Summer Reading – Page 2 – Finding My Wings

Book snobbery – can’t we just get along?

Fair warning: I’m on my soapbox this afternoon.

In today’s Washington Post (8/6/16) (here), Sophie McManus came out, guns drawn, against readers of “beach reads.” In no uncertain terms, she paints the readers as sexist and vapid. Through three-quarters of the column, she screeches about the unsuitability of their choices, because “these women” are a monolith. If one reads to the end, she raises the lack of diversity among editorial staffs and the importance of reading among African-American women. Now, having never heard of Ms. McManus, I felt obligated to do a little research before questioning her conclusion.

According to Ron Charles of The Washington Post, in reviewing her novel The Unfortunates on June 16, 2016, Ms. McManus graduated from Vassar and Sarah Lawrence and is the daughter of the editor in chief of Time Warner. Her novel, reviewed in all the “right” places, is about the ultra-rich and apparently is, in part, a social satire. I only wish her Book World piece was satire.

As a reader, professional book group facilitator, and blogger, much of my time is spent talking with people about what they read and why. Just like the teacher you wish you or your child had, I wouldn’t dream of criticizing someone’s choice of book or genre because they are reading. Reading is the enemy of ignorance.

When I speak with readers I try to erase the notion of “guilty pleasures” in reading. Who is anyone to criticize a social worker who deals with abused children from choosing to read fantasy for escape? And the person who spends day after day caring for a chronically ill relative may choose a “beach read” since there is no vacation on the horizon. Or, it could be the friend who called the article to my attention – a parent, leading volunteer in her community, and a practicing audiologist with a doctorate. People read for many reasons: to escape, to armchair travel, to learn an unfamiliar topic, to be entertained, to be part of a reading community. There are many reasons and they may change with one’s age and stage of life.

The women on that beach may be attorneys or wait staff, Uber drivers or teachers just looking to carve out that rare time away. These same women may be in the book group Ms. McManus wishes would read her book but the group may choose narrative nonfiction, memoirs, classics or even other literary fiction. Let them read what they want when they want!

Isn’t there far too much divisiveness everywhere we turn? What is the upside to criticizing what writers write and readers buy? The assumption that all women who may read a “beach read” are so foolish they can’t see it isn’t real life nor anything one should aspire to is condescending. It would be tempting to say, given Ms. McManus’s background and comments, that maybe she should get a better sense of how the other 99% live and read. And if she hasn’t anything useful to say, maybe she’d best say nothing.

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.

‘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.

Family business, family drama – a holiday weekend two-fer

IN A NUTSHELL A HOLIDAY WEEKEND TWO-FER

As Close to Us as Breathing by Elizabeth Poliner (Lee Boudreaux Books, 2016)
In 40 words or less: Three sisters and their families traverse personal and societal minefields in post-WWII Connecticut. The family beach cottage holds their happiest memories but is also the site of a life-changing tragedy.
Genre: Fiction
Locale: Connecticut
Time: 1948 – 2000, with flashbacks
Read this for a complex family story that brings in the complexities of a changing society.

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The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman (St. Martin’s Press, 2016)
In 40 words or less: The business and personal lives of two very different brothers and their families are intricately woven together. Loigman’s family drama lays out the corrosive nature of family secrets and the price to be paid by all.
Genre: Fiction
Locale: New York
Time: 1947 – 1970
Read this for a family story that reinforces the old adage “be careful what you wish for!”

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Elizabeth Poliner’s and Lynda Cohen Loigman’s novels feature families that are close emotionally, physically and economically. Both books have as the historical setting the years following World War II. It’s no coincidence. It was a period of great transition with those family-owned businesses that survived the Depression and the war flourishing. Ethnic and religious prejudices are lessening a bit, although there remains the expectation that people will ultimately “stay with their own kind.” With new prosperity, families are leaving apartments in the city for new homes in the suburbs.

In As Close to Us as Breathing, three sisters spend their summer in their family cottage in a small shoreline Jewish enclave nicknamed Bagel Beach, as they did during their own childhoods. The telling of the story is shared by 12-year-old Molly, the middle child of the eldest sister, Ada, and an omniscient narrator. The novel begins with the announcement that Davy, Molly’s 8-year-old brother, will die that summer in an accident.

During the work week, the three sisters – Ada, Vivie and Bec- share close quarters with Ada’s three children – 18-year-old Howard, Molly and Davy – and Vivie’s daughter Nina. Friday afternoon Howard, Ada’s husband, and Vivie’s husband Leo, would drive out to spend the Sabbath with their families. Howard’s brother, Nelson, was left in Middletown to mind Leibritsky’s Department Store, the business built by the sisters’ parents. Each person plays a distinctive role within the family.

As within every family, there are grudges held and sacrifices made. Poliner shares their secrets carefully, only to further the story. In ways small and large, characters chafe against societal expectations. The importance of respect within the family is seen in how these choices are hidden from those closest to them.

