Ellen Elow-Mintz

Three summer short takes

I’ve been savoring my reading time this summer. With all my book groups on hiatus until September, it feels like an “all you can read buffet.” Since reading isn’t all I do, please accept this group of “In A Nutshell” assessments, with a few extra words thrown in. Some full-length reviews are coming soon!

The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood (W. W. Norton & Co, August 2016) (Advance copy)
In 40+ words or less: After the end of her marriage, Ava is encouraged to join a book group of disparate members. Monthly, one member leads the discussion on his/her most meaningful book. As Ava tries to restart her life, her daughter Maggie is in Paris engaging in destructive behavior, deceiving her family in the process. Hood’s novel focuses on the importance of family, friendship, and love in creating a meaningful life.
Genre: Fiction
Locale: Providence and Paris
Time: Now
Read this for a novel about the resilience of the parent/child relationship, even when all seems lost. The book club and the choice of discussion titles are key to Ava’s re-emergence and provide a vital plot twist.

A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan (Simon & Schuster, 2015)
In 40+ words or less: When her husband must make a career change, Alice steps up moving to an edgy book-related start-up. Exhilarating at first, Alice discovers it’s not as advertised and far from family-friendly. Everyone – her husband, children, and parents – need her so something’s got to give.
Genre: Fiction
Locale: New York metro area
Time: Now
Pick this up for a modern family story with some great bookish quirks.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (Penguin, 2013)
In 40+ words or less: A young woman, desperate for a job, becomes the personal companion for a high-flying young businessman profoundly injured in an accident. Opposites in temperament, interests, and world views, they transform each others’ lives.
Genre: Fiction
Locale: Great Britain
Time: Now
There’s a reason so many people have read it. May not stand the test of time but well worth an evening or two. A better choice than the movie. Jojo Moyes tells a good story.

Defining historical fiction and lists for your to-be-read pile

Historical fiction is one of the most popular genres. According to the National Council of Teachers of English, it is defined as:

In historical fiction, setting is the most important literary element. Because the author is writing about a particular time in history, the information about the time period must be accurate, authentic, or both. To create accurate and authentic settings in their books, authors must research the time period thoroughly.

The explosion of digitized primary source information available on the internet and the myriad of opportunities to connect researchers, both scholarly and avocational, has made it possible for authors to research in ways never before possible. These changes have enriched the backdrops to include accurate information on foods and drink, on how homes were heated (or not), material from merchant ledgers, and personal journals and letters. Concomitant is the tendency of readers to Google information they may find suspect. Some authors routinely receive emails questioning the veracity of historical events included in their fictional stories.

Just over two weeks ago, I spent a morning discussing modern historical fiction with an audience of 20 plus adults on Hilton Head Island, SC. It was a lively conversation and everyone had their favorite to share. Here is the list I handed out that day. In preparation, I reached out to my Facebook friends to find their favorite historical fiction titles. After collecting them and filling in additional information, here is the crowdsourced list.

As I was pouring through this huge potential source of titles, what did I specifically exclude? The easiest are books that really are narrative nonfiction. The author has carefully researched many primary and secondary sources, putting together a narration of real events. those I was asked to include were often about less known people or historical events. Also omitted were fictions about biblical or religious figures whose stories cannot be positioned in a specific time period with surrounding outside historical elements. Several people asked to have Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent included but it can’t be specified.

What do I look for in a novel to move it to the historical fiction category? For me, it must be more than a broad brush setting. Jane Austen’s novels are classics, providing a contemporaneous view of domestic life. She adds little information about the historical events of her time or details about the economic structures. What I would include is 1930s era book if there is a party line in an apartment building. I would like to see a character try to use it and be rebuffed so that a reader could understand what it really means in the context of daily life. Misplacing major historical events and inserting technological advances before their time moves a title into basic fiction or fantasy on my list depending on the situation.

In recent fiction, there have been a number of authors who have purposefully set their stories prior to the mid-1990s. That sets the story in the time before cell phones became ubiquitous and allows the author the opportunity for characters to be out of touch with others and ill-informed about breaking news. Technology can be an asset or detriment to the telling of a story.

