Nevermore: March, Kings and Queens, Guess Who, Our Souls at Night, Illustrated Man, Becoming

Reported by Jeanne

Nevermore opened with a very brief review of March by Gwendolyn Brooks.  The book explores the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the patriarch of the March family from Little Women, based in part on Bronson Alcott’s diaries just as Louisa May used her own family in her novel.  The book was very well written and interesting; the problem was that when the reviewer was several chapters into the book she realized she had already read it.  It was recommended.

The PBS documentary “Prince Charles at 70” inspired another member to pick up Kings & Queens of Great Britain to explore the lives all of all 60-plus rulers of England and Great Britain.  She was thoroughly enjoying it, but said she knew it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

A newcomer to Nevermore had just started reading Guess Who: A Novel by Chris McGeorge.  Morgan Sheppard, star of a reality TV show called “Resident Detective,” wakes up in a hotel room, handcuffed to a bed.  With him are five strangers and a corpse.  Morgan is told that he has three hours to solve the murder mystery or a bomb will go off.  The reader described it as a sort of classic locked room mystery, and that the book was off to a promising start.

Sometimes Nevermore readers have an innovative approach to their books.  Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf is the story of two lonely older people who develop a close and tender relationship.  Widow Addie approaches her neighbor, Louis, and suggests they spend their nights together—not for sex, but for companionship in the dark. Their comfortable and comforting time together is challenged when Addie’s grandson is sent for a visit. Our reader loved it up until the end, which she found unsatisfactory so “I just closed my eyes and wrote a new ending that made me happy.”

The Illustrated Man  by Ray Bradbury is a collection of science fiction stories, many of which originally appeared as standalone stories.  Bradbury created a side-show character whose body is covered in tattoos, each of which comes to life and tells a story.  Several of the tales are quite well known and have been filmed—“The Veldt” and “The Long Rain,” for example—but our reader was unimpressed.  She gave up after a story or two.

Becoming by Michelle Obama is still making the rounds in the club.  The current reader said she hadn’t yet reached the White House years, but was finding much to admire in the way that Mrs. Obama was deeply involved in her daughters’ lives while also juggling a demanding career and a husband with political aspirations. 

Nevermore: Running With Scissors, American Prison, Alice Network, Broken Girls, Blood & Ivy, Becoming

Reported by Kristin

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs has been a popular selection for various Nevermore readers over the past few years.  Burroughs had a most unusual upbringing because of his mother’s mental health issues.  At one point, his mother’s psychiatrist even took the young boy into his own home, which evolved into another bizarre circumstance.  Our reader said that the memoir was difficult to read because of the hurtful themes throughout.

Journalist Shane Bauer has written an insightful book about incarceration in the United States, American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment.  Looking into the for-profit prison industry, Bauer applied for and obtained a position at a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana.  After four months, he wrote an exposé that won a National Magazine Award.  Prisoners were not always fed and usually did not receive proper medical care.  Our reader found the book a thoughtful work that really showed the true faces of inmates under inhumane conditions.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn brought Nevermore to fiction as it tells two stories in different war-torn time periods.  During the Great War, Eve desperately wants to help defeat the Germans.  Trained as a spy, she dives into a world of intrigue and danger.  After the Second World War, American co-ed Charlie finds herself pregnant and is sent to Europe.  The girls’ stories are intertwined chapter by chapter and portrayed in a very realistic manner which impressed our reader.

Another reader jumped into The Broken Girls by Simone St. James, a tale of unwanted girls who are sent to a Vermont boarding school called Idlewild Hall in 1950.  Fast forward to 2014 when journalist Fiona Sheridan decides to write a story about the school’s upcoming restoration.  Skeletons topple out of closets as Fiona digs into the past with a very pointed interest, as her own sister’s broken body had been discovered near the school.  Our reader found this a very good book with strong characterization as each girl’s story is told.

From murder mystery to true crime, our next reader investigated Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder that Scandalized Harvard by Paul Collins.  Noted as one of the first uses of medical forensics, this case ripped the town apart with scandal.  Some townspeople had the attitude that “he couldn’t have murdered someone—he’s a HARVARD MAN” while others believed that evil could sprout anywhere.  Our reader found it sociologically interesting and was rather pleased with the resolution and who solved the crime in the end.

Finally, former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Becoming was thoroughly enjoyed and praised.  While some current political concerns are addressed, the main point of the memoir is to express how an African American girl in a working class family from the south side of Chicago was able make a difference in the world.  Beginning with her childhood, moving through her education and life as a young lawyer and advocate, then on to marriage and a growing family, Ms. Obama shares many intimate details of her life as a sometimes headstrong but compassionate woman.  Our reader called it a really sweet book.

Nevermore: Becoming, Mrs. Lincoln, Dune, Reindeer Moon, IQ84

Reported by Ambrea 

This week, Nevermore checked out Becoming:  A Memoir by former First Lady Michelle Obama.  In her memoir, Obama chronicles her entire life—from her childhood in Chicago to her years as an executive to her life in the White House—with wit, humor, and honesty.  After being on hold for a while, our reader finally had the chance to read Becoming and she had very high praise for Michelle Obama’s memoir.  She said it was an interesting book, noting it was refreshing to read a memoir that didn’t focus on politics but on the experiences of the First Lady.  Intelligent, well written, and revelatory, Becoming received high marks from our reader and she highly recommended it to her fellow Nevermore members.

Next, Nevermore slipped back in time with another First Lady:  Mary Todd Lincoln.  In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini, Elizabeth Hobs Keckley was born as a slave.  A gifted seamstress, she earned her freedom with the skill of her needle and, eventually, won the friendship of Lincoln herself.  Our reader said Chiaverini’s novel was “such a good [book] to read.”  She found it a fascinating examination of the society of Washington D.C. and the White House, as told through the lens of a former slave.  She highly recommended it to her fellow readers, saying it was a fascinating true-to-life story about the dressmaker who was a witness to history.

Shifting gears, Nevermore ventured further back into time with Reindeer Moon by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.  Told from the perspective Yanan, a young hunter-gatherer who lived more than twenty thousand years ago, Reindeer Moon is an intriguing exploration of early human history on the Siberian plain.  Our reader enjoyed Thomas’ novel, noting it was “very neat” to read.  It was an insightful, imaginative, and very compelling.  She particularly liked that Yanan narrates her own story, crafting an intimate and memorable story.

Next, Nevermore explored a different planet with Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel, Dune.  Born on the desert planet of Arrakis, Paul Atreides is the heir apparent of House Atreides, one of the most powerful noble houses in the galactic empire, and set to become the ruler of the planet.  But beneath the sands of Arrakis, there lurks something sinister beneath the sands and in the House of Atreides.  Our reader considered Dune to be an “okay” book.  It had some interesting parts, but, “[as a sci-fi novel,] it’s what you expect it to be.”  She wasn’t particularly surprised by the plot and she wasn’t thrilled by the action-y bits, but she said it was a decent book with an interesting premise and characters.

Last, Nevermore checked out IQ84 by Haruki Murakami.  Set in Tokyo during the year 1984, this story follows a young woman named Aomame and an inspiring writer called Tengo, whose narratives begin to converge in the most astonishing way.  As the year progresses, their lives become tangled in profound and unexpected ways.  Our reader, who is a huge fan of Haruki Murakami, said IQ84 was the “neverending story.”  Although she enjoyed his novel, she noted it is very surreal and very strange.  She recommended it to fans of Murakami, but, be warned, “it’s very, very long.”