Nevermore: Procrastination, Religious Intolerance, Southern Unionists, and The Searchers

Library director Jud Barry brought in a slim volume he recommended, The Art of Procrastination by John Perry.  Perry believes that one of the most effective ways to avoid doing Project A is to work on other things.  As a result, the veteran procrastinator can get a good deal done.  He refers to Robert Benchley’s essay “How to Get Things Done,” which provides the astute observation that “anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” Jud described it as a fun book even if the author is a professor of philosophy, which brought up the question, “Does philosophy equal fun?”

Next up was the definitely more serious The New Religious Intolerance:  Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age by Martha Nussbaum, a professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago.  She believes that there is a rise in intolerance for Islam worldwide as evidenced by new legislation banning headscarves in France and the immediate belief that a Norwegian massacre was the work of an Islamic extremist before it was discovered that the perpetrator was in fact a right-wing Norwegian. Nussbaum believes that the United States may be better equipped to handle these questions because we don’t have one single ethnic or linguistic identity but are a blend of many different influences.  We already have the ideals in place, even though the performance is sometimes lacking such as with the early Mormon Church. Our reviewer thought it was a thought-provoking book and especially liked the international approach.

 The popular image of the Civil War has all the people in a state firmly on one side or another, Rebel or Yankee.  The truth is more complex, as Lewis F. Fisher demonstrates in No Cause of Offence, the true story of a family of slave-owning Unionists in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  Samuel Lewis, the patriarch, made no secret of his conviction that the United States should remain as one nation, putting him at odds with his neighbors.  At one point, the family had to abandon their home as a battle swirled over their land, leaving dead and wounded behind; Stonewall Jackson used their home as his headquarters.  The family story continues after the war, when the family is involved in Reconstruction.  Fisher, a Lewis descendant, drew on family records as well as newspaper and official accounts to produce this slim but most interesting book.

Last but certainly not least, The Searchers by Glenn Frankel drew rave reviews from two club members. The book’s title comes from the movie of the same name, an extremely influential Western starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. Frankel doesn’t limit himself to the movie, and therein lies the strong appeal of this book.  He examines the true story on which the movie is based, the kidnapping of Cynthia Ann Parker by the Comanche, looking not only at the facts as we know them but at the changing interpretations of those facts and mythologizing of the West.  Finally, he looks at the effect the movie had on the American psyche.  This multifaceted approach has made this a very popular book, and it continues to make the rounds of Nevermore readers.

Murder Below Montparnasse by Cara Black

Reviewed by Kristin

Set in Paris in 1998, Murder Below Montparnasse is the thirteenth installment in the Aimee Leduc series.  Private investigator Aimee Leduc carries on the detecting family tradition, as did her father and grandfather before her.  The series is sprinkled with French phrases and flavors of particular Parisian neighborhoods.  Loyal readers can always count on Aimee to throw on a little black dress, a Hermes scarf, or disguising sunglasses, hop on her Vespa, and zip down the cobblestones of centuries-old Paris streets.

Russian Yuri Volodya calls Aimee to ask for protection for what may be a priceless Modigliani painting.  Before she can see him, Yuri is dead and the painting is missing.  Aimee embarks on an investigation to see if the painting actually exists, and what its significance may be.  Just a little hint: the Modigliani represents a bit of Soviet history that some Russians might prefer forgotten.

Aimee’s business partner and best friend, Rene Friant, has jetted off to Silicon Valley riding on the excitement of the dot com explosion.  Rene quickly finds out that America is a strange and different country, from their eating habits to the long distances that Americans are accustomed to navigating.  Rene has a little excitement himself, departing America in an unexpected manner and returning to Paris to set right what he had unknowingly set amiss.

As always, Aimee is tracking down hints of her long-gone mother, who left when Aimee was only eight years old.  Aimee is continually drawn into investigations throughout the series where she hopes to find her American-born mother.

Online reviews of Murder Below Montparnasse were mixed. Some reviewers felt that the first half of the book dragged on but was redeemed by the faster moving second half.  I enjoyed the story and figured out bits and pieces of the coming revelations.  Because the story is set in the not-too-distant past, it was interesting to read references to cutting edge technology, such as a prototype flash drive.

Although a bit predictable, the ending of the book reveals a story arc twist that will probably change Aimee’s life.

