FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS – Ernest Hemingway

OOPS! While cleaning out my computer files I found this review from March that I forgot to post. Dang-it I hate it when that happens. So belatedly here is my review of a classic Hemingway.

I believe the Jay county Public Library book discussion group may have had one of its best discussions ever! Four of us had read this Hemingway book before and two of us when we were teens. This group enjoys picking up a classic every so often and even though as a group this wasn't our favorite we were all actually quite happy to have read it or reread it.

Let me begin by saying that my morning walking partner Susie and I both read this as teens and we both loved it then. So we spent some mornings reminiscing and analyzing why this time around we didn't “love” it. To make a long discussion short, I would say that when we were teens and being naive we found the love story romantic and believable and perhaps the shocking violence was exciting. Also both of us no doubt had been exposed to Hemingway in our English class anthologies and could feel grown up reading a classic which we could understand and didn't take too long.

The whole book takes place over a four day period in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Robert Jordan, an American professor has joined the International Brigades in order to aide the republican guerrillas fight the nationalists. He has been sent to lead a band to dynamite a significant bridge outside of Segovia. With the guerrillas is a beautiful young woman whom they rescued from a derailed train. The band is loosely held together by Pablo and his wife Pilar.

Over the three days and nights there is unrest among the guerrilla band members and discord with a neighboring band. Theft and murder ensue, and yet there is time for Jordan to become romantically involved with the young woman Maria. Now, there is no description of love making, even though you know it is going on and no swearing because in his infinite wisdom Hemingway substituted every expletive with phrases like, “go defile yourself,” or “I will obscenity in the milk.” This to me was somewhat annoying. I found it humorous that no expletives were allowed in this book while we read many pages of decapitations, mutilations, rapes, and tortures. I wondered how many novels in the 1930s were written like this. Sad to say in all my library classes we did not cover that.

One benefit from rereading this book was that I was prodded to refresh my memory about the Spanish Civil War and Hemingway history. Also, once again as I read the last chapter I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to get to the end of the action.

SWAMPLANDIA – Karen Russell

I must confess a bit of trouble starting this one and I kept hoping it would move faster until achieving the halfway point when suddenly I had to finish it. Two different book clubs I attend have discussed this title recently forcing me to think about the writing, characters, and plot in more detail thus adding to my appreciation.

In the Everglades of Florida lives the unusual Bigtree family. They own and operate an amusement park featuring alligator wrestlers. To say the least the life of this family is not conventional. They are messy, eccentric, very unusual, and happy. When the featured wrestler and matriarch Hilola dies of cancer, the oldest sibling, Kiwi runs away, and Dad leaves his two girls, Ava who is thirteen and Osceloa who is 16, alone for a few weeks in an effort to acquire some funds to keep the park afloat. Troubles multiply, danger lurks in the swamp, Dad doesn't come home.

The heart of the book is about the sisters Ava and Osceola alone in Swamplandia but there are rich and meaty chapters about Kiwi. The seventeen year old has taken a job at a rival park, The World of Darkness, based on the Book of Revelation from the Bible and Dante's Inferno. He wants desperately to be able to make enough to send home finances and also to go to college. Kiwi is my favorite character. His home-schooled education has not prepared him to navigate a world he little understands. Thankfully he is very bright and also acquires friends who help him.

Back in Swamplandia Ava struggles to take care of the park and alligators. When a government abandoned dredge drifts close by Osceola concocts fantasies of a ghost lover and one day disappears into the swamp to be with him. Soon an unusual stranger called the Birdman appears and offers to help Ava find her lost sister in the under world. The two embark on a surreal and dark journey. The writer's style is particularly engaging in these chapters. One wonders while reading what is real and what is fantasy and if the Birdman is a good character or not. These chapters contain a bit of swamp history too about the Melaleuca project in Florida of the late 1800s, dredging of the Everglades, and the killing of the Seminole people.

It was enjoyable to live with this quirky family for a bit. Visiting the grandfather in his nursing home comprised of docked houseboats was surprising and shocking as well. I found myself well able to see their house, the gator wrestling arena, and to visualize the museum. It was disappointing to not have more of a story for the Red Seth though.

A creative piece, not at all what I expected but worth the read. I found it artful, fantastical, gothic, and often funny. The book began with a quote from Through the Looking Glass and I did feel like I was down the rabbit hole while immersed in Swamplandia.

MADE FOR GOODNESS – Desmond Tutu & Mpho Tutu

Alas, I have been lax in reporting my reading. Actually months have gone by and the stack on my desk of books read to blog about is getting very tall. This was Zion Lutheran's First Tuesday class choice for the month of April. Also my friend Paula has read all or most of Desmond Tutu's works and named her youngest son in honor of him. Therefore I was looking forward to this book and I wasn't disappointed. Besides the fact that Pastor Mark can make any discussion fascinating, there was enough food for thought to make our group into an animated sharing session.

