Category: Books

Booknote: Shanghai Jazz & Montana Misery

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WHAT I’VE READ RECENTLY

Nicole Mones is an engaging writer.  Her background includes running a textile business importing wool from China, something she did for 18 years which means she writes knowledgeably and convincingly about that society and its culture.  Several years ago I read her novel, The Last Chinese Chef.  I absolutely loved this book, recommended it to friends and gave it as a gift.  It combined complex characters, food, and an exotic setting in an intriguing mélange of history and romance.  Like a good meal, it was very satisfying.

Recently, I immersed myself in the music scene of 1930’s Shanghai.  In Night in Shanghai, her newest novel, Mones portrays the African American musicians who were lured from the U.S. to be a part of the jazz craze in that more racially tolerant environment.  The central character, Thomas Greene, has his own black jazz orchestra and a big house, but falls in love with an indentured Chinese woman who is also a member of the Communist Party.  Events unfold as Hitler’s tyranny is devastating Europe and Shanghai becomes a safe place for Jews.

There are more minor characters in this novel and more political strands (parties and officials) to keep straight so I had to pay closer attention to the details while reading.  In the process, I learned a great deal about some of the lesser known aspects of this time period (including a grand plan to harbor Jewish refugees) and am now poised to read another of Mones’ earlier works.  You can see and hear her talk about how this book came about at a recent appearance at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ.

Song, (note her name) the love interest in Night in Shanghai is trapped and bound to her master with no ability to come and go as she pleases.  In Smith Henderson’s novel, you might say that all the characters are trapped by something, be it poverty, addiction, or a dysfunctional home scene.  And yet, within these constraints, they exercise what they perceive to be their rights, be it flaunting authority, distrusting the government, abusing someone, or just plain drinking to excess, again and again.  Fourth of July Creek is a long and challenging novel set in 1980 in the small towns and woods of rural Montana.

Pete Snow, a social worker, grapples with families and children whose lives are messed up and messy.  His own life is in pieces too —his wife took up with another man, his 13 year old daughter who lives with her has run away, his brother is out on parole, and he finds solace in drink.  Two of Pete’s cases take center stage as he monitors brother and sister Cecil and Katie’s foster home placement and struggles to get proper help for Benjamin, the untamed son of fundamentalist Jeremiah Pearl.  Father Pearl distrusts everyone, is half crazy, and seemingly has been acting out on the wrong side of the law.  Running in parallel and underneath these situations are Pete’s multi-state search for Rachael, his missing daughter, and a series of interviews with her.  One can debate if these interspersed interviews add to or detract from the novel as a whole.

Henderson is sympathetic to all his characters.  I found I liked Pete despite his shortcomings and eventually saw another facet of the angry, violent Jeremiah that provided some explanation for his behavior.  This is Henderson’s first novel.  While I think it is longer than it needs to be, in language that is painstakingly crafted and honed, it paints a grim and graphic picture of rural poverty and desperation.  The book is on the New York Times Book Review’s “100 Notable Books 2014” as well as being named the best book of the year by several critics.  I wouldn’t go as far as they did, but I cared enough about Pete and the fate of Cecil and Benjamin to plough through.

Tidy Tidbits: Reading & Red

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READING

There was a column about reading in the  recent Wall Street Journal Report: The Future.  I was pleased to see this, but think that Walter Mosley could have made a stronger case overall for the value of reading.  Nonetheless, he did write the following:  “There’s nothing like reading.  That interpretation through the nonconcrete medium of words fosters creativity in almost every bookworm.  Basic imaginative talent is cultivated by reading, and that process cannot be replaced or lost because, we, as long as we are human, will always have words and thoughts, pains and ecstasies, that must be expressed.”   So cheers for the bookworms, may they flourish!

In an innovative approach to encouraging reading and making books readily available, the San Francisco Public Library this month is launching a book bike. Called Spoke & Word, it will show up at Giants’ baseball games, farmers’ markets, parades, and other community gathering places.  Just another example of the vision and creativity of my west coast friends.  Congratulations!  [The photo is from the library.]

MEMENTOS OF RED

My mother loved the color red.  In her younger days, she wore a lot of red.  Over the years, she amassed a collection of red glass.  Her picture window ledges were lined with small red objects—goblets, birds, vases, pitchers, and even a red apple—most of them gifts from family and friends.  At Christmas, she reveled in decorating her house and her tree with as much red as possible, everything from red ornaments to red poinsettias to wreaths and swags, always with a red bow.

Now my mother is gone, but she lingers on in the scattering of red in my house.  A necklace of tubular red wooden beads interlaced with silver discs from Finland; a lovely pinkish-red silk scarf with ribbons of black; a delicate clear glass hummingbird ornament with red wings and tail; a carved wooden cardinal ornament; a small glass pitcher with a wide mouth and a yellow handle; a round Chinese lacquer box.  These items are imbued with memories:  of good times, of travels, of holidays spent together, of family.  Red has become my color too.