If you’re new to Cara Black’s books and would like to start at the beginning of the Aimee Leduc series, Murder in the Marais is the first title.

Nevermore: Dan Brown, Christopher Coake, DNA and Game of Thrones

Dan Brown’s new novel, Inferno, was the subject of discussion in more than one Nevermore meeting. Robert Langdon, the professor of symbology from The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, etc. awakens in a hospital in Florence with a touch of amnesia.  The next thing he knows, he’s on the run and following Brown’s trademark trail of codes, ciphers and clues. The first reviewer was definitely unimpressed, feeling that the book had too much padding-- much in the form of architectural description. Another reviewer found it very slow going at first, but then the plot did pick up.  He too noted the abundance of information on various Italian cities and architecture as well as on Dante. Finally, the book was sort of summed up as "excellent plot, terrible narration."

Another reviewer highly recommended a collection of short stories by Christopher Coake entitled We’re In Trouble.  As the title promises, each story opens with a character in some sort of serious trouble, love in the face of death.  Each character is challenged and the reader anxiously waits to see how the character will react.  Our reader said she was instantly drawn into each story and thinks Coake is definitely a writer to watch.  The book earned strong reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist.

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin is proving popular across various media.  The recent HBO series has attracted a wide and avid viewership, and putting the original novels back on the library’s reserve list in both printed and audio formats.  A Nevermore member put in a plug for the new graphic novel version of the books, and requested we get the others in the series as they come out.

Louise Erdrich’s novel Love Medicine was mentioned by another reader.  This was Erdrich’s first novel and revolves around two Chippewa families, spanning some fifty years. The novel moves back and forth in time, and is actually a series of interwoven short stories that form a whole.

Two non-fiction books were mentioned, both involving DNA.  Origins of the British by Stephen Oppenheimer uses the latest genetic, archaeological, and linguistic findings to determine the composition of the British people.  Oppenheimer argues that the bulk of the genetic heritage predates the Anglo-Saxons and is a great deal more complex than was previously believed.  The subject is fascinating, but our reviewer found the book to be almost too technical.

A similar comment was made about The Violinist’s Thumb by Sam Kean.  The title refers to the Paganini’s extremely flexible fingers, the result of a genetic mutation which aided his musical ability but may also have shortened his life. Other parts of the book discuss an assortment of human and some non-human DNA (Neanderthals, for example) which makes for an interesting book, although the reviewer said there was a bit of a slog through the more technical aspects of DNA.

Speaking From Among the Bones by C. Alan Bradley

Reviewed by Jeanne

I admit from the outset that I am a devoted Flavia fan. The precocious twelve year old with a passion for chemistry and solving murders is one of my favorite literary characters, but sometimes this series is a hard sell.  It just sounds so—well, Nancy Drewish. It helps a bit to tell folks that the setting is an English village in the 1950s, where she lives with her emotionally distant father and two disagreeable sisters in a crumbling manor house but that still doesn’t convey the appeal of the series. Flavia has an insatiable intellectual curiosity, be it for a way to slightly poison someone or how to read her sisters’ diaries undetected.

In Speaking from Among the Bones, Flavia is enthusiastically looking forward to the disinterment of St. Tancred’s bones on the 500th anniversary of his demise.  It makes a nice diversion from the worry that her home, Buckshaw, may be sold out from under them.  Before the tomb is opened, however, Flavia discovers a much fresher corpse:  the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist who had gone missing.  How did he end up in Saint Tancred’s crypt? Why was he wearing a gas mask?

The writing somehow remains fresh and funny, though never silly.  Some of the descriptions of Flavia’s hair-raising underground graveyard adventures made me hold my breath for a variety of reasons. (Bradley does have a way with description!) The mysteries pile up and the solutions are ingenious.  I'll admit that for once I spotted the murderer before Flavia did, but that in no way lessened my enjoyment.  In fact, I'd venture to say that the reason she failed to figure it is a reflection of Flavia's character, which is one reason I like the series so much:  Flavia, while brilliant and seemingly sophisticated, is still a child and her analysis and interpretation of events is often from a child's point of view. She finds her old sister's romances baffling, for example, and is still naive enough to half believe some of her sisters' taunts even if she pretends not to.

