Ode to the Very Lovely Mr. Carle

In the light of the moon a little tear lay on the edge of my cheek. I’m sad that we lost arguably the greatest “picture writer” of all time today. How I love Eric Carle, The Hungry Caterpillar’s inspiration, who claimed that his brain and soul were at their collective peak when he was just six years old. What a precocious child! He’s colored our world and made it so much more vibrant and joyful. Thank you, Mr. Carle. All the starry, starry thank yous go to you today.

In honor of the late great one, let’s talk fireflies, as in Firefly Lane. It’s no secret we’re huge Kristen Hannah fans around here. The Nightingale grabbed our female hearts and opened our sympathetic minds—a story that changed us to be sure. Firefly Lane does surround important topics like the complexity and importance of an enduring friendship, the ability to hurt and to heal, and the cumulative effect of our choices on relationships. But it’s not a novel gamechanger. I appreciated Kate and Tully, girlfriends who are opposites in myriad ways, who also need each other in significant ways. True to life, their friendship displays a breadth and depth of emotions, and reminds me that loneliness can be the link that ultimately binds people together. This wasn’t a supernova. But it is a good read for a sunny day when the beach is calling. Promise us, you’ll go Under The Sea while you’re at it, and think fondly of Mr. Carle.  

P.S. Firefly Lane is a Netflix mini-series—it was just renewed for Season 2.

Posted by Tracy and Sharee

The World is a Rose

“What’s lateral thinking?

 Thinking about things from different angles. Sideways, upside down, inside out…if I was to ask what direction a clock’s hands go, what would you say?

 Clockwise?

 Not if you’re inside the clock.”

By way of introduction, Sharee is a big puzzle gal. She’ll sprawl a 500-piecer on the dining room table and have it finished over a weekend. Crossword puzzles are more of Michelle’s speed. Give her the small little boxes and a couple of clues, and she’ll be set for a few minutes (thank you, NYT, for your daily mini-crosswords)!

Whether you puzzle over pieces or not, you’ll love Kate Quinn’s latest novel, The Rose Code. The story follows three girls that couldn’t be more different: Mayfair debutant Osla Kendall, Shoreditch sass Mab Churt and Brainiac Beth Finch. Brought together by cracking German and Italian codes at Bletchey Park during the war, the girls become fast friends with one stipulation: no one is allowed to share what they do for work or what they uncover.

Fast forward to 1947, and the girls are mortal enemies—one writing gossip for London’s The Tattler, one a housewife in York and one in a sanitorium. A cry for help and untold secrets from the war will either bring the girls back together or drive them further apart—can the girls crack this code? Suspense, secrets, and sass keep this WWII novel moving pretty quickly. Sharee says this book is a 4.75 out of 5 stars – practically perfect in every way!

P.S. For the Kate Middleton fans out there (aka everyone), did you know that her grandma, Valerie Middleton, was a codebreaker at Bletchley? Her story inspired Princess Kate to revitalize the headquarters for visitors in 2014. You bet Grandma Middleton gets a nod in Quinn’s book!

Posted by Sharee and Michelle

Go Deep or Go Home

“I know [the word masterpiece is] something of an old-fashioned conceit, nevertheless, I'll go for broke and call Klara and the Sun a masterpiece that will make you think about life, mortality, the saving grace of love: in short, the all of it.” —Maureen Corrigan

That’s high praise from NPR’s Maureen Corrigan—she’s successfully lassoed the big daddy of deep thoughts a careful reader is bound to ponder if they pick up a copy of Klara and the Sun. Combine “masterpiece” with the fact that Rachel recommended this book to me, and well…need I go on? Seriously, I could stop here.

(Cue John Mayer) One more thing, why don’t I know more about Klara’s brainchild, Kazuo Ishiguro? I mean, come on, the man has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. I’ve been sleeping on the job. I absolutely positively need to read The Remains of the Day. (Eliane, I feel the book club selection after Emma comin’ on—oh and Emma will be comin’ on, I promise.)  I’m intrigued by the man whose got me thinkin’ Coo Coo Ka Zuo. When he won the big award, Ishiguro was described as “a writer who, in novels of great emotional force, [uncovers] the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.” Go deep or go home, right?

