Nevermore: Douglass, Birkett, Nash, Berg, Gowar, DeForest Krugman

Reported by Jeanne

Our Nevermore Book Club readers have diverse tastes.  That’s what makes it so much fun: everyone reads what they choose and then gives their opinions to the group, often prompting someone else to try the same book. Sometimes everyone loves a particular book; other books produce contradictory reactions. There’s also a mix of old and new, light-hearted books and deeply philosophical ones, classics and newly published.

This week opened with an essay by Frederick Douglass, “On Slavery and the Civil War.” Our reviewer said he was ashamed it had taken him so long to pick up Douglass’ writing but he was glad he had because of the thoughtfulness of the comments and the elegant expression of ideas.  The essay was passed around and several members read sentences aloud that impressed them.  The original reader said he was definitely going to read more by Douglass.

For lighter moments, he was reading the poems of Ogden Nash.  Nash, who died in 1971, was known far and wide for his light and humorous verse. 

Our second reader was enthralled with Norse Myths by Tom Birkett, a beautifully illustrated and fascinating retelling of the myths.  While she admitted it sometimes got confusing between the Vanir, Aesir, Frost Giants, and actual historical personages of Norway and Sweden, she thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommended it to everyone.  She pointed out the influence that these stories had on Tolkien and Wagner.

The next book has long been a favorite at Nevermore: it just keeps making the rounds.  Elizabeth Berg’s The Story of Arthur Truluv features the title character, a widower who visits his late wife’s grave, and a teenage girl he meets in the cemetery. The two form an unlikely bond. Our reviewer could not put the book down; it grabs your heart and won’t let go.

A second book by Berg did not fare as well.  What We Keep is the story of two sisters, Ginny and Sharla, who were abandoned by their mother decades ago.  While their mother attempted to keep in contact at first, the girls rebuffed her.  Now a family crisis has prompted them to attempt a reconciliation.  Our reviewer said this book about mothers and daughters was good, but not Berg’s best.

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock is a debut novel by Imogen Hermes Gowar.  Jonah Hancock is more than a little taken aback when his ship’s captain shows up at his door announcing that he has sold the entire ship for something rare:  a mermaid, a dried specimen with a fish tail, teeth, and claws.  In an effort to recoup at least some of his losses, Hancock decides to put the mermaid on display for a fee.  He has no idea how much this is going to change his life.  Professional reviewers praised the book’s 18^th century setting and the historical accuracy. Our reader concurred, adding, “It was weird, but I liked it.”

Women who changed film is the topic of Dynamic Dames:  50 Leading Ladies Who Made History by Sloan De Forest. The book covers both the actors and the characters portrayed, being in the 1920s and going into the 21^st century.  The lineup includes Josephine Baker, Zhang Ziyi, Meryl Streep, Dorothy Dandridge, Gal Gadot, and Bette Davis. It features lovely pictures as well as good information about how women have influenced the movie industry.

Finally, Paul Krugman’s Arguing with Zombies is a collection of essays about various economic topics such as social security and health care.  It is a very good book, the Nevermore member said, but it can also be a hard book. Some of the essays originally ran as columns in The New York Times.

Nevermore: Lost Roses, Witchfinder, Things in Jars, Red Coat, Read My Pins, Arguing with Zombies, Mountain Empire Memories

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore began with a flurry of book pages and notes from e-readers. First up was Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly. A generation before Caroline, the heroine of the earlier bestselling novel Lilac Girls, Caroline’s mother Eliza Ferriday proved herself an adventuresome young woman travelling through eastern Europe into Russia with Romanov cousin Sofya Streshnayva in 1914. Our reader said that the phenomenal descriptions made her feel as if she were right there amid the splendor of the pre-Russian revolution excesses, all while the common people were starving outside. This historical novel portrays the great and brutal inequalities which fomented the rebellion to come.

Our next reader was happy to have picked up a 50 cent book from the Bristol Public Library gift shop: The Witchfinder by Loren Estleman. Twelfth in the Amos Walker Private Investigator series, this outing takes the Detroit detective on a fact finding mission fueled by revenge. Jay Furlong is dying and he wants to know who destroyed his relationship with a young woman architect eight years ago. Our reader is only part way through, but is getting full value and enjoyment from her bargain book.

Next up in fiction was The Red Coat by Dolley Carlson. Set in Boston during the years surrounding the Second World War, this novel reveals the joy and the pain felt by both high society and working class families. A donated red coat is passed from mother to daughter. Our reader found this to be a sweet little book, and enjoyed it very much.

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd was quite a jarring departure from other fiction discussed, but one that fascinated our readers. In Victorian London Bridie Devine is a most unusual creature, a female detective set with the task of finding a kidnapped young girl. The girl isn’t just anyone, she’s a secret daughter of someone quite famous, and she may have slightly more than natural powers. Our reader predicts that this will turn into a #1 bestseller.

Turning to non-fiction, another reader enjoyed Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box by Madeleine Albright, which tells so much more of the former Secretary of State’s life than just her fashion accessories. Our Nevermore member found it to be a quick read, especially since she skimmed over the details of the pins that Albright was so famous for wearing.

The next book was non-fiction as well, even strangely titled—Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future by Paul Krugman. This Nobel Prize winner has decades of experience in the national arena and explains that the “zombies” are misunderstandings that just won’t die and are continually recirculated as gospel truths. Kruger draws together many of the issues that he has covered in his popular New York Times column in this uniquely named volume.

Finally, another reader picked up and enjoyed a newly published work on local history, Mountain Empire Memories: A Photographic History of the Early Years by the staff of the Bristol Herald Courier. Putting together photos from the Museum of the Middle Appalachians, the William King Museum of Art, the Bristol Historical Association, and the Sullivan County Department of Archives and Tourism, this coffee-table book is a really interesting browsing book. Our reader noted that if you are from this area of southwest Virginia or northeast Tennessee, this book will take you on a walk down memory lane as you recognize places from past decades.