You don’t have to read the series in order, but if you want to understand the full significance of the last line it might be better to start with an earlier book. Fans will be counting the days until the next book comes out.  Alas, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches  isn’t scheduled until 2014!

1. The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie
2. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag
3. A Red Herring Without Mustard
4. I Am Half Sick of Shadows
5. Speaking From Among the Bones

Boone's Lick by Larry McMurtry

 
Reviewed by Nancy

No one writes about the West like Larry McMurtry. Please do not mistake me. The novel Boone’s Lick is not a Western in the traditional sense. This is not a cardboard epic of cattle drives, old time bank robberies, good guys in white hats, and bad guys in black hats with a lot of fancy horse riding and pistol twirling thrown in.

I don’t know what the frontier was like in the 1860’s, but I think Larry McMurtry’s take on things is a lot of fun. A native Texan, he grew up listening to tales of the old west as told by his father and uncles who were ranchers. It seems possible this has given him insights as to what it was really like. Boone’s Lick is set in the hungry years immediately following the Civil War, and relates the adventures of the Cecil family as told by Shay Cecil, son of Mary Margaret and Dick Cecil, and nephew of Seth Cecil.

The action in the narrative is centered on a journey undertaken by most of the Cecil clan. Dick Cecil has fallen into the habit of working in the Western Territories and only returning home every year or so to visit  Boone’s Lick, Missouri, where his wife and children live with his brother, Seth.

After sixteen years his wife, Mary Margaret, tires of this arrangement. She announces to the family that they are embarking on a journey to find their father.  They tie everything they can use onto the wagon, harness the mules and set off. Of course, when they set out they are not sure exactly where they are going, as they are not sure exactly where Dick Cecil is. That turns out to be Wyoming, probably a thousand miles from Boone’s Lick, Missouri.

Furthermore, Mary Margaret is the only member of the group who knows exactly why they are going. Is the purpose of this journey to reunite husband and family, or hmmmmm… something else?

The band of travelers includes Mary Margaret, Uncle Seth, Shay, Shay’s siblings G.T. and Neva, Granpa Crackenthorpe, and Mary Margaret’s half sister, Rose. On the first day of the journey the group encounters an Indian named Charlie Seven Days who is traveling in the same direction as they are.  He joins the group to function as a guide. Also on the first day they encounter a barefoot French priest, Pere Villy. Traveling barefoot, Pere Villy has just stepped on tacks scattered in the road by some thoughtless unknown individual. He accepts a ride on the wagon, and guess what? He joins the group, too.

There are many adventures along the way as the Cecil clan journeys up river by boat and then west by wagon. This is definitely a novel worth reading. There is an appearance early in the narrative by Wild Bill Hickok, and a gun battle you will remember not for its bloody fierceness, but more for its hilarity.

Please, please, please, if you’ve got the time, and even if you think you don’t give a fig about reading about the West in 1860, read this book. Give McMurtry a chance.

Murder on the Rocks A Gray Whale Inn Mystery by Karen MacInerney

Reviewed by Kristin

Cranberry Island, Maine, is the refreshing setting of a new innkeeper series by Karen MacInerney.  Natalie Barnes has moved from Texas to Maine to recover from a broken heart, and to fall in love with the island beauty surrounding the Gray Whale Inn.  Although she finds herself at the beck and call of her guests, Natalie is willing to work hard to make her inn a success.

But as you might expect in a light, cozy mystery, all does not go according to plan.

Right away, Natalie’s livelihood is threatened by Bernard Katz’ plan to develop a large resort next door to the Gray Whale Inn.  The Shoreline Conservation Association also has reservations against the large amount of development that Katz plans to do.  The resort plans are drawing even more criticism from the Save Our Terns bird protection group.

As might be expected, Bernard Katz is soon found on a cliff near the nesting terns.  Found dead, that is.  Found dead, by Natalie.  Sergeant Grimes has quite an interest in Natalie, seeing as she found the body and had so much to lose if Katz developed his resort.  In fact, Sergeant Grimes seems to be limiting his investigation and considering Natalie to be the number one suspect.  While trying to remove herself from that position, Natalie interferes with the investigation a bit too much, snooping around in the dead man’s room and trying to figure out who else might be happier now that Katz is gone.

Although Natalie moved to Maine to recover from a broken heart, she has an obvious interest in neighbor John Quinton, sculptor and island deputy.  This follows the usual pattern of “amateur sleuth hooks up romantically with a law enforcement professional”, but fortunately is not too contrived.