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Booknote: Mysteries of Character

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GEMMA, MAISIE, AND CLARE

My mother devoured mysteries.  I think when she was raising her four children they were pure escape.  She would read a Crime Club mystery in an evening and then read several more over the rest of a week—all of that required frequent trips to the public library.  I am more selective in which mysteries I like, but I do have a few favorite authors whose series I follow.   These are mystery novels featuring women detectives with these characters evolving over time.  Reading them in the order they were published enables the reader to share in how a relationship, whether it’s with a work partner or a romantic interest, deepens and changes.  For me, this is much more satisfying than a one-off crime novel. The books in these series are also well written.  Each author came to writing after some other career and with considerable life experience and each has won multiple awards for her writing. So, here is my first batch of favorites—for those who know me, there aren’t any surprises!

Deborah Crombie grew up near Dallas, Texas, lived in the U.K. with her first husband, a Scotsman, and then returned to the U.S. and Texas.  She loved England and her contemporary mysteries are set there and feature the Scotland Yard detective team of Duncan Kincaid and Gemma Jones.  The first books focused on Duncan, but then their relationship developed.  They became partners in life and often work together, whether officially or unofficially, on their cases.

The novels are rich with the complexities of children and stepchildren, ex-spouses, unreasonable bosses, challenging colleagues, and yes, murders with few clues.  One of her most recent titles which I just read and enjoyed is The Sound of Broken Glass.  There are at least 17 titles in the series—hard for me to believe I’ve read that many!

The Maisie Dobbs mystery novels by Jacqueline Winspear are mostly set in England in the period from WWI into the 1930’s.  Maisie is a psychologist and private investigator and a somewhat quirky woman taking advantage of the winds of social change.  Author Winspear was born and raised in the U.K., immigrated to the United States in 1990, and now lives in the San Francisco Bay area.  Several years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting her briefly when she was also a guest at an author lunch.

I find Winspear’s evocation of this earlier time in history to be fascinating and believable.  Besides Maisie, her other characters—Maisie’s father, her mentor Maurice, and her friend James Compton—come off the page and I find myself savoring the details of their lives and their interactions.   Currently, I’m reading the very latest Maisie Dobbs, A Dangerous Place, this one set in Gibraltar.

Unlike the other two writers, Julia Spencer-Fleming has always lived in the U.S. and has not strayed too far from home.  She grew up in Plattsburgh, NY as an army brat, went to law school and then practiced law before becoming a successful writer.  She now lives outside Portland, Maine.  Her main character, Clare Fergusson, is undoubtedly one of the more unusual detectives.  An ordained Episcopal priest, Clare has her own church in a small upstate NY town, and previously was a helicopter pilot in the army.  The town of Millers Kill is almost as much of a character as police chief Russ Van Alstyne with whom Clare collaborates.

Almost every book title is a phrase from a Protestant hymn and some chapter titles too, but don’t be put off, there is some church politics in the mix, but these are not preachy tomes.  One aspect of Spencer-Fleming’s work I particularly admire is her willingness to tackle contemporary issues within the context of a murder mystery, be it abandoned babies or the struggles of returning veterans.  You may find, as I do, that her stories stay with you.  One such for me was One Was a Soldier published in 2011.

Booknote: James and Ferrante

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I have returned home from my Asian Adventure and along with re-adjusting to east coast time, I’m back doing more reading.  Here are my latest books.

WSJ Book Club

Sometime ago, I read that the Wall Street Journal was starting an online book club.  I was intrigued, but I was still working and didn’t think I had the time to commit to it.  Now, Colm Toibin, one of my favorite authors, is moderating a 6 week discussion of Henry James’ novel, The Golden Bowl.  I probably last read this novel in college, but vividly recall the Masterpiece Theater production of some years ago.

From www.imdb.com
From www.imdb.com

 

 

 

Now I’m reading it again, this time from the 1922 New York edition of James’ works given to me by my grandfather.  This copy was published on good paper (probably acid-free or mostly so), is in good condition, and comprises two volumes, given its length.  I have the added bonus of a folded sheet of lined yellow paper with my grandfather’s handwritten notes tucked in the front.

James’ sentences are lengthy with many phrases strung together by commas.  I liked Toibin’s advice, in an article about his choice, to just read them and not worry about understanding every nuance.  He also suggested reading at least 50 pages at a time without a break.

Online, a question for discussion is posed each week, and this week’s relates to the names of the characters, Adam Verver, Prince Amerigo, and Fanny Assingham, and their significance.  I have long been a fan of Henry James and this online discussion provides motivation and discipline for my reading.

 

Elena Ferrante 

In between short takes of James, I’m reading the first volume, My Brilliant Friend, of Italian novelist Elena Ferrante’s series about a lifelong friendship between two women.  Ferrante has received a lot of publicity and much praise for her works and occasioned curiosity about her identity and even her sex.  She was born in Naples and has written a number of successful novels, but uses a pseudonym.  As her works have been translated and made available outside Italy, there has been greater speculation about her including an article last year in the New York Times.

BrilliantFriendThe first volume is not an easy read, in my opinion, but I am determined to finish it.  Set in a poor neighborhood, the childhood section is somewhat stream of consciousness with a raft of characters and could be said to mimic how a younger child’s mind recalls events.  The second section, “Adolescence,”  is more straightforwardly presented.  Ferrante easily captures the capricious nature of childhood relationships; she likes me, she hates me, she feels superior; I admire her, but I want to best her, I want her to like me, etc.  Onward, I go!