Nevermore: Night Watch, Ornithography, Conclave

Reported by Rita

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.

Excellent! Beautifully written with well-formed characters. A real page-turner.     -KN      5 stars

Ornithography: An Illustrated Guide to Bird Lore & Symbolism by Jessica Roux

In Jessica Roux’s Ornithography, each of 100 entries focuses on one bird species, featuring a full-page color illustration in her detailed, darkly romantic style, and the lore behind each bird.

This is an easy read with gorgeous illustrations. I found the mythology of birds very interesting.     - KM      4 stars

 

Conclave by Robert Harris

The Pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world’s most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next seventy-two hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

This was a quick, easy read with a surprise ending. It gave great insight into the Catholic church.     - GP      5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

River of No Return: Tennessee Ernie Ford and the Woman He Loved by Jeffrey Buckner Ford

Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863 by Shelby Foote

Life in the Coal Camps of Wise County by Brian D. McKnight

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg

The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young

The Seamstress by Allison Pittman

 

New Books

 

Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson

Change the Recipe by Jose Andres

The Eights by Joanna Miller

Waiting for the Long Night Moon by Amanda Peters

Nevermore: Immobile Empire, Daughters of Yalta, Humans, Forgotten Country

 

Nevermore June 7, 2022

 

Reported by Garry

 

The Immobile Empire by Alain Peyrefitte is a detailed look at the disastrous attempt by the British Empire to open up China to trade with the West in 1793. Both cultures viewed the other with derision and were convinced of their own superiority. Egos clashed and the results have echoed around the globe for generations. Peryefitte draws on the diaries of those involved on both sides to paint a fascinating picture of distrust, hubris, and etiquette. This exhaustively researched book clocks in at a hefty 630 pages, but the length of it neither put off nor bored our reader who says that this is a very interesting book for any history buff.  FC

 

The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War by Catherine Grace Katz is the meticulously researched tale of the daughters of three of the most powerful men in history: Sarah Churchill (Winston’s daughter), Anna Roosevelt (Franklin’s only daughter), and Kathleen Harriman (daughter of Averell Harriman, the US Ambassador to the Soviet Union). These three daughters accompanied their fathers to a world-altering meeting at Yalta during the waning days of the Second World War. Seamlessly combining the politics of the day with the interpersonal relationships of the three daughters and their fathers, this book fascinated our reader, who found it hard to put down.  CD

 

Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up by Tom Phillips is an irreverent look at how we humans manage to mangle nearly everything we get our hands on. How we are still here is a bit of a mystery when you look at all the ways that we have messed things up. Our reader says this breezy book has equal amounts of history and humor and was a delight to read, and she found herself laughing out loud many times.  PP

 

Forgotten Country by Catherine Chung is one of the most beautiful books that our book club member has ever read. Weaving Korean folklore into a decades-spanning story of immigration and the search for identity, this story focuses on Janie, a Korean-born, American-raised immigrant, and her family. Janie’s elder sister disappeared and cut all ties with her family. The family moves back to Korea and Janie is tasked with finding her sister before their father dies – a task that Janie both feels compelled to do, but bitterly resentful about. This debut novel takes a deep and emotional look at not only the immigrant experience but the ties that bind (and sometimes chafe) amongst family members.  AH

 

Also mentioned:

Same Place, Same Things by Tim Gautreaux

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

The American Women’s Almanac: 500 Years of Making History by Deborah G. Felder

Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 by R. A. Scotti

The Memoirs of A Survivor by Doris Lessing

The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton

LGBTQ Fiction and Poetry from Appalachia edited by Jeff Mann and Julia Watts

Love is the Cure: On Life, Loss and the End of AIDS by Elton John

Fools Crow by James Welch

His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa

Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes

The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies by Paul Fischer

Yinka, Where is Your Husband? By Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Eight Faces at Three by Craig Rice

Nevermore: Trigiani, McCall Smith, Guiet, Kate, Carroll, Atwood, Coelho, West, Phillips, Steinem

Reported by Laura

All of the book club members are fans of Adriana Trigiani and Big Cherry Holler was no exception. Book two in the Big Stone Gap series finds Ava Maria and Jack going through a rough patch after 8 years of marriage. They have already weathered incredibly rough times, including the death of their 3 year-old son, Joe. More difficult times are ahead as Ava begins to wonder if Jack even loves her anymore. Definitely worth a read.

            Espresso Tales by Alex McCall Smith is the 2^nd book in the 44 Scotland Street Series. It focuses on Bertie, a six year-old boy whose mother wants him to dress and act like a girl. Bertie, on the other hand, just wants to be a regular little boy and have friends. As always, the author tells the story with gentle humor and sympathy for his characters.

            The Orphan’s Song is Lauren Kate’s debut adult novel. In the past she has had great success with the YA genre. This historical tale, set in 1736 Venice, follows the intertwined fates of two Venetian orphans. Violetta and Mino meet on the rooftop of the Hospital of the Incurables, an orphanage and music school run by the Catholic Church that keeps boys and girls separated. They dream of escape, but Violetta’s beautiful voice is discovered by the resident Maestro and music overtakes her life. Mino, meanwhile, leaves to search for his long-lost mother. This intriguing love story covers heartbreak and betrayal, but moves beautifully to an unforgettable conclusion. The reviewer felt it was a wonderful story and worth a read.

            Scholars of Mayhem by Daniel C. Guiet is written by the son of the only American of a team of Allied secret agents who were dropped into Nazi-occupied France. Mr. Guiet’s father performed epic feats of irregular warfare to ensure German tanks were kept away from Normandy after D-Day. This was accomplished by any means necessary, including blowing up bridges. The reviewer especially enjoyed reading about the contributions of the women officers involved in the mission. 

            Our next reviewer thought Notorious Royal Marriages by Leslie Carroll was a lot of fun to read. It tells the stories of all six wives of Henry Vlll and covers the marriages of the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson all the way to Princess Diana. The first part of the book is written in historical fashion, but the second half reads more like a gossip magazine. It is written in such a way that it would be easy to skip to certain chapters that are of interest to the reader.

            Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments is the long awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Our reviewer thought it was even better than the original! Set fifteen years after the first offering, this book focuses on the Marthas who train the handmaids and introduces some new characters. It consists of the explosive testimony of three female narrators from Gilead. As the story progresses, there are signs that the regime of Gilead may be rotting from within. Definitely worth a look if you are already a fan.

            The Devil and Miss Prym by Paul Coelho asks the age-old question, are humans inherently good or evil? Set in a small mountain village, the story begins when a strange man arrives bearing eleven gold bars. He strikes up a friendship with Miss Prym, the local barmaid, and says he will give her one of the gold bars for her help. He has proposed that if the town kills one person, he will give the remaining ten bars to help save the dying town. The reviewer enjoyed this book so much, she wants to read all of the author’s books.

            The next reviewer felt that The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West was one of the best books she had ever read. She has very fond memories of her mother and aunt reading it and categorizes it as an escape book. The story is set in the 1890’s and centers around the lives of a family whose mother is a former concert pianist. She tries desperately to get her young twins to follow in her musical footsteps, rather than those of their father, who is a gambler. The family experiences many adventures throughout the book, which is written with beautiful language. It came highly recommended. 

            The reviewer felt the mystery, Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, was a really neat book. The story covers the year following the abduction of two young sisters with each chapter covering one month. Set on the Kamchatka Peninsula at the Northern edge of Russia, this book shows the beauty of the country and the effect of the kidnapping on the tightly woven community. Unfortunately, another little girl goes missing, but few look for her as she is considered a native. In addition to the mystery and beauty of the area, this book also focuses on the racism against the indigenous peoples, who are immediately suspect when a crime is committed.

            The last book reviewed was Gloria Steinem’s Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions. This semi-biographical book covers a wide-range of topics; often times funny, others poignant. The reviewer felt it was really good and emphasized how women have been held down for so long. It made her feel part of the sisterhood and offered a feeling of camaraderie.