Nevermore: Italian Shoes, Last Englishman, I Am a Girl from Africa, The Firekeeper's Daughter, Empire of the Summer Moon

 

 Reported by Garry

 

Nevermore began with a story of redemption set in the cold of the Baltic Sea:  Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell. Fredrik Welin lives alone on a remote island inherited from his grandparents. Once a successful surgeon, he lives cut off from the rest of the world as a form of penance for a horrible mistake he made in the operating room many years ago. A series of unexpected visitors interrupt his solitude and slowly pull him out of his self-imposed isolation. Our reader loved the evocative writing in this brief novel and was particularly impressed by the depictions of solitude and reflection on a small Swedish island. DC

 

The Last Englishman:  The Double Life of Arthur Ransome by Roland Chambers is the biography of author Arthur Ransome. Raised in relative wealth and privilege in England, Ransome abandoned a young wife and daughter to go to Russia as an investigative writer where he came to sympathize with the Bolshevik cause, becoming personally close to a number of the Revolution leaders, including Vladimir Lenin. Upon his return to England, he divorced his first wife, Ivy Constance Walker, and married Evgenia Petrovna Shelepina, a secretary to Leon Trotsky whom he met in Russia. Ransome then settled in the English Lake District and began writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children’s books, which established him not only financially but as one of the best British children’s authors of the past century. Our reader greatly enjoyed this look at the complex figure behind a well-known series of children’s books, and recommends this well-researched and balanced biography. AH

 

I Am A Girl from Africa is the inspiring autobiography of Elizabeth Nyamayaro. Born in Zimbabwe, Nyamayaro was dying of malnourishment at age eight when her life was saved by a UN aid worker. This moment transformed Myamayaro who has since made it her life’s mission to aid others. Now a senior advisor at the United Nations and the founder of HeforShe, one of the world’s largest organizations for gender equality, Nyamayro charts her journey of perseverance from Zimbabwe to London, New York and beyond in this deeply empowering memoir that our reader absolutely loved. AH

 

In Angline Boulley’s debut novel The Firekeeper’s Daughter, Daunis Fontaine is a half-native, half-white 18-year-old who witnesses a horrific crime and becomes involved in the FBI investigation revolving around murder and methamphetamine sales on her Ojibwe reservation. This multi-award-winning novel (soon to be a Netflix series) is part crime novel and part coming of age story written by an author who is herself of mixed Native American heritage. Our reader was particularly impressed by not only the strength of the writing but the insightful, detailed, and highly relevant exploration of the issues that Native American women face on a daily basis. MH

 

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne is the historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West. This meticulously researched book focuses on the lives of two pivotal characters in American history – Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah. Cynthia Ann was captured by the Comanches when she was nine years old, and grew to love her captors and lived with them for 24 years. Her son Quanah became the most successful Comanche fighter and commander, effectively defending against the westward expansion of white settlers in the Texas Panhandle for decades. Our reader was enthralled by this book and highly recommends it as a detailed narrative of a portion of American history that is often-times portrayed only from the victor’s standpoint. PP

 

 

Also mentioned:

 

President Hamilton: A Novel of Alternative History by Lewis Ben Smith

How To Talk To Your Cat by Jean Craighead George

Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography by Jimmy McDonough

Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

Radar Girls by Sara Ackerman

The Wrath of Angels by John Connolly

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

The Blue Tattoo:  The Life of Olive Oatman by Margo Mifflin

The Mitford Vanishing by Jessica Fellowes

Mountains Beyond Mountains:  The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure The World by Tracy Kidder

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Seven Brief Lessons in Physics by Carlo Rovelli

Missing Pieces by Joy Fielding

The Betrayal of Anne Frank:  A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Disappearance of a Scribe by Dana Stabenow

Nevermore: Deception Point, The Universe Below, Mind's Eye, Iris Lady, Shifting Tide, and Empire of the Summer Moon

Reported by Ambrea

This week, Nevermore started with an old favorite, a novel that’s passed between numerous readers and received some excellent reviews:  Deception Point by Dan Brown, a thriller that bounced from the offices of NASA teeming with scientists and engineers to the far and distant ice floes of the Arctic.  Featuring Michael Tolland, a scholar, and Rachel Sexton, an intelligence analyst, Deception Point is a suspenseful story about a bold and terrifying deception that threatens to destroy a nation—and possibly the world.  Although Dan Brown’s novel received some high praise from other readers, it didn’t fare so well this week.  Our most recent reader said she just wasn’t thrilled by Deception Point, calling it both “formulaic” and “incredibly disappointing.”  Too much of the novel felt predictable for our reader, and she argued she couldn’t enjoy the trite romantic entanglements between Rachel and Michael; moreover, she just didn’t like it and called it quits.  She decided, as she told her fellow readers, “[If I’m] not hooked by page 107, then it’s not worth it.”

