction, but whom you want along on a deserted island. Resourceful is his middle name!

I highly recommend this to all readers – male or female, science geek or amateur gardener. I think just about everyone will find something delightful and relatable in this memoir.

Just finished the second volume of Alexei Sayle's memoirs, THATCHER STOLE MY TROUSERS.

Sayle is a funny man and, like all great comics, has an amazing facility with language.

Recommended.

...and Alexei's savage, biting wit is still in evidence today:

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/mar/11/alexei-sayle-review-epstein-theatr...

Patsy – Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn
Book on CD narrated by Sharon Gordon.
4****

This novel follows Patsy, a young Jamaican mother of a 5-year-old girl, Tru, as she makes her way to America and tries to find a better life for herself. However, in order to find herself and achieve her potential, she must leave her daughter back in Jamaica, in the care of her father, a man Patsy never married, and with whom she’s had little contact. But leaving Tru with Roy is much better than leaving her with Patsy’s mother, Mamma G, a woman who has given all her pension to the Church hoping that Jesus will save her.

This story is in turns heartbreaking and inspiring. I applaud Patsy’s determination, courage, inventiveness and work ethic, but have difficulty forgiving her for leaving her child in Jamaica. Her guilt at this no-win choice is palpable and heart-wrenching. Her inability to deal with the very real results of her decision made me want to shake her. And then, I would feel so sorry for her – for the difficulty she faced when her dream was proved to be just that, a dream with no real basis in reality, for her struggles to survive, to find housing and work, for her misguided attempts to find even a little happiness and a sense of self-worth.

Dennis-Benn alternates points of view giving the reader insight into Tru’s life back in Jamaica. Her inability to understand how her mother could leave her, the sliver of hope a Christmas card conveys, and the defeat she feels when she finally accepts that her mother is not coming back. , My heart breaks over and over for Tru as she grows to her teens and hides her pain and sense of responsibility for her mother’s decisions.

But lest you think this is a depressing story, be aware that I loved these characters, even though I didn’t always like them. Despite all the hardship, all the bad decisions and failures to communicate, ultimately there is some triumph and some sense of hope.

Sharon Gordon does a marvelous job of voicing the audiobook. Dennis-Benn uses a vernacular patois dialogue in much of the book, and I found it difficult to make out the sense in those few sections that I chose to read in text format. Gordon’s performance made it easier for me to absorb and understand those lilting Jamaican accents. She really brought these characters to life for me.

I was traveling recently and needed something light so I started Me by Elton John. Definitely not Chronicles, Life, or Born To Run. Not a whole lot of self exploration or of artistry here. It has some good moments though. I've always liked Elton even though he hasn't made a good record since the mid 70's. I admired all his work during the AIDS crisis in the 90's.

Finished a re-read of Afternoon Men, Anthony Powell's first novel. As a first it's tremendous. You can see the heavy influence of Ivy Compton-Burnett in the dialogue.

Just wrapped up John Sayles' latest, YELLOW EARTH.

One of the year's best so far, big cast, sweeping tale of the boom that arrives in North Dakota thanks to fracking. Multi-age, multi-ethnic cast, scrupulously good dialogue.

Everything this man touches is gold.

Finished a crime novel, William Boyle's GRAVESEND.

Kind of reminiscent of MYSTIC RIVER but not nearly as compelling.

Passable, but hardly enthralling.

C'mon, folks, if you're self-isolating you MUST be doing lots of reading.

Let's hear about it!

>15 CliffBurns: Actually, little more than usual as i can (and do) work from home.

All I have to report is that Me by Elton John has improved a lot. News at 11.

>15 CliffBurns: >16 RobertDay: Same here. The only extra time I get is the 20/30 minute commute each way. From 8 until 5 I'm working, just the same as I would be in if I were in the office.

>15 CliffBurns: ... I find it harder to concentrate these days with no schedule to adhere to, and Hubby having the TV news on all day. I have been reading, but at a slower pace, and I'm at least a month behind in writing my reviews.

Dear Mrs Bird – A J Pearce
Digital audio performed by Anna Popplewell
3***

From the book jacket: London 1940, bombs are falling. Emmy Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent seem suddenly achievable. But the job turns out to be typist to the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down.

My reactions:
This had more substance than I originally thought based on the book jacket. Mrs Bird has some strict guidelines for the letters she’ll tackle – NOTHING unpleasant! No mention of sexual relations (in or – heaven forbid! – out of marriage), nothing about divorce, or complaints about the hardships endured during wartime, and she doesn’t want any letters that should belong to the food columnist, either! It seems that Emmy’s task is to toss just about every letter into the bin. But her heart breaks for the predicaments some writers convey, and when they give an address and ask for a personal response, well, Emmy just can’t help but respond.

Of course, there’s the personal drama of a young woman during wartime - a fiancé who is fighting in France, and a best friend who is trying to plan a wedding amidst the continuous bombing of London during the Blitz. Emmy is torn trying to be all things to all people and gets caught in a web of deceit that seems so innocent at the beginning.

I’m way past this stage in my own life and didn’t really relate to the characters. Oh, I recognized myself and my friends at that age, but “been there, done that” and I don’t really need to read about it again. The person I liked best was Emmy’s boss. Still, it was an entertaining, fast read, and I can see why it might be marketed for book groups.

Anna Popplewell does a fine job performing the audio version. I loved her interpretation of Mrs Bird! She set a good pace and I was never confused about who was speaking.

I have been reading The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal. It was a book group read but our meeting never took place. However i was glad to have read it. The survival of a collection of exquisite netsuke figures through a century of the lives of the Ephrussi family, from whom De Waal is descended, made for a fascinating story.

This family of high achieving immigrants battled anti-semitism in Paris and Vienna, eventually having to flee the Nazis. They lost almost everything but the netsuke survived, thanks to Anna, a loyal Viennese servant of the family. They eventually returned to Japan where they were made. They were in the possession of Ignace Ephrussi who had made his home in Japan. A wonderful book which resonated with me in all sorts of ways.

Finished March with two graphic novels:

STITCHES by David Small, a memoir of a badly messed up childhood

BLACK HOLE by Charles Burns, a horror offering about a sexually transmitted disease ravaging a group of teens

The former was far better, an emotionally charged tale, very realistic and believable. The latter...didn't impress, never came to life on the page.

(Touchstones not working tonight.)