Book review – Page 10 – Finding My Wings

‘Before the Fall’ is a Summer Thriller

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Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (Grand Central Publishing, 2016)
In 40 words or less: Hawley, an award-winning TV screenwriter, producer and showrunner’s fifth novel about a small plane crash touches on the risks of privilege, news/entertainment hyperbole, and privacy issues while exploring the lives of the victims and discovering the cause of the crash.
Genre: Thriller
Locale: Primarily New York/Martha’s Vineyard
Time: Contemporary
Read this for a fast-paced story and perfect vacation read.

The Batemans seem to have it all, but every family has its problems. Dad, David, is the key man at a news/entertainment network whose top property is an outrageous loudmouth with a propensity for getting scoops via secret (and illegal) wiretaps. His wife Maggie and two children, Rachel and JJ, spend the summer at their home on Martha’s Vineyard, at the farmer’s market and local cafe, befriending some of the locals. Their daughter’s kidnapping years earlier has top-notch round-the-clock security with the family at all times.

At the summer’s end, they prepare to return to New York on their private jet. Maggie offers a ride to a couple returning at the same time and to a local artist, hoping to revive his career with a series of new paintings he’s shopping to galleries. As the plane is ready to leave, David learns that the husband is to be indicted for serious financial wrongdoing. The artist barely makes it on the plane as the doors close. And there seems to be something unsettled among the crew. Eighteen minutes after takeoff, the plane crashes in the water.

Scott, the artist, awakens in the water and discovers JJ is still alive. Swimming has been in Scott’s blood for years. Although rusty, Scott’s obsession with strength through swimming and Jack LaLanne kicked in to help he and JJ survive an arduous and unlikely swim to shore. Hawley grabs the reader in his description of the swim and positions Scott as JJ’s protector and the flawed but righteous hero of the story. Of the eleven on board, they are the only two survivors.

Chapter by chapter, Hawley unrolls the backstory of each character, raising and answering questions about whether this was an accident or targeted attack. As the investigation continues, family, the media and Scott all have their interest in JJ, now a very wealthy four-year-old, questioned. There is ample reason and opportunity to root for the good guys and jeer at the villains, and while there are suspicions, the specifics of whodunit and why are not revealed until the very end.

There is place on my bookshelf for page-turners. Going in knowing a novel is unlikely to be a book group read gives me the freedom to just escape in the story. Whether he is doing this with his TV shows (Fargo, Bones and more) or his latest novel, Noah Hawley has me hooked.

‘The UnAmericans’ deserves your attention

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The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol (W.W. Norton & Company, 2014)
In 40 words or less: In eight stories, Antopol crosses continents and decades bringing together politics, love, longing and the human condition.
Genre: Short stories
Locale: Various
Time: Various
Read this to experience the richness of an excellent collection of short stories.

I admit it. It took far too long for me to pick up Molly Antopol’s extraordinary collection of stories. From the opening sentences, each story in the UnAmericans drops the reader into a distinct location and time. Throughout the collection, Antopol brings in elements gleaned from her family’s Eastern European experience and their leftist leanings when they arrived in the U.S. Several stories in the collection take place in Israel, each depicting very different family situations. The precision with which she creates the wide range of settings is extraordinary in writings of this length.

The first story, The Old World, brings together a lonely dry cleaner and a woman longing for her life in Ukraine before Chernobyl. Antopol deftly weaves in each character’s backstory, bringing in the disapproving daughter and son-in-law to underscore the businessman’s vulnerability.

Both The Quietest Man and The Unknown Soldier are twists on the classic theme of divorced fathers seeking to elevate themselves in their child’s eyes. The Unknown Soldier is set as an actor-father leaves prison, having been jailed as a result of the McCarthy hearings. His celebratory road trip with his son does not go as planned, each wanting it to be the other’s trip of a lifetime. In The Quietest Man, a young woman has sold her first play. Long divorced, she has spent little time with her father over the years. Her parents were Czech activists and her father was a celebrated lecturer on their arrival in the U.S. While in the spotlight he neglected his family. Over the years, as new world crises arose, his fame declined. Now her father brings her for a visit seeking reassurance that his image isn’t tarnished in her writings.