Next, Nevermore looked at The Universe Below:  Discovering the Secrets of the Deep Sea by William J. Broad.  A Pulitzer Prize author and scientific journalist, William J. Broad delves deep into the “planet’s last and most exotic frontier” in his book, taking readers on an incredible adventure to the deepest parts of the sea.  He follows modern and ancient explorations of the ocean, examines the darkest trenches and recesses of the sea to show readers the bizarre wildlife of the depths, and offers compelling articles about advance technology and research that is slowly allowing humankind to explore this last great frontier and uncover what strange things still lurk beneath the surface.  Our reader absolutely loved reading Broad’s book.  A thrilling examination of one of Earth’s little-known territories, The Universe Below is an intriguing and wonderful book that offers unparalleled insight into the ocean and provides readers with beautiful illustrations (courtesy of Dimitry Schidlovsky).  Overall, she was very pleased with her pick, saying the illustrations alone were worth flipping through the book.

Nevermore also picked up an Inspector Van Veeteren mystery by Håkan Nesser and introduced a brand new Scandinavian crime mystery to the group.  In Mind’s Eye, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is confronted by one of the easiest cases of his career:  Janek Mitter, after a debauched night of wine and excess, is accused of murdering his wife of three months in the bathroom—and having only the flimsiest excuses, Mitter is found guilty and imprisoned in a mental institution.  But when Mitter is found murdered, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren knows his case isn’t as open-and-shut as he hoped.  Our reader greatly enjoyed reading Inspector Van Veeteren’s first mystery.  Compelling and surprising, Mind’s Eye was an incredible little Nordic novel that left our reader reeling with the concluding pages.  The ending, she said, was “really awesome.”  It made the entire novel worth reading.

Additionally, our readers decided to look at local author Marilyn Smith Nielans, reviewing her novel Saying GoodBye to the Iris Lady.  The “Iris Lady” of Williamsburg, Virginia, is an eccentric and obsessive widow who has become an icon in her community.  But when she is hospitalized with cancer, her three middle-aged children must return home to confront their mother’s dwindling health, her house and gardens, and their long-buried sibling roles and rivalries.  Labeled a “true life novel,” Saying GoodBye to the Iris Lady is a poignant story that captures the family dynamics of mothers and children.  Our reader actually had the opportunity to meet the author one year, saying she really enjoyed their conversation.  Neilans was a delightful personality and a wonderful author, and her book was decreed equally enjoyable.

Next, one reader picked up an old, battered paperback from a friend to share with Nevermore:  The Shifting Tide by Anne Perry.  William Monk is a private investigator, spending his days earning his living from the streets and the mysteries which lurk there.  But when Clement Louvain hires him to investigate a missing shipment of ivory from the Maude Idris, Monk finds himself caught in a desperate situation as he attempts to keep his family and his wife’s charity clinic afloat—and stop a terrifying plague from ravaging London.  Although our reader has never been a fan of Anne Perry, she said The Shifting Tide was not a bad book.  She noted it’s quirky and “very improbable,” but it wasn’t a terrible novel.  “It’s a day-and-a-half book, at best,” she pointed out, so it’s a very quick read for a slow afternoon.

Last, Nevermore looked at a familiar title, Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne.  Although our reader had only finished half of the book, he was very impressed by Gwynne’s work and the depth of the author’s research.  Split into two narratives—one, an inspection of the Comanche, Apache, Sioux and other tribes of the western United States; two, a narrative about Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by the Comanche, and her son Quanah Parker who was the last and, arguably, the greatest chief of the Comanches—Empire of the Summer Moon was “amazing to read.”  Our reader said Gwynne’s book is incredibly complex.  “There’s so much [to keep track of],” he said, “with the hierarchy of the tribes…and relationships.”  Even between the Comanches, relationships were complex and, sometimes, difficult.  He continued, saying it’s a fascinating book, but it has to be taken in slow doses to remember all the little details, to fully comprehend this vast well of Native American history.

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.”