A colorful cast of characters rounds out the book.  These include Gwen, Natalie’s college age niece, who helps Natalie at the Gray Whale Inn; Charlene, local store proprietor and Natalie’s friend; Claudette White, member of Save Our Terns and goat owner; and many others.

This book was simple and light, and while a bit predictable, still an enjoyable reading experience.  I read this book in an eBook format, through the library’s Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. (Regional eBook & Audiobook Download System).  These eBooks can be read on your computer or downloaded to a compatible device.  If you need help downloading, pick up a how-to pamphlet at the reference desk.  Audiobooks are also available.  Check out this great resource at:  http://reads.lib.overdrive.com .

(Or if you still prefer real books, we can borrow a copy from Elizabethton Public Library!)

Cats & Daughters by Helen Brown

Reviewed by Jeanne

I first encountered Helen Brown with Cleo, the Cat Who Mended a Family.  Helen hadn’t wanted the scrawny black kitten, but her nine year old son Sam had begged and she’d given in.  Tragically, Sam was killed before they ever got the kitten, leaving behind a heart-broken mother, father, and younger brother. Helen reluctantly accepted Cleo after Sam's death as the kitten had been a connection with Sam, and had helped Helen to learn to live again through her grief and breakup of her marriage.  I know this all sounds dreadfully depressing, but that’s what I found so amazing about the book: while Helen didn’t minimize her pain, somehow I found the book to be less a tear-jerker and more of a warm, funny memoir that nevertheless touched the heart.

When I learned that Helen had a new book out, this one about dealing with a headstrong daughter, fighting breast cancer, and adopting a new cat, I was hesitant.  Cleo the cat and Cleo the book were unique; I was uncertain that another book could be anywhere near as good as that one.

I really should be used to being wrong by now.  I am so frequently.

As the book begins, Helen is ready to move her family to another house, one in a neighborhood where no one is quite so keen on keeping up with the Joneses and where lawn mowing wasn’t a near religion. Also, she finds herself stopping at Cleo’s grave for a chat, and while she knows she’s perfectly sane she does understand that it looks a tad peculiar.  She discovers Shirley—yes, the house has a nameplate, an unattractive brass one affixed to the wall and not removable—and feels that they are soul mates. They’re both of a certain age, a bit past their prime, and possibly structurally unsound. Obviously, they’re meant for each other.  Helen’s husband Phillip is a bit less enthused, but somehow they end up with Shirley, for better or for worse. The house is going to need a lot of renovation, but just as they get started Helen’s daughter Lydia throws her a curve by announcing that she wants to go to Sri Lanka, possibly to become a Buddhist nun. Helen is shocked: has Lydia somehow failed to notice that there’s a civil war going on in Sri Lanka? Has she forgotten she’s just won an impressive scholarship?  What about her plans to get her degree? But not only is Lydia descended from a long line of strong, independent women, she’s a Taurus, born in the Year of the Ox, at the Hour of the Ox—triple stubbornness. Then Helen is diagnosed with breast cancer and is facing an uncertain future. As Helen struggles to cope, she discovers love at first sight is real. She’d never believed it was, especially not between a middle-aged woman and a Siamese kitten, but one look into those blue eyes and she’s a goner.

Helen says that someone told her your last cat picks your next for you. If this is so, she wonders, what on Earth was Cleo thinking? Jonah is nothing like Cleo and brings his own form of chaos into an already disturbed household.

I’ve tried to describe Brown’s writing and why I love it so much but I’ve been largely unsuccessful.  The best way I can put it is to say that when I read most other books of this sort, I feel as if I’m in a room with a group of people and the author is standing at a podium, telling us about his or her life. When I read Helen’s books—and note that I call her by her first name-- I feel as if I’m at Blackbird Bakery sharing coffee and treats while catching up with an old friend. I laugh a lot, I care a lot, and find much to which I can relate.  I become totally absorbed.  I had the book with me in the car while running errands and decided to sit and read a chapter before going into another store.  One chapter turned into several and when I made myself put the book down, I was totally disoriented.  I had to get out of the car and look around to figure out where I was.  

Not many books do that to me.  

I highly recommend Cats and Daughters.

(Note: The review of Cleo can be read here.)