With all the different timeframes and settings, there are recurring themes throughout the book. Family is key. Standing up for your beliefs should be lauded, fakery punished. Love isn’t always what it seems. It is how these themes are revealed that differentiates Molly Antopol from most other writers. Antopol was recognized by the National Book Foundation as “5 Under 35” author for this book. She won the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and finalist for numerous other awards. The UnAmericans appeared on more than a dozen “Best of” lists in 2014. My only criticism is I enjoyed the stories so much that I rushed to read through them rather than taking more time to savor each one.

Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story

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Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story Matti Friedman (Algonquin Books, May 2016)
In 40 words or less: Friedman shares both his personal and journalistic views of Israel’s experience in Lebanon in the 1990’s with the outpost called Pumpkin as the focus. Heart-wrenching and informative, it reminds the reader that history happens one person at a time.
Genre: Narrative history/memoir
Locale: Israel/Lebanon
Time: 1994-2002

Two years ago I first learned that Matti Friedman’s next book would be about the little-mentioned experience of Israeli soldiers in outposts in Southern Lebanon. These fortifications and their platoons were protection from Hezbollah incursions into northern Israel. This is a personal story for him – it was in the Pumpkin that Friedman served during his time in the IDF in the late 90s. Pumpkinflowers goes beyond his story to tell of those who came before him, their families and friends, and of the women whose outcry led to the abandonment of these positions on the hills.

In Israel, all but the ultra-Orthodox are obligated to serve in the military. Leadership is cultivated early and the bonds of service continue beyond the time in uniform. Israel is a small country so troops are rotated from post to training with frequency and weekend visits home are a part of the culture. And when there are casualties, each wounded soldier (flower) or death (cyclamen) is a collective sorrow, invariably a distant relative or friend of a friend’s cousin.

The early days of the Pumpkin are given life through Avi, a writer by temperament, who was sent with his platoon to the Pumpkin in 1994. Friedman uses diaries and letters, interviews with Avi’s parents and others from the platoon, to paint the picture of life on the hill. Friedman lays out the routines, the boredom broken by fear when trying to ascertain whether a shepherd is merely looking for lost sheep or is actually a threat. The platoon members are from different backgrounds, religious to completely secular, though all are schooled in the Biblical history of the land. They are at the cusp of adulthood, intrigued by popular culture, keeping in touch with their friends, trying to figure out what is next.

Access to the outposts was difficult and troops were often conveyed by helicopter. In February 1997, poor weather conditions contributed to a tragedy that changed the direction of Israel’s defense in the security zone. Begun by mothers, slowly but surely pressure to bring the soldiers home from the outposts began.

And it was after this that Matti Friedman, at nineteen, was sent to the Pumpkin. Only after telling the story of the early years does Friedman share his experience.

Well-conceived narrative history can bring breadth in a very compelling way. In Pumpkinflowers Matti Friedman gives life to the Pumpkin and to the terrain that the platoons are charged with protecting. The difficulty in defending borders when combatants look just like their neighbors. The combination of bravado and naiveté among the IDF’s soldiers, and a country where each casualty is a tragedy within the family. Friedman also lays out the politics and resistance.

In the end, it is a very personal story, incomplete without Friedman’s visit back to where it all began. After the Pumpkin was the temporary home to too many young men lost, it is now a hill with scars. And the view remains essentially the same as it has for thousands of years.

Pumpkinflowers is well-documented and tightly written. Covering a rarely discussed period of Israeli history, this book is important for the gap it fills and the manner it which it is addressed. As he says, this period is the beginning of a new type of warfare in the Middle East and Hezbollah was its start. This book has appeal for readers of all genres and will be a great source of discussion.

Matti Friedman is a journalist and author. His 2012 book, The Aleppo Codex, was awarded numerous prizes, including one which afforded him the opportunity to turn his attention more fully to his experience in Lebanon. Friedman continues to write both narrative journalism and opinion pieces.

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.

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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