Nevermore: My Mother She Killed Me, Living with Cannibals, Island that Dared, and I Take My Coffee Black

 

 

Reported by Garry

 

The chillingly titled My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me is a collection of new fairy tales, edited by Kate Bernheimer, which contains retellings of classic fairy tales as well as newly minted stories, and there are a bunch of them!  At 567 pages, this tome contains forty stories from authors such as Neil Gaiman, John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates and many more.  Dark, gruesome, hilarious, and unsettling, this book may not be for everyone, but our reader thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

 

Living with Cannibals and Other Women’s Adventures is a collection of first-person narratives from the National Geographic Society, edited and compiled by Michele Slung.  This collection highlights sixteen trailblazing (oftentimes quite literally) women from the past two centuries who faced hurdles both physical and cultural to explore distant horizons.  Our reader was particularly struck by the differences (and sometimes similarities) of the experiences of these bold women across the centuries; while the technology used by the explorers has changed, nature itself has not and remains as treacherous and beautiful as it was in 1800.

 

The theme of exploration by women continued with our next book, The Island that Dared:  Journeys in Cuba by Dervla Murphy.  Murphy, along with her daughter and three young grandchildren travelled extensively across Cuba in 2005. She then returned alone in 2006 and 2007, often times walking up to 27 miles per day, sleeping on beaches or in the forest and getting to know the people of the Caribbean island.  With vivid descriptions of the people, places, and things of Cuba, this book left our reader with a much deeper understanding of this often misunderstood island nation.

 

I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America is a humorous biography by Nashville based actor/author/comedian Tyler Merritt.  In this heart-warming book, Merritt recalls stories from his life growing up in an extremely diverse community in Las Vegas, going to college in California, and only truly experiencing racism once he moved to a less diverse area – specifically Nashville.  Our reader loved this book and specifically pointed out how funny and enjoyable it was, while still making the point that racism is a learned trait that can be un-learned.

 

Also mentioned:

The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson

The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon by Marcy McCreary

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten

On Animals by Susan Orlean

Pickles Tails: The Hijinks of Muffin & Roscoe, Volume One by Brian Crane

Bait and Switch:  The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich

The Ride of Her Life: the True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts

The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage

The Price of Glory:  Verdun 1916 by Alistair Horne

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Weaver’s Revenge by Kathleen Ernst

Chance Development: Stories by Alexander McCall Smith

Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger

World Religions: The Great Faiths Explored and Explained by John Bowker

Gender Swapped Fairy Tales by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett

Nevermore: Cat Saw Murder, Jefferson's Sons, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Island, Snow Leopard, Tipperary, Island That Dared

 

Nevermore opened up with another recommendation for a mystery which has been making the rounds:  The Cat Saw Murder by Dolores Hitchens. Originally published in 1939 but recently reprinted, this delightful mystery features mature sleuth Rachel Murdock whose visit with her niece turns into a murder investigation.  Our reader added her positive review to the chorus, but noted that she was shocked that the 70ish Rachel was considered to be very elderly. 

Another book making a return appearance was Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Told from the point of view of three of Jefferson’s children by Sally Hemings, the book portrays the inconsistencies of Jefferson’s views and the inequalities experienced by his mixed race children. The book is both heartbreaking and enlightening.  Our reader was fascinated with the book, calling it both delightful and insightful. She highly recommends it for anyone with an interest in American history, or for anyone looking for a good story. The book is generally found in the Young Adult section, but adults will find it to be just as worthwhile.

 

This matched well with the next book, the classic Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Our reader was enthralled with the book, finding it difficult to put down.  Stowe knew former slaves and so had first-hand accounts to describe the horrors of slavery.  Our reviewer feels that everyone should read this book.  

The next book had a very brief review.  The Island by Peter Benchley has to do with the strange disappearances of many boats along with the people on board.  Our reader called it “one of the worst books ever.” Enough said. 

 

The Snow Leopard by Richard Matthiessen is an older title, dating from 1978, but it still captured the attention of our reviewer.  The book chronicles Matthiessen’s journey to the Himalayan Mountains to study the blue sheep, but the journey is as much a spiritual one as it is a physical one.  Buddhist philosophy plays a large role, and Matthiessen does a brilliant job of blending the search for an elusive creature with the search for peace. 

 

Our next reader so enjoyed Frank Delaney’s novel Ireland that she decided to read Tipperary as well.  The latter book set during the late 19^th-early 20^th centuries has two narrators:  one is Charles O’Brien, a historian who tells of his life, including interactions with influential Irishmen such as James Joyce.  He falls in love with an Englishwoman many years his junior who wants to reclaim her Irish home, Tipperary Castle. There is a second narrator who purports to have found this memoir and who comments on it. Our reader said it was confusing in places but a really good book if you could keep track of the characters and events.

 

The Island That Dared by Dervla Murphy is an in-depth look at Cuba.  Murphy is a well-respected travel writer, and here she seeks to experience Cuba in much the same way as ordinary Cubans. She’s looking for the backwaters and areas tourists never see, and interacts with the Cuban people.  She also provides a wealth of historical background and insight, with certain conclusions that some people might view as controversial.  Our reviewer recommended it highly, and felt that everyone needed to read it in order to understand the whole historic and modern day Cuban situation.