Ellen Elow-Mintz

In ‘Epitaph’ a century-old story has very modern overtones

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Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell (Ecco, 2015) audiobook narrated by Hillary Huber (HarperAudio)
In 40 words or less: Masterful research brings the history and people of the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral to life. Vivid descriptions and dialog fill out the political and social history. It will change any assumptions you may have of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday.
Genre: Historical fiction
Locale: Arizona Territory
Time: Primarily 1880-1882
Read this for a well-written story and a better understanding of the human stories and political dynamics of the Arizona Territory. Today’s Republicans and Democrats have nothing on them.

Only a fool would try to pigeon-hole Mary Doria Russell’s writing style. Her first novel, The Sparrow, captured numerous science fiction awards. A Thread of Grace, a historical novel of the Italian Resistance and the Holocaust was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Epitaph is her second novel about two of the West’s most celebrated figures – Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. I’ve been a fan for more than a decade and was not disappointed with Epitaph.

Tombstone, Arizona Territory in the early 1880’s was a bustling town with more than 10,000 people, two newspapers and all the standard businesses of the period. All sides in Post-Civil War politics were well-represented in the Territory, vying for the power to determine the future of its evolving government.

Local politics were very fractious in the counties in the Territory. Winning the position of Sheriff was financially very lucrative, receiving often 10% of taxes collected. And since there often were alliances with assessors, mudslinging and shady deals were not uncommon. Cowboys were a synonym for rustlers and stagecoaches were often targets for robberies. Lawmen often had more than one boss, truly a gun for hire. As Russell lays out the complicated circumstances that led up to the shootout, the politics and shifting business loyalties often put lawmen directly in the line of fire.

Medical science was brought out through Doc Holliday’s ongoing battle with tuberculosis and the slow and painful death of President Garfield, due to infection, after he was shot by Charles Giteau. In the aftermath of the shootout, Holliday, a dentist by training, insisted over their objections that the doctors use hygienic practices to treat the Earps’ wounds. Alcoholism and laudanum dependence mirror today’s substance abuse issues. At every step, Russell enriches the understanding of life at that time.

Many stories about the West give women minor roles. Josie (Sadie) Marcus’ left a privileged life in San Francisco’s Jewish community to seek fame and fortune with a theater company, like her idol Sarah Bernhardt. Achieving minor success, she hitches her star to a political aspirant and moves with him to Tombstone. There she develops a friendship with Doc Holliday and he keeps an eye out for her, recognizing she is in an unhealthy relationship. Josie leaves the unscrupulous philanderer, prostituting herself to make ends meet. Only after many missteps does Wyatt’s and Josie’s decades-long love story begin. Each of the Earp brothers brought a woman with him when they left Kansas for Arizona. Russell deftly brings out their different interests and temperaments, as she does with each of the brothers.

At every turn, another aspect of the complexity of life at this time is revealed in Epitaph. Interested in the role of gambling or immigrant issues? It’s there. Border and political issues with the Mexican government are there, too. The local papers are controlled by competing political groups. Epitaph provides a striking reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

A very able narrator, Hillary Huber, read the audiobook as I traveled from Florida back home to the DC area. While her skill and careful differentiation of characters through tone and accent added an extra dimension to the novel, it is Mary Doria Russell’s words and storytelling that carry the day however the book is “read.” In this political crazy season, Epitaph is a perfect book to carry you away while reminding you that change will happen again and again and again.

A Fond Farewell to the Space Coast

This was our seventh and final visit to Nationals Spring Training in Viera, Florida. While we hope to continue the Spring Training tradition for many years to come, the Washington Nationals will be moving next year to a new home in West Palm Beach.

Space Coast Stadium has been a wonderful place to get ready for baseball and allow my toes to breathe after a cold and snowy winter. Everyone at the park is friendly and we greet some of the staff and fellow fans as old friends, expecting to always find each other in the same place when we return. And there were the local restaurants and their owners we visited each year. The departure will be an economic hit on the area and will make for a much quieter season. While the new ballpark complex will be fabulous with all the latest amenities and quick access to many more teams, I will miss the relaxed pace and smaller town feel of the old park.

There is a great sense of pride to the Space Coast. This is the stretch of Florida where NASA has had its greatest achievements and failures. The stadium has at each foul pole huge pillars memorializing the Challenger and Columbia shuttles, tragedies that will forever mark the region and nation. And a trip to Cape Canaveral, just an hour away, is a visit through space history super-sized, as is everything associated with the space program.

And then there’s the baseball. In the spring it really isn’t about the score. How is the team looking? Who are those new faces? Will some of my old favorites finally be pushed out by some young player, fighting for his place in the big leagues? Spring is a time for wild aspirations and the recognition that for some the best days have passed.

Who have I watched in particular? Well, Ryan Zimmerman (Spring, 2010) and Ian Desmond were stalwarts. While I knew Ian was gone, it was strange not to see him on the field. Stephen Strasburg’s very first pitching appearance as a National. And we had tickets – our first day ever at Spring Training! But a dumb cluck luggage cart driver at DCA disabled our plane and we were 5 hours and 5 innings late. And just missed his first trip to the mound.

We saw Pudge Rodriguez (Spring, 2011) teaching the young players from the top step of the dugout as his career on the field was coming to an end.

And we’ve watched Bryce Harper mature in every way possible. (Spring, 2011-13)

(Below Spring, 2014-16)

And I’ve taken it in up close and personal, right behind the netting each and every year.

Going forward, I think the sounds and feel of Viera will still remain a part of my Spring Training, regardless of the Nationals’ home. It’s like your first elementary school classroom – it’s the place where the magic began.

Reading offers perspective when terror strikes

November 13, the day that Paris exploded, was my birthday. And shortly after the early news reports confirmed the extent of the terror, I turned off the television. Most of the weekend was spent reading. Living in the DC area, staying on top of the news is as much a part of life as ridiculous traffic.

I can no longer spend endless hours glued to the repetition of the same information. While the terrorists attacked the lives and livelihoods of the citizens of Brussels, the ripples of their actions wound everyone seeing the reports.

Daily news reports talk of isolationism, interventionists, refugee crises and political intractability. Reading Erik Larson’s Dead Wake about the last voyage of the Lusitania and Churchhill’s calculated effort to bring the US into WWI brings to mind President Wilson’s policy of isolation which only changed after many American lives were lost in the sinking of the ship. This echoes some of today’s political rhetoric.

In Epitaph, Mary Doria Russell’s compelling historical novel about the circumstances leading up to the shootout at the OK Corral, the Republicans and Democrats have vastly different approaches to border issues between Mexico and the Arizona territory. Some of the politicians turn a blind eye to the incursions of rustling cowboys and the killing parties across the border. The lack of cooperation among the parties and the border economic and political issues are all too familiar.

George Santayana is credited with saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” Whether I am reading fiction or narrative nonfiction, I remain alert to the lessons shared. If anything, my reading gives me a much better perspective on the extraordinary domestic and foreign policy challenges we face as Americans.

As the day that changed Belgium forever ends, I watch the late news because information is power. And then there are the rare stories of people reaching out to help strangers, a reminder that when we treat each other with kindness rather than hate good can and will happen.

Unreliable narrators make for page turners

Regular readers know that most of my posts speak to the suitability of the book for group discussion. In the case of the three books here, The Widow, Gone Girl, and The Girl on the Train, the literary device seems the most interesting subject for conversation.

After the author, the second most important player in most books is the narrator. Often that key role is overlooked as s/he/it lays out the setting, describes the characters and moves the plot along. At the author’s discretion, the narrator may discern the inner thoughts of the characters or view the goings-on as if from above. When a novel is told in the first person that world is seen only through his or her eyes. At times, multiple characters are responsible for providing vastly different perspectives.

In the last few years a number of very popular novels have been written using an unreliable narrator or narrators. Each novel begins with a seemingly normal situation that quickly goes awry. If you are a film lover, the master of the genre was Alfred Hitchcock.

Two weeks ago the latest addition to the literary subgenre was published. Fiona Barton’s The Widow opens shortly after an accused child kidnapper was killed by a bus. Told from the perspectives of the widow, the mother of the missing child, the detective and a reporter, the story jumps forward from the death and back to the kidnapping and subsequent investigation. There is a measure of desperation in each of the narrators – the detective’s career was hard hit as the kidnapping remained unsolved, the mother’s capability, love and morality were questioned, the reporter is in search of that career-making scoop. The undercurrents of the widow’s life bring added tension to the story.

In Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl a young wife goes missing on her fifth anniversary. Nick and Amy appear so happy. As the backstory unfolds, it becomes apparent 41Afp8YyB-L._SX303_BO1,204,203,200_ that life is not all it seems. With each chapter, questions quickly arise about Nick’s veracity. He isn’t telling the whole truth. Using Amy’s diary, her perspective on the marriage and her intentions are brought out bit by bit. At each turn, the reader wonders who, if anyone, is really being truthful and how far out of control the characters and story will spiral. Flynn set a new bar for dark stories of domestic life. Her writing is terrifyingly brilliant and I’m not sure I’d want to have her at my dinner table!

Last winter The Girl on the Train was touted as the successor to Gone Girl. Paula Hawkins main character is a woman whose life is out of control. Rachel travels 516YNFvZnrL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_ on the same train daily, observing the changing patterns of those who live in the neighborhood along the tracks. When she sees a crime, she reports it. Drinking too much, out of a job, and hiding the truth of her situation from family and friends, Rachel’s credibility is immediately suspect. Connections to some of those under suspicion further call her judgment into question. Rachel, too, wonders at times if her memory is accurate. While she lies to others and to herself about her circumstances, Rachel is sincere in her interest in seeing the truth uncovered. In the next few months, The Girl on the Train will open in movie theaters. In the film version the story is moved from Britain to the US but little else is changed.

Given the publicity and popularity surrounding the release of each of these titles, expect to see more novels of this type in the months ahead.

To review or not to review – here’s how I decide

If all someone knew about my reading habits is my posts, they’d think I like all the books I read. Nothing could be farther from the truth. There are tens of thousands of books published each year and no one can read every book that may appeal. Reading time is very precious to me and I’d rather read more and write less, so I need to be selective.

What I will review:

Titles that beg to be discussed with a group, both fiction and nonfiction.
New titles from a favorite author.
Quirky books that defy easy classification.
Books about readers and bookstores, a particular weakness of mine.
About-to-be published titles that I’ve read (and enjoyed) before reviews have appeared.
Backlist titles that deserve another reading.
Any book that I am ready to share with a stranger, let alone a good friend.

(For a quick look, check out the BOOKS page.)

What I usually won’t write about:

Books I finished but didn’t particularly enjoy. I’ll share my opinion if you ask about a specific title but it may be my attitude, not the quality of the book. After all, who am I to bash a popular debut novel just because I found it pedestrian?
Most of the books I read to cleanse my palate. Often these are mysteries or thrillers that I do enjoy but don’t stick with me once I’ve closed the book.
Nonfiction where my underlying knowledge is limited.

So how do I find my books?

Long before major new titles hit the shelves, information begins appearing in trade newsletters and emails. There are many regular emails for readers as well, many of which offer the chance to win advance copies or to read a sample chapter online. For something different, I often read the book reviews and awards announcements from British or Canadian newspapers in addition to a number of US papers. Only a portion of well-received titles come across the borders. And wherever I am, I seek out independent bookstores and the professionals that work there. Each community has some of its own “hot reads” and often quality books by local authors. The local library and the library’s used bookstore also fill my plate. And I ask everyone I meet, “What are you reading?”

As a book group facilitator and blogger, I periodically receive upcoming titles that may be of interest. They arrive with no specific obligation on my part. Certainly, the publishers’ marketeers are thrilled to get an email or see a post that will put my small band of followers on the lookout for an upcoming book. And when a gem lands on my doorstep, I am happy to share the find.

Once published, it is difficult to judge a book entirely on its own merit. Often there have been newspaper/website/radio/blog reviews or ads. Your best friend/work colleague/book group buddy/significant other loved (or hated) it and can’t imagine you’d think otherwise. Word of mouth on the new “hot” book can spread far faster than the flu.

Often as not, an advance copy may just keep moving down my “to-be-read” pile, displaced as the time gets closer for a calendared book group selection or an author/topical favorite that appeared in the mail. Sometimes, it is just a matter of the right book at the right time. Recently, work with a new book group provided the perfect opportunity to finish and discuss My Brilliant Friend, the first of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet.

So, my to-be-read pile continues to grow and with it books I may write about someday. But what is most important to me is that we continue to read and share books, over coffee, in a group or across continents via the web. In the beginning there were stories. And through stories we can better understand our world and imagine worlds beyond.

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