Nevermore: The Big Finish, Defying Hitler, Secret Service, and Delia Owens

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore began with a humorous debut book, The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey. (Previously reviewed by Laura here.) Duffy Sinclair and Carl Upton are roommates, but they are not rowdy college freshmen, they are senior citizens in an assisted living facility. When a young woman crawls in their window one night and announces that Carl is her grandpa, the octogenarian men do their best to keep her a secret, and not get kicked out of their comfortable living situation. Their escapades are funny, endearing, and make for an excellent novel.

Our next reader found Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner to be an insightful memoir of the author’s eyewitness account of German power changes from 1907-1933. Written in 1939 and published more than sixty years later, this history details how the rise of the Nazi party was gradual as they took power a little at a time. Our reader appreciated that the author’s son chose to publish his father’s writing in 2000, and she found it well worth reading.

Another book of historic writing came to the virtual table with The Secret Service: The Field, The Dungeon, and The Escape by Albert D. Richardson. This memoir was written in 1865 by a journalist who examined the crumbling infrastructure of the South in the years leading up to and during the Civil War. Our reader was intrigued by the extensive vocabulary used by the author and highly recommends this volume for anyone who fancies themselves an amateur historian.

Before she wrote her debut novel Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens and her then-husband Mark Owens wrote memoirs of their time studying African wildlife. Cry of the Kalahari has been passed around between several Nevermore members, enchanting readers with the beautiful descriptions of the animals and the landscape. Although the Owens family was subsisting on very few resources, they were able to observe brown hyenas and other wildlife in such remote areas that the animals had not yet learned to be afraid of humans. Our current reader was impressed by the authors’ sensitivity to the animals and charmed by the photography.

Another reader was working through another Owens book, Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-Three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People. Set in Zambia, the zoologists lived and worked in the Luangwa Valley, studying the devastation faced by the elephant population as poachers decimated their numbers. Our reader particularly noted that when the elder male elephants were killed, much of the herd’s collective survival knowledge was lost.

Nevermore: Man & Horse, Cry of the Kalahari, Lee Smith, Nicholas Sparks, Evanovich, Kristin Hannah, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Take It Away, Tommy!

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore has evolved temporarily to meet the demands of social distancing, meeting online via Zoom. Our first member smiled widely onscreen as she discussed Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America by John Egenes. In 1974, the author mounted his horse Gizmo and set out to cross the nation from Ventura, California to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Writing the book decades later, Egenes reflects upon the United States of that era, and how he discovered his own self-worth on his horseback journey.

Another reader picked up Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens, another story of exploration, this time in the wilds of an African desert. Mark and Delia were American PhD students in wildlife zoology who lived in the wilderness for seven years while researching and writing their dissertations. An international bestseller, their tales of lions, jackals, giraffes and more comes highly recommended from our Nevermore member who picked the book up after reading Delia’s fiction debut, the wildly popular Where the Crawdads Sing.

Turning to a regional novel, another reader absolutely loved Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith. This first person narrative is filled with the letters of Ivy Rowe, born in the Virginia mountains a century ago. Following Ivy’s life from childhood through her next seven decades, the story is wonderfully rich. Our reader enthusiastically recommended this story and Smith’s beautiful writing.

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks also has connections to our region, being set in Boone Creek, North Carolina. A sequel to True Believer, this is the story of  Lexie and Jeremy, a young couple with a secret to keep, at least until the wedding, that is. Our reader enjoyed the continuing saga, and noted that Sparks is a very prolific author selling millions of books worldwide.

Our next reader had a very strong recommendation, but it was to NOT read the two books she had just finished. She found Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg’s Fox and O’Hare series quite boring, although she valiantly worked her way through the first two books—The Heist and The Chase. Featuring FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare and con man Nicolas Fox (who Kate is naturally forced to pair up with, even as she finds him infuriating,) this slapstick series just couldn’t hold our reader’s interest.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert was much more enjoyable. Henry Whittaker was a poverty stricken Englishman who took to the high seas in the early 1800s, eventually making his fortune and settling in Philadelphia with his accumulated wealth. Our reader was especially impressed with Henry’s daughter, Alma, as she studies moss and explores evolutionary botany before “evolution” has become a household word. This novel comes highly recommended, as do many of Gilbert’s other works.

Kristin Hannah knows how to write about female friendships, and does so very well in Firefly Lane. Forming a connection in middle school, Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart seem to be opposites, but begin a decades long friendship despite their differences. Tully wants to be a television reporter, and pulls Kate along in her wake. Kate really just wants to fall in love and have a family. Hannah writes with humor, and explores how the bonds between women can transcend families and careers.

Finally, Take it Away, Tommy! by Georgia Dunn, was brought to the virtual table by one of our cat and comic loving readers. This collection of comic strips tells the tail, (oops, I mean tale!) of Lupin, Elvis, and Puck, three cats who take on the personas of news reporters to describe the goings-on in their home. Vacuum cleaners, fuzzy blankets, and the case of the missing breakfast are all spotlighted as Dunn imaginatively goes inside the brains of her feline companions. Our reader found it sweet and delightful, and noted that it is especially funny if you know cats.