I won't go into the merits of this Nobel-winning holy man, you can look all of that up for yourself if you need to do so. I just want to talk about this book. The premise of this book is that humans are made in the image of God and therefore are full of goodness, love, and creativity. The important thing then is to see ourselves this way and to strive to be good servants, to care, have empathy, compassion, love our enemies, and work hard in this life to change things for the better.

Tutu interweaves vignettes from his life, many which are painful and ugly but also many that are beautiful and inspiring to make all his points. My favorite chapter might be #4 “Free to Choose.” Along with quoting Ghandi, “be the change we want to see,” and citing many times when making choices isn't easy Tutu assures the reader that Making good and right choices is often far from easy. God respects our right to choose and isn't going to send angels down on wings to make it clear but we are charged with doing the best we can and living with blessings and consequences of our choices.

Chapter 8 is really good too (well they are all good) “Why Does God Let Us Sin?” This chapter reminds me a bit of some of the work in Phillip Gulley's book If Grace is True. Like Gulley, Tutu reminds us that all humans are God's beloved children, not only Christians but all people. We need to face the fact that even our worst enemies may not burn in hell. God calls us to goodness but we may choose not to go. Conscience plays a big part and we should listen to these whispers from God. When he says, “Did you have to do/say that?” “Was that necessary?” “Couldn't you say a kind word here?” “Forgive.” “Give.”

In Chapter 9 Tutu talks about helping others heal by offering the “listening ear.” We don't have to have the answers or fix the problems, we just need to listen. There are plenty of other great lessons here but those are my favorites. This is a one afternoon read but one that I will want to turn to again and to pass along to a valued friend.

The Tutu's speak from experience with love, wisdom, and true goodness. I can only hope to be like them someday. 

THE PHILOSOPHER'S APPRENTICE - James Morrow

Do you totally understand your own moral compass? Does anyone? Why do we all see morality differently? I certainly think about morals and try constantly to evaluate my beliefs. While I do try to stick by my beliefs and back them up with faith and facts I also have very close friends who feel that my compass is “off” so to speak. They believe that their brand of morality is better, cleaner, or more Christian than mine. Obviously I don't believe them but I also know that as I have aged I have changed my compass somewhat and probably will again, but so might they.

Mason Ambrose is a Darwinian ethicist who has read about, studied, researched, and grappled with morality and written a book intended to be his doctoral thesis. When he fails to complete that process he takes a job on a remote island for a reclusive millionairess, Edwina Sabacthani. He is hired to tutor Sabathani's teenage daughter who apparently has amnesia to the pint of being a tabula rasa or blank slate. His job is to develop in her psyche a moral compass. Soon Ambrose discovers that Sabacthani and her assistant Vincent Charnock have been experimenting with genetically engineering plants, animals, and humans. They have created by artificial means three “daughters” for Edwina who is herself terminally ill. The girls were created by inserting DNA into donor eggs. The fetuses were then aged in a special vat or ontogenerator which speedily advanced them to the desired age after which each child's brain was advanced with the use of programing from a “dunce cap.” Donya is chronologically aged to five, Yolly to eleven, and Londa is 15.

Taking note of the following quotation as a bit of foreshadoing, it was clear early on to me that the daughters Sabathani would not end up well:

In recent years I'd seen Max Crippen's sculpture of the Crucifixion rendered entirely in LEGOs, Valerio Caparelli's Norman Rockwell-style painting of God inseminating the Virgin Mary on their first date, and Leonard Steele's rock opera set in the Vatican's luxury suite for retired pedophile priests, but what Edwina and Charnock had achieved was sacrilege of a wholly different order, blasphemy beyond the meaning of the word. (pp.87-8 of the paperback)

Upon Edwina's death the girls are assigned guardians and trust funds. Ambrose heads off to begin his own life. Londa and Yolly create an empire for helping women including a multi-million dollar complex housing lawyers, medical consultants, and activists of all kinds working on women's social issues. Ambrose and his wife, Natalie face serious health issues leading them to choose abortion over endangering Natalie's life. Ultra religious fanatics join forces to destroy the Sabacthani empire. Vincent Charnock becomes depressed and reclusive from guilt about what he has done with the Sabacthanis and sells his creation machine to the religious fanatics. Soon populating this book are aging creatures made from aborted fetuses, animatronic non-humans, and “created” people called immaculoids who are programmed to accomplish specific tasks.

