Nevermore: Irish Game, Sociopaths, Quanah Parker, Devil in the White City, Art of Racing in the Rain, and Stuff Matters

Reported by Ambrea

Nevermore had a plethora of books to discuss for our July 7th meeting, such as The Irish Game and Empire of the Summer Moon and Stuff Matters, and revisited a handful of works from the previous meeting, diving into Confessions of a Sociopath for a second time.

Our Nevermore readers first discussed The Irish Game:  A True Story of Crime and Art by Matthew Hart.  In 1986, Ireland’s Russborough House was robbed and several paintings, including a priceless work of art by Vermeer, were stolen.  Authorities suspected Martin Cahill, a notorious Dublin gangster, of the theft; however, having no proof, they could never make an arrest, until one mistake broke the case wide open.  One member said it was an interesting story as it combines art thievery and the mob, but another member didn’t enjoy it nearly as much, claiming it didn’t quite hold the same appeal.

Members also revisited Confessions of a Sociopath:  A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight by M.E. Thomas.  Another one of our Nevermore members had the opportunity to comment on it, leaving us with two differing reviews:  one positive, one negative.  After reading a handful of pages, our Nevermore reader just couldn’t become involved.  Some chapters were great, but others weren’t.  For example, in the earliest pages of the book, Thomas inserts an anecdote about her earlier life that left our reader with the feeling it was added only for shock value, leaving her with a very negative impression.

One Nevermore reader had several books to share, including The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, Empire of the Summer Moon:  Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches by S.C. Gwynne, and The Devil in the White City:  A Saga of Magic and Murder at the World Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is a story about family, specifically Enzo, a loyal and highly intelligent dog, and his family.  Chronicling events surrounding his family as they struggle to fix relationships, as they endure the hardships of the race circuit (Denny Swift, Enzo’s owner, being an up-and-coming race car driver), Enzo offers a candid picture of “the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.  For our Nevermore reader, it was a great book, having a very good ending and a very sweet story.

Empire of the Summer Moon, likewise, received great reviews from our readers.  Set in the middle of the nineteenth century, S.C. Gwynne’s book follows the rise and fall of the Comanche Indians, one of the most powerful and fiercest Native American tribes on the North American continent.  Following the life of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped at the age of nine and eventually became a member of the Comanche tribe, and her son, Quanah, Empire of the Summer Moon chronicles a vivid story about the clashes between American settlers and native tribes.  Both our readers who had the opportunity to read it said it was excellent, being very well-written and very interesting as a work of nonfiction.

Additionally, our Nevermore reader called The Devil in the White City “fabulous, absolutely fabulous.”  Set during in Chicago in 1893, The Devil in the White City chronicles events surrounding and within the “White City” that served as the location for the World’s Fair.  Although Erik Larson’s book chronicles various feats of engineering, including the creation of the first Ferris Wheel and the astounding architecture of the city itself, he also follows the startling story of a serial killer who stalked the World’s Fair.  As one reader said, “It was fascinating,” like reading a work of fiction that’s startlingly true.

Last on our list was Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik.  A piece of nonfiction concerning the origins and creation of “stuff,” Stuff Matters approaches all kinds of stuff, dealing with things that seem inconsequential - like a paper clip, or a nail - but are actually really important, things that one may never even think about.  More importantly, Stuff Matters deals with the how and the why, providing insight into the creation of the simple things that everyone encounters in their daily life.  According to our Nevermore reader, this novel was filled with a lot of little oddities, being “a book about stuff, but never [being] stuffy.”

Nevermore: Christopher Hitchens, Cold Comfort Farm, Devil in the White City

The first book up for discussion was God is Not Great:  How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens.  Hitchens, who died in 2011, was known for his keen intellect, wit, ability as a debater and his strong opinions on a variety of subjects.  He had particularly strong views on religion, as can probably be discerned from the title of the book.  God Is Not Great reflects Hitchens’ cynical views that all religions are designed to limit believers’ independence and that organized religions promoted hatred. Our reviewer said that it was interesting to read because Hitchens’ arguments are of a sort that is seldom heard, whether or not one agreed with those arguments. In fact, Hitchens had a number of religious friends with whom he had lively, non-combative debates.