As Close to Us as Breathing is a wonderful period piece and family novel. Poliner takes extraordinary care to describe the details that paint the picture of their lives. While accidents like the one that claims Davy’s life are fortunately rare, the complex relationships that affect the family’s reactions ring true. Key to the success of the storytelling is the pacing which naturally follows the story itself. This novel has an excellent balance between character and plot and is worthy of inclusion in your summer reading.

While the catalyzing incident in Poliner’s book occurs in the summer, a winter storm sets into motion all that follows in Lynda Cohen Loigman’s The Two-Family House. Abe and Mort are brothers who own a cardboard box company in New York. Together they also own a two-family brownstone where Abe lives upstairs with his wife Helen and their four sons. Downstairs are Mort, his wife Rose, and their three daughters. While the brothers couldn’t be more different in temperament, Rose and Helen are the glue that keeps everything going.

As Helen and Abe celebrate their eldest son becoming bar mitzvah, Helen sees her sons needing less and less of her and wishes she had a daughter with whom to share experiences. At the same time, it is clear Mort regrets not having a son to become bar mitzvah and does not really understand daughters. When both Rose and Helen find themselves pregnant once again, they hope that the missing piece for each family will be found.

Several weeks before the babies are due, both Mort and Abe must go to Philadelphia overnight for a business meeting that may determine the future of their company. A blizzard blows in and both women go into labor. Fortunately, a midwife is nearby and can attend to the births. When the men return, each is surprised and delighted to meet their children – a daughter for Abe, a son for Mort. From that day forward both family’s lives are changed forever.

At what should be a time of great joy, tensions within and between the families grow. Judith, Mort and Rose’s eldest daughter, seems to bear the brunt of it. Judith is a wonderful writer, acknowledged by awards from school, but her father dismisses her accomplishments and creates barriers for her. As her mother also becomes more distant, she seeks out her aunt for advice and comfort, further increasing the mother-daughter rift.

From the beginning, Natalie and Teddy, the babies, were raised together. As they grew, they insisted upon it, even having dinners in each others’ homes on a regular schedule. And the curiosity and innocence of the young uncovered long-held secrets. As a duo, they managed to soften the hard edges that their parents’ had developed.

As the years pass, the family business thrives though the family relationships are not as lucky. Eventually, both families leave the brownstone for the suburbs, lessening the day-to-day tensions between Helen and Rose but at the cost of increased isolation for all. A horrific accident further fractures the family rather than drawing it together. Bit by bit, some of the secrets are revealed.

People are fascinated by the possibility of children being switched at birth. Loigman has used this fascination to good effect by including the reader in from the very beginning. The characters make choices in revealing some of the secrets. In doing so it is emphasized that there can be healing or hurt in the telling.

Unlike in Poliner’s novel, only a limited number of the characters are fully drawn. Loigman’s focus hones in on the effect of the secrets on each. What we see in The Two-Family House are two families entwined by business loyalty, nurtured through marriages, and almost destroyed for not leaving well enough alone. Loigman seems to hold a soft spot in her heart even for some of her more imperfect characters. Choosing to end the novel decades after its start allows time and societal change to bring about some healing that the relationships between family members couldn’t.

What’s on your way back list?

As a child, one of the rituals of summer was heading to The Book Rack, the paperback bookstore at the corner of North Avenue and Eastchester Road, in New Rochelle. It was there, and at the library, that I spread my reading wings.

I’d have a budget of about $5 to spend on books to bring with me to “sleepaway” camp. In the mid to late 1960’s new paperbacks each cost 75 cents to $1.25 so careful decisions were required.

Seeing the children (and grandchildren) of friends leaving their phones and tablets behind as they board buses and planes to camp, I started thinking about those summer books that have stayed with me decades later. Here a few from my way back list.

I was very lucky. My mother encouraged me to choose books that I found intriguing, not necessarily those marketed as appropriate for what we now call tweens or young teens. An early choice was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith’s classic coming-of-age story of an Irish immigrant family at the turn of the 20^th century.

And there is nothing like reading mystery and horror stories by flashlight to scare you witless. I clearly recall reading Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby when it appeared in paperback. It is about this time I was introduced to Agatha Christie and I picked up Henry Miller’s The Turn of the Screw.

As a ravenous reader, my vocabulary outpaced my maturity at times. For example, I was probably 13 when I read Ann Fairbairn’s Five Smooth Stones, a groundbreaking novel in 1966 about the civil rights movement and an interracial love affair. Reading the newspaper morning and evening was a part of my life. There were local connections to Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman, murdered in Mississippi in June 1964, and that further heightened my interest in civil rights.

The last title I remember to this day is Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca. Tens of millions of readers have been swept away by this romantic, exotic and frightening novel.

Truth be told, if I were to pack a tote with these books, leave my electronics behind and find a comfy reading spot, I’d probably be a happy camper once again.

While some have you may have avoided reading anything beyond comic books over the summer, I suspect that as many caught the reading bug. So, what titles are engraved in your memories of summer? Do tell!

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