Wherever possible I include information about the historical context and the author’s research in reviews as I write them. If I miss the mark I hope you will call me on it. The reviews are a resource and should be accurate. If the lists of titles aren’t enough to keep you going, please look through blog archives (on the rose colored bar) or on the Books page where all past reviews are listed.

‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ is another summer thriller

IN A NUTSHELL

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (Scout Press 2016)
In 40 words or less: A journalist lands the assignment to report on an ultra-luxury cruise ship. A break-in at her home before departure makes her wary and vulnerable. When she sees evidence of a crime on the ship her veracity is questioned and her safety endangered.
Genre: Thriller
Locale: London, North Sea, Norway
Time: Now
Read this if you are a fan of The Girl on the Train or Gone Girl.

There’s something about summertime. It seems wherever you turn there is another psychological thriller vying for your attention. Granted, they are often the perfect length for a long flight or some time at the pool, preferably with a dip or a nap or two thrown in.

British women writers have taken the US by storm with female protagonists who may not be completely believable. The latest entry, The Woman in Cabin 10, starts with a heart-stopping scene. Lo Blacklock, the narrator, awakens in the middle of the night to find a masked intruder in her apartment. In confronting him she is wounded and to save herself ends up locked in a room without any way to exit and with no way to communicate. After smashing her way out, she is physically and emotionally battered. Even while trying to work with the police, secure her apartment and replace her stolen phone and credit cards, she and her boyfriend have an argument. And then there’s a magazine assignment on an ultra-luxury cruise just one day away.

Ruth Ware sets up a classic locked room mystery on the North Sea. The 10 cabin, ultra-luxury ship is on its maiden cruise to drum up publicity and major investors. The ship is a project of a British businessman and his ailing heiress wife and, aside from Lo, the other passengers are major photographers, writers or venture capital advisors. On the first night out, Lo returns to her cabin having had little sleep since her attack and too much to drink. She wakes up to some commotion in the adjacent cabin and thinks she sees a body go overboard and blood on a glass panel. The cabin was allegedly empty and no one seems to be missing from the passengers or crew.

Lo is desperate to uncover the truth. Ruth Ware has done a masterful job of balancing Lo’s occasional self-doubt with her resolve. The novel has numerous twists and turns, all in the very confined quarters of a small ship at sea. Lo is uncertain of the trustworthiness of her fellow passengers, including a photographer, Ben, she had a relationship with several years earlier.

Interspersed in the on-ship narrative are occasional web articles, forum strings, and emails questioning Lo’s possible disappearance since her family, boyfriend, and co-workers have heard nothing from her despite the ship’s high-tech capabilities. These serve to emphasize how alone Lo is on this cruise.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is a fast-paced grabber of a book. Despite the early attack, Lo fights off a victim mentality and pushes back at every attempt to minimize her contentions. Earlier in her life, Lo suffered panic attacks. When Ben suggests to others that an interaction of her medications and alcohol may have caused her to imagine the body, Lo loses trust in the one person she thought was on her side. The challenge of dealing with anxiety is part of Lo’s story. In its telling, it enhances the acceleration of the plot.

If you enjoyed The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl or Widow, Ruth Ware’s latest might be just the book to take away with you.

Coming to a small screen near you – Part 3 ‘The Boys in the Boat’

Earlier today I saw a news article announcing that PBS’s American Experience will premiere a one-hour documentary, The Boys of ’36, inspired by Daniel James Brown’s history The Boys in the Boat on August 2 at 9 ET. Before the Olympics were professional games, before performance enhancing drugs and huge endorsement deals, the Olympics often involved both politics and pride. This show should be “must see TV” so mark it on your calendar and set the DVR. For more information click here.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, (Viking, 2013)
In 40 words or less: Traces the University of Washington rowers who captured 1936 Olympic gold despite personal and financial hardships, and East Coast bias. Plan to be schooled in team-building, boat-building, the history of the Depression and the rise of Nazi Germany.
Genre: History
Locale: US (primarily Washington) and Germany
Time: 1930s
Read this! The narrative is gripping, the language is lyrical and the individual stories grab you. You will be sorry if you don’t.