Another reader was enjoying Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.  Set in the “near future” and written in the 1930s, this is a satirical look at class and at a literary tradition.  Flora Poste is an educated, fashion conscious, upper class young lady whose parents perish within a few weeks of one another, leaving her to fend for herself—something for which she is not quite prepared, especially if it involves getting a job. She moves in with relatives who own a farm but not, alas, one of those happy, sun-kissed farms populated by robust, cheerful folk.  Instead, it lives up to its name of “Cold Comfort.”  Flora decides to take everyone in hand and fix their lives.  It’s a clash between sophisticated and country folk, with eccentric characters and, yes, a madwoman in the attic.  While it’s a difficult book to categorize, our reader said, “It’s a really fun book!”

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is the story of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. It’s also the story of a notorious serial killer who used the allure of the fair to bring in victims.  Larson has a gift for evoking a time and place through wonderful details, and his research is thorough.  He can make seemingly dull subjects both vibrant and relevant.  This is non-fiction that reads almost like fiction. Our reader was very impressed, and several other members commented on his marvelous style as seen in books such as Isaac’s Storm and In the Garden of Beasts, both of which had been discussed in earlier meetings.

The Nevermore Book Club meets every Tuesday at 11:00 am in the Frances E. Kegley Conference Room.  Readers talk about whatever book it is that they’re reading at the time. Coffee is provided by the library, and doughnuts are courtesy of the fabulous Blackbird Bakery!  Feel free to stop by and join us.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Reviewed by Jeanne

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is in part the story of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, the "White City" of the title. Chicago was stretching its muscles, vying for a place not just on the national stage against New York, but for a piece of the international spotlight.  Paris had just hosted a very successful Fair, one in which an enormous tower built by Gustav Eiffel had captured the world’s imagination.  Now the United States wanted to do the same thing.  Several cities were competing for the chance to take center stage and prove that America was as innovative, as cosmopolitan, and as prosperous as any country in Europe. New York was the obvious choice, as it already had a reputation as an international city but other places begged to differ.

Chicago was one.  Chicago was a robust city, famed for its slaughterhouses and its industry, and it was ready to prove that it could be a sophisticated metropolis on a par with the East Coast cities.  When Chicago was awarded the Fair, architect Daniel Burnham was named the director.  It was his job to bring a unified vision to the Fair, properly the World’s Fair:  Columbian Exposition.  Burnham brought in Frederick Law Olmstead, the elderly but influential landscape architect, along with a number of other architects, inventors, engineers, and vendors in order to realize their goal.

While this may not sound like the most exciting of endeavors, Larson’s telling makes it so.  He has a knack for recreating a time and place.  Just as he did with Isaac’s Storm, Larson keeps readers on the edge of their seats wondering how something is going to unfold, even if we already know how it ends. One scene in particular resonated with me, when some brave souls step aboard an untried vehicle about to ascend hundreds of feet off the ground.  He captured the uncertainty, the thrill and the faith it took to try this for the first time EVER. Then there was the sheer number of new products and innovations that were introduced at the Fair, things that still influence us today, from foods, amusements, and the radical idea of putting electric lights on some of the buildings. The designs of the buildings and landscaping set the standard for municipal construction for years to come, for better or (in some views) for worse.

Oh, and did I mention there was a serial killer on the loose?

In fact, some have described this book as a sort of dual biography, comparing and contrasting Daniel Burnham, man with a glorious vision of what a city should be, with one Herman Webster Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes who came to Chicago with a different but no less ambitious agenda.  Holmes was just as thorough, just as creative, and with his own vision of perfection: his just involved murdering people for pleasure and for profit. One of the surprises for me was just how modern some of his ideas were-- very effective and efficient.

Unlike many true crime books, Larson doesn’t wallow in the gory details, though he doesn't shy away from them, either.  He presents the facts as well as he could learn them; he says in his notes that the times he had to speculate he did so based on information from the best available sources.  His restraint makes the retelling no less powerful or chilling.  

Larson has a gift for evoking a time and place through wonderful details, and his research is thorough.  He can make seemingly dull subjects both vibrant and relevant.  This is non-fiction that reads almost like fiction. In short, I highly recommend Devil in the White City.