Nevermore: Elderly Lady, Station Eleven, Walking the Americas, Waco, Birdwatching,

 Reported by Jeanne

An old favorite made another appearance at Nevermore:  An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten.  This slim volume is a collection of stories featuring Maud, an 88 year old woman who wants to live in peace and comfort—and is willing to go to extreme lengths to see that she can.  Our reader loved it as had most before, though someone asked, “Is it because we are old or because we don’t want to put up with any nonsense?”  The group was too busy laughing to answer, but someone did add that Maud is “someone you don’t want to piss off.” The stories were originally published in Swedish.

Next up was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. The book, published in 2014, is set in an apocalyptic world where a deadly flu has ended 99 percent of human life.  The book revolves around a group of survivors who travel from place to place searching for traces of civilization. They have formed an acting troop, as most of them had connections to an actor who died on stage just before the pandemic began.  Although the book had been praised by other readers, this time the Nevermore member put it aside after the first chapter because it just seemed all too possible these days.

Walking the Americas by Levison Wood was praised as being an entertaining and vivid description of an amazing journey.  Wood, a British adventurer and travel writer, starts his 1800 mile trek in the Yucatan, crossing eight countries. The reviewer said she enjoyed it because she could visualize the countryside as he walked and that Wood has a sense of humor.  She found it to be an easy read.

Our next member had watched a documentary on Waco and the Branch Davidians and now is reading books about the incident.  Others in the group recommended A Place Called Waco by David Thibodeau as an interesting and informative book on the subject.  Written by a surviving member of the group, the book provides an insider’s view of events.

Being quarantined has made some hobbies and habits be of greater importance, such as gardening and birdwatching.  Birdwatcher’s Daily Companion by Marcus H. Schneck and Tom Warhol provided some ideas and information, but the reader said she actually found Cornell’s www.allaboutbirds.org site and app to be better at providing identification.  The book did list activities to attract birds, places to visit to see birds, projects, etc.  Another book she enjoyed very much was What It's Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley which does an excellent job of exploring bird behavior.

Nevermore: Naipaul, Levison, Braithwaite, Tisdale, Kingsolver, Belksy, YA novels

 Reported by Jeanne

Nevermore opened with a review of Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul.  Willie Chandran is the son of a Brahmin who deliberately chose to marry outside of his caste—in fact, to a very lower caste woman—as a sign of political protest.  Willie finds life difficult as half-castes, and Willie leaves to try to create a new life in England.  In 1950s London, he struggles as a writer, finally marrying a woman of mixed African heritage and moving with her to her homeland.  Our reader thinks Naipaul is a writer of rare depth and has enjoyed reading several of his books.

Next up was Walking the Americas: 1800 Miles, Eight Countries, and One Incredible Journey from Mexico to Columbia by British explorer/travel writer Levison Wood, who decided to try a trek through a large part of Central America.  He experienced everything from large cities to dense jungle to migrant encampments.  Our reviewer was enthralled with the journey, saying the book was not only enlightening and informative, but “funny, tragic, sad, and amazing!”

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice usually brings to mind a fantasy story but the “magic” in this book refers to modern medicine.  Written by registered nurse Sallie Tisdale, the book takes a hard look at medicine and illness, pointing out that some of the “miracles” of modern medicine come with a high price to the patient.  The book examines several “specialty“ areas (burn units, neonatal units, etc.) and asks some thought–provoking questions.  Our reader enjoys books that explore medical issues, and she felt this was definitely of the best ones she read, even though it was published back in the 1980s.  She found the book to be touching and sensitive.

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Unsheltered has not met with universal enjoyment in Nevermore.  This week’s reviewer was disappointed by what she felt was a lack of evolution from the characters.  They all seemed immature and never improved. 

On the other hand, My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkin Braithwaite met with a better reception.  Set in modern day Nigeria, the book features two sisters.  Korede is the elder, a practical responsible woman who works as a nurse and who is called upon to take care of younger sister Ayoola’s little indiscretions, such as her habit of killing her boyfriends.  The Nevermore member enjoyed it both for the look at Nigerian culture and the darkly comedic tone.

Yesterday’s News by Richard Belsky was described as a real page turner.  The narrator is Clare Carlson, a news executive who won a Pulitzer for her series of articles about missing schoolgirl Lucy Devlin.  The child was never found, and now fifteen years later Lucy’s mother wants Clare to follow up on a new clue.  There are secrets aplenty, and Belsky keeps the reader guessing.

Finally, several members have been dipping into YA literature.  The Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard was found to be an entertaining diversion, while S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders  remains a powerful book.