This book pretty much satirizes everything, religion, atheism, pro-choice, pro-life, capitalism, socialism you name it. Actually, I think that is the point. All philosophies, even those based on goodness or philanthropy, if allowed to reach the fevered pitch of radicalism, become not only ineffective but harmful. The plot is complicated, the characters are colorful, and one must pay attention to detail. But I must say I really liked The Philosopher's Apprentice very much. We discussed it last evening at the Jay County Public Library book group and I did not hear anyone say they did not like it. Many said it was a hard read but worth it. It behooves me to say I did have to look up references to mythology, philosophy, vocabulary, and some people referred to. Not as smart as I thought I was apparently.

WHEN GOD TALKS BACK – T. M. Luhrmann

Reading this book was instigated by a discussion at our church book group. We were reading Desmond Tutu's new book (this will be in a separate blog) and discussing prayer when we started talking about how some of our friends and coworkers speak about prayer differently than we do and that sometimes we don't quite understand how to respond. Then this book appeared on NPR so my friend and I decided to look it over. To clarify – we don't think there is anything wrong with thinking or doing things differently than we do, but we want to understand why certain denominations do and say the things they do that seem so different from what we have grown up believing. Understanding is the key. When a few times that I have tried to gently ask a person who attends a charismatic or fundamentalist type church questions the response was often a defensive quip like, “It's in the Bible just read it.” That is not really helpful to broaden understanding, so to a book we went.

Reading the first several chapters of this book was very enjoyable. The history of the evangelical or charismatic movement across the nation was interesting. However, the author is an anthropologist and the book soon began to feel like a doctoral dissertation that became a book and I began to drown in information too technical for me. Do you know the difference between apophatic and kataphatic prayer? I read about it and still don't get all of the nuances. The best parts of the book for me were the footnotes.

The author was kind and respectful towards her study subjects. Too often those who don't agree with their subjects end up making fun of them and that is not what I was looking for. I wanted background and explanation without opinion or criticism. Luhrmann seemed professional, sincere, and careful.

Lurhmann explained that perhaps the biggest difference between these types of sects or denominations and those I grew up with is that they have made the break from academic Bible study such as we know. They do not care so much about the historic background of the texts. They are reading them as messages specifically to the reader. Mainstream denominations insist that pastors be educated, that it is important to study who wrote the original texts, why and for whom they were written, how many times and into what languages they were translated, and also discussions of what they mean for us today.

Reading about how differently we all view prayer was most enjoyable and educational. It was so interesting to read about training the mind, de-centering, reaching an almost a trancelike state in order to feel that God is talking to one directly. However, that same chapter offers up stories of girls praying about hair styles, what color to polish their toenails, and talking about God as being their “boyfriend” which I did not enjoy. But still, it is good to see that when people talk about  how they pray and about God being beside them and talking to them they are sincere and simply view the world differently than some others. Luhrmann covered worship demonstrations also like swaying, waving of uplifted hands, crying, and shouting during services. I would have to say that I am not comfortable with those things but it is good for me to read about why it is done and to be understanding.

When Luhrmann discussed demon possession, tongue speaking, and faith healing she did so with reverence except for one little humorous interjection. I am an introvert so those things will probably never be on my agenda. But, if that makes some people feel closer to God then that is what they need. There is so much more in this scholarly book like; spiritual direction sessions, God as therapist, singing as prayer, the feel good blurries, emotional cascading, and becoming a prayer warrior that I simply don't have time for right now. But if you want to understand these things and have not grown up with it this book is for you.

If I am to be entirely honest I would have to say that it is comforting to me also to learn that this movement is relatively a new thing beginning around the mid to late 1800s. The reason that is comforting to me is that since for almost 2,000 years Christians worshipped without it so... I'm ok.

THE MARRIAGE PLOT – Jeffry Eugenides

Just finished this book today. Muncie Kennedy Library group discussed it last Thursday but I couldn't make it so I put off reading it. Having previously read Middlesex which I loved and Virgin Suicides which I did not, I was looking forward to trying another by Eugenides. Once I started it this past Sunday afternoon I had a hard time putting it down. It was so exciting to start a book where all the characters are readers and everyone is enamored of higher education. There are so many references to books, and authors, and studies it felt like being young and in college again. My friend, Mike who also attends the Kennedy group said that he and another group member didn't really click with this book but the rest did. Upon finishing it I will tell you that I was so entranced during the first half that it was rating it four to four and a half stars out of five and numerous sticky notes were everywhere. Then... yesterday I got to about the middle of the chapter “Pilgrims. From there to the end there are only five sticky notes. The last few chapters became tedious but the book ended with a very good and satisfying conclusion.

Eugenides does not disappoint when it comes to the overlapping and interesting plot, great expressive language, and clear character development. In this book he takes the reader through a roller coaster of emotion with a bi-polar/manic-depressive man. The book itself is not so much about him but the two other people whose lives are closely connected to his. Having known a few bi-polar people, the examination up close of the illness as presented in this novel by Eugenides was fascinating and as far as I could tell fairly portrayed.

In 1982 Madeleine, Leonard, and Mitchell become freshmen at Brown University. Mitchell is a shy, not sure what he wants to do with his life, religious scholar and is almost immediately smitten with Madeleine. Madeleine is a beautiful, brilliant, English major studying semiotics, and through the eyes of Mitchell perfect. Leonard is a large, ruggedly handsome, promiscuous, and charismatic philosophy major. You can see where this is going romantically. Mitchell loves Madeleine, Madeleine loves Leonard, and Leonard mostly loves himself.

My friend Mike talked about this novel being in the “deconstruction” style and so it is. The first chapter starts with graduation day and then works backwards through the college years of the three main characters. The college chapters are great, full of interesting situations, wild parties, a lot of weed smoking, and getting high. But also of wonderful conversations about books, authors, theories, ideas, and philosophy. One of my favorite pages is 57 when Leonard and Madeleine talk about becoming famous and Leonard says, “My goal in life is to become an adjective.” They then try to decide if they want their last names to be made adjectives ending in esque, ish, or ian. I myself wondered if my last name of Dann could become Dannish, Dannesque, or Dannian as in, “Oh that is so Dannesque!” when someone says something profoundly articulate.

By senior year Madeleine has let her life be ruled by Leonard and Mitchell has come to the conclusion that he is destined to always be her friend and never her lover and he vows to move on and get over her eventually. One of my favorite Mitchell thoughts is when he sees Madeleine with her lover and, “In Madeleine's face was stupidity Mitchell had never seen before. It was the stupidity of all normal people. It was the stupidity of the fortunate and beautiful, of everybody who got what they wanted in life and so remained unremarkable.” I found that to be a thought I myself have proposed to my own children about people who are too pretty. Perhaps that is why I identified with Mitchell? I really enjoyed his character. The Mitchell chapters were interesting and full of adventure and it was fun to watch him evolve into a man ever searching for real meaning in life.

By contrast after graduation the Leonard and Madeleine chapters devolve into madness and care-taking, stress and uncertainty. Leonard is not a likeable character and Madeleine became tiresome. Also I hate to admit it but it became apparent a man wrote this book in the descriptions of the love making that were way too graphic, weird, and actually not erotic. The description of bi-polar behavior, the warning signs, the treatments, the effects of the drugs, and the behavior modifications family members must deal with were expertly worked into the chapters taking these two through their first year out of college and attempting to start a life together. Some of the situations did make my heart race with worry and I had to hurry through to find out what terrible things happened to Leonard during his breaks with reality. A section I did like was when Madeleine examines her love of 19^th century classics by authors like Austin and Bronte and goes off to a conference where she meets new friends and decides on a future path for herself. I then had hope that she would dump Leonard and fly on her own. Oh well.

After graduation Mitchell and his friend Larry took off on an adventure across Europe. Mitchell's plan was to end up in India volunteering for Mother Teresa which he did but not before a bit of a side trip involving a homosexual encounter. Mitchell ends up back in New York at the same time as Madeleine and Leonard soon after another of Leonard's psychotic breaks. The ending chapters I must say were great. I was afraid things were going to end up too neatly tied up and with everyone happy ever after (I hate it when that happens). There was an ending and closure and it was good.

IN THE WOODS – Tana French

My friend, Sherry recommended this book more than a year ago. As my hand walked across my shelf of unread books many times I kept not choosing it. Why? I have no idea. But last month during group at the Kennedy Library in Muncie, Indiana a delightful young woman mentioned it and said she would be reading all of Tana French's books which spurred me to go home and pick it up. It does have a sticker on the front announcing it as an Edgar Award Winner (2007) so I had a hint it might be a good mystery.

It certainly had the creep factor going. This is one of those plot within a plot books. Rob Ryan, is a police investigator for the murder squad in Ireland. He is also lucky enough to have as his partner his best friend, Cassie. When Rob and Cassie are assigned to investigate a murder of a young dancer it takes them to the very village where Rob grew up in Knocknaree, just outside of Dublin. Twenty years earlier as 12-year-olds, Rob and his two friends went into the local woods to play and the only one to ever return was Rob who cannot remember anything of that day. While investigating the bludgeoning death of Katy Devlin a young, bright, pretty, and lovable 12-year-old girl of Knocknaree, Rob stumbles upon some old evidence and begins to think he can put together the pieces of the disappearances of twenty years before. And there the plots get mingled.

Along with the creepiness of the past unexplained crime, there are so many sad characters in the present. Those left in Knocknaree who cannot move on or move away for fear of not being there in case their lost loved one returns and those affected by the loss of a lovely young girl whom everyone seemed to adore. The Devlin's are devastated by the loss of their child. Mrs. Devlin is in deep depression and there is something odd about the oldest girl who is extremely over-protective of their other daughter who is mentally handicapped. Rob himself is a sad person. