Reported by
Kristin
Our first Zoom
Nevermore member started with A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story by
David Thibodeau. This first person account of one of only nine survivors of the
Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993, this is a detailed account
that calls into question the motives of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
group which opened fire on the cult members. While David Koresh did control his
group members to an extreme, Thibodeau also discusses the positives of the
community such as the teaching and loving treatment of children. Our reader
highly recommended this insightful account, and another reader spoke up to
claim the book for the coming week.
Next up was My
Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worse Place on Earth by Wendy Simmons.
Journalist Simmons took the opportunity to travel through North Korea in the
time of a most controlling regime, where tourism includes only what the
government wants you to see. She had to ask permission to take photographs, and
learned that the official history presented starts only a few generations ago.
With water only available one hour a day, a lack of toilet paper, terrible
food, and being locked into the hotel at night (and this was at the best
hotels!) she still managed to learn much about the North Korean culture, and to
keep her sense of humor despite the strictures.
Continuing around
the world, our next reader dove into historical fiction with Blackberry and
Wild Rose by Sonia Velton. Sara Kemp is a young girl who was sent away for
protection, but instead is taken in by a madam of a brothel. She is rescued by
the wife of a master silk weaver in 18th century London, but soon
finds herself in a difficult household there was well. Our book club member
said that this was a very easy book to read, and she found that she didn't want
to put it down.
In more historical
fiction, another reader picked up the new novel by Karen Robards, The Black
Swan of Paris. Set in World War II Paris, singer Genevieve Dumont uses her celebrity
to infiltrate the Nazis as part of a resistance movement that may swing the
entire direction of the war. Genevieve and her sister are also trying to find
their mother, a personal side to the story which our reader particularly
enjoyed.
The Book of
Lost Friends by Lisa
Wingate is another recent fiction release with two timelines—Louisiana in both
1875 and 1987. After the Civil War, many freed slaves sought to find their
family members who had been sold and relocated from their original plantations.
“Lost Friends” advertisements were frequently published in newspapers as
families attempted to reunite. The lives of three young women from that
post-war era were rediscovered over a century later by a young teacher in the
rural South. Our reader exclaimed that this was one of the best books she has
ever read, and highly recommended it to others.
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