There are deep layers in this speculative fiction. Klara is such an observant first-person narrator, even if (or because?) she’s an AF—an artificial friend. AF’s aren’t IRobot-inspired, meant to clean house; they aren’t pandemic-inspired tutors; and they’re not replacements for uninspired parents. An AF is designed to be a loyal companion. When 14-year-old Josie, sick with a life-threatening illness, chooses Klara for her AF, she couldn’t have possibly appreciated how a humanoid would impact her teenage life. With the backdrop of a futuristic world where loneliness is underscored, the importance of a true friend is amplified. Maybe we all underestimate, to some degree, the impact of a devoted friend—the kind that love freely and wholly, without conditions. All this to say,  I’m grateful for a profound novel that ultimately explores the question we all should: what does it mean to love?

Posted by Tracy

Not Vile, Just Splendid

“It was magnificent and terrible: the spasmodic drone of enemy aircraft overhead; the thunder of gunfire, sometimes close, sometimes in the distance; the illumination, like that of electric trains in peace-time, as the guns fired; and the myriad stars, real and artificial, in the firmament. Never was there such a contrast of natural splendor and human vileness.” —John Colville via Erik Larson, The Splendid and The Vile

 “I never gave them [Britons] courage. I was only able to focus theirs.” — Sir Winston Churchill, 1941

For a hot lil’ second, I was an English major and a History minor. Like Tracy and Rachel, I was a resident of 27 Palace Court for a semester abroad and became captivated by the city and its history. The major and minor didn’t stick, but the fascination with all things London did. When I heard that Erik Larson was writing a book about Churchill’s experiences with the Blitz, I almost started salivating.

The Splendid and the Vile takes a complete 365-day view of Churchill’s first year in office. From May 10, 1940 when he was sworn in as Prime Minister through May 10, 1941, Larson dives into Churchill’s cabinet and how they weathered German’s year-long aerial blitzkrieg. Through years of research in London and Washington DC, Larson cites from multiple personal journals from prominent players in the War, such as John Colville (one of Churchill’s private secretaries), Mary Churchill and even Joseph Goebbels, one of Hitler’s evil henchmen. I loved that this wasn’t just a history lesson—Larson weaves together their stories with the facts, keeping us interested in the characters and their storylines on top of the history lesson. A perfect marriage of English and History. (Seriously, can Larson just write textbooks? I think we’d all have learned a lot more in school!).

Even better, the book is dedicated to the first year of Churchill’s leadership to give us a comprehensive look into the German blitzkrieg and how desperately Hitler wanted Churchill to call for a peace treaty. As I started the book, I was a little bummed that we wouldn’t be reviewing all of his devout years in office. By the end, I was satisfied that it was only a year. There are A LOT of WWII books out there and I feel as though this was one area that I hadn’t learned about. Thanks to Larson, I now feel that I understand it better.

The hype is real–Larson truly delivered a hit! If I could give half a star, I would give it 4.5 out of 5. I learned a lot from reading The Splendid and the Vile. For those that aren’t as devout to a physical book as I am, it would be a great listen. A little long, but worth the time.

P.S. If you read my last post, this book made Barack’s list. Seems like reason enough to read Larson’s latest, no?

Posted by Michelle

If It Was Easy, Everyone Would Live Here

“I do not need a statue or a flag to know that I am Southern. I can taste it in the food, feel it in my heart, and hear it in the language of my kin.”

Is it me or is Rick Bragg above cancel culture? As a “Yankee” who finds herself currently living in the deep South, picking up Bragg’s latest was a no brainer. (I’m still whoopin’ about All Over But the Shoutin’, 24 years after the fact.) The prize-winning journalist resonates with me for several reasons—first, you’ve gotta admire a man who comes from Possom Trot only to arrive at the Pulitzer; second, he has a strong penchant for putting a human face on a story; and third, he shares with a raw honesty that ultimately makes him a very endearing writer. Please say those reasons seem as stellar to you as they do to me. If so, grab yourself a moon pie, pull up a seat, and crack the spine on Where I Come From: Stories From the Deep South.

Maybe it’s time to let Bragg do the honors—here’s how he described his newest ode: “The stories in this collection are of the South’s gentler, easier nature. It is a litany of great talkers, blue-green waters, deep casseroles, kitchen-sink permanents, lying fishermen, haunted mansions, and dogs that never die, things that make this place more than a dotted line on a map or a long-ago failed rebellion, even if only in some cold-weather dream.” What a tease, that man. He makes Southern living look good, or does he? You’ll have to read to find out, but one thing’s for sure: you’ll laugh along the way!

p.s. This book is worth buying if only to have “My Affair with Tupperware” handy. Or if you’ve had a run-in with fire ants, you’ll definitely want to read “The Grumpy Gardener.” Tee-hee.

Posted by Sharee

In Barack I Trust

“Memories are always bent retrospectively to fit individual narratives.”

Towards the end of last year, Barack Obama shared an Instagram list detailing his best reads of 2020. Near the top of his list was Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel—what more did I need to convince me to pick it up? Boy, did it deliver! Mandel’s storytelling is a work of art. The book starts at the end and ends at the end. Confusing? Yes. Intriguing? Most definitely. 

Main character Vincent grows up quickly, before our eyes, after she experiences a large childhood tragedy. While bartending at a five-star hotel on a remote island in Canada in her early 20s, she meets Jonathan Alkaitis, investor extraordinaire and owner of the hotel. We follow her story over the years as her life changes from that of a poor girl to a rich woman, along with the reckoning that comes with the ultimate reveal of Alkaitis’s actual profession – running one of the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Not a spoiler, I promise!

Mandel’s ability to toggle between grief and guilt and delusional reasoning keep you hooked from the beginning (or should I say the end?) – a solid 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

BONUS: For those interested in some pre-pandemic life predictions, Mandel’s first big hit was back in 2014 titled Station Eleven. It’s EERIE how close she called some aspects of pandemic living!

Posted by Michelle

Birthday Cake Crush

“Winners train, losers complain.”

Not sure which anonymous winna made that bold claim, but I seriously gotta start to train.  Today I’m talkin’ winners because it’s my boy Steph’s birthday.  And the Dubs are beating the Jazz, which feels like birthday cake to me. I could write an effusive, gushy ode to Steph, but I’ll spare you because you’re here to read about books that—like Charlie Sheen—scream “winning!”

If you’ve read our posts for any length of time, you’ll know we think you can take Jane Harper’s books to the bank. Rae and I aren’t alone. Dave Baldacci and A.J. Finn have lavished praise for “the Australian crime author everyone seems to be reading.” I pre-ordered her February-release The Survivors. It won’t surprise you that once again Harper created an atmospheric setting in Evelyn Bay—a sometimes sleepy, sometimes turbulent beach town on the Tasmanian Coast. When a body is discovered on the beach, age-old secrets loosen. Harper’s latest involves a missing girl, a sunken wreck, and unanswered questions that, over a decade later, still fester and haunt the small fettered coastal town.

You’ll feel compelled to turn Jane Harper’s pages. While I think The Dry and The Lost Man top her latest, The Survivors is definitely worth a read. Let’s face it, Jane Harper is a trained winner.

Posted by Tracy

Life Imitating Art

“An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her.”  —Agatha Christie

This post is all about big nods for Agatha Christie. Clearly, she has a sense of humor. (Give me an archaeologist or give me death!) And having just finished The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, I can confidently say Miss Marple’s brainchild has got moxie. The famed British crime writer wrote 66 novels and 14 short story collections. She inspired suspense and captivated readers for decades. But Christie’s greatest mystery was left unsolved—her real-life disappearance for 11 days after an argument with her husband has yet to be unlocked.

Almost 100 years later, Marie Benedict, teller of untold women’s stories, takes a crack at explaining Christie’s vanishing act. Benedict weaves two timelines together in her latest—one sheds light on Christie’s early courtship with her husband, Colonel Archibald; and the other explores each day during her inexplicable disappearance. Not surprisingly, this read left me with questions. I wondered how much of the story was fact and how much was pure fiction. (Knowing Benedict, she did ample homework.) And I seriously questioned, despite gender expectations for women in the 20’s, if the prolific Mrs. Christie was really as submissive and sometimes naive as portrayed here? I found that a bit difficult to believe. More than anything, I want to learn more about the matronly author of mystery via her own creative pages. Here’s to you, Agatha!

Posted by Tracy