The glory of the Olympics has been tarnished in recent years, but the stories of individual and team athletic achievements remain compelling. The U.S. hero of the 1936 Olympics was Jesse Owens. The target of prejudice and singled out beforehand as a target, he beat the best track stars the Third Reich had to offer.

Virtually lost in history (except in Washington), was the extraordinary saga of the University of Washington’s 8 man rowing team. In the middle of the Depression, these sons of loggers and farmers, many of whom had never rowed before, joined the team as a means of pursuing their education.

Since the publication of Daniel James Brown’s book three years ago, the attention on the story of these rowers and the difficulty of their achievement at that time in American history has come to widespread public attention. Until that time, rowing was dominated by the East Coast Ivy League teams, generally made up of the well-to-do. The West Coast, and more particularly, Washington, was deemed a backwater, of little concern to the Eastern Establishment in more than just sports. Brown lays out the extreme difficulty of life during the Depression in the Pacific Northwest.

In following their path to Berlin, which included a train ride through the Dust Bowl, the reader is caught up in multiple elements of U.S. history of that period. As vital to the story is Germany’s plan to use the Olympics to further its political ends. The extensive motion picture propaganda campaign developed for the Olympics was the first of its kind. It is all laid out in the book.

Brown’s presentation will capture even the most reluctant reader of nonfiction. I can’t imagine what it is, but some of the very best narrative nonfiction writing of the last decade has come from the Seattle area, courtesy of Daniel James Brown and Erik Larson (In the Garden of Beasts and Dead Wake). And for those who’d like to share this incredible story with a younger or reluctant reader, this is an adapted version with abridged language and more manageable length (250 pages versus 400).

Many of you have likely read The Boys in the Boat and shared it with friends, family, and other readers. With the Olympics beginning in a just a few weeks, this is the perfect time to bring this great story to those who may have missed it.

Road trip audiobook – Part 1

IN A NUTSHELL

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, narration by the author (Simon & Schuster audio, 2015)
In 40 words or less: There’s far more to the Wright brothers’ story than the first flight at Kitty Hawk. McCullough brings the family to life and sets them in the context of their times. His narration provides the gravitas the story deserves.
Genre: History/Biography
Locale: Ohio/NC/Europe
Time: Late 19th – Early 20th centuries
Read this to understand the genius and persistence of the Wright brothers and the family that inspired and stood behind them in their work.

Several things need to work well for an audiobook to be a good choice – the subject, the reader and the quality of the material. When you are choosing a book for more than one person to listen to on a road trip, the stakes are higher. Knowing that our tastes differ, I had several selections. The Wright Brothers was not the first pick but within minutes we were hooked.

Orville and Wilbur Wright’s successful flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 is credited with launching the age of flight. The brief paragraphs about this achievement in most history books tell of brothers that began as bicycle builders who parlayed their mechanical knowledge to create the first successful airplane. The brothers and their siblings were raised in a household where reading books on all subjects from classical philosophy to mathematics to contemporary literature was the primary activity. Throughout their lives, Sundays were reserved for reading and contemplation, a tribute to their minister father who instilled in them their love of learning and persistence of purpose.

The flight at Kitty Hawk was barely heard of beyond those working on the project for more than five years. Politics and scientific jealousies sent the Wrights to Europe looking for support and a market when U.S. government officials created stumbling blocks or ignored them outright for several years. Throughout it all, the Wrights remained fixtures in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio and maintained their bicycle shop as an ongoing concern. From beginning to end, their sister Katharine provided personal support and business guidance critical to every success they had, often sacrificing her own aspirations.

David McCullough’s deep and expressive voice is perfect for telling the story as he wrote it. The only downside to listening to the audiobook is the lack of photos and a map. I had given an autographed copy of the book to my father, so upon our arrival at his home, I was able to look at the photos. Having a map handy is a great reminder of the very narrow spit of land that was so important to the birth of modern aviation.

Whether your interest is in history, aviation, the power of genius or just a great story, David McCullough’s The Wright Brothers will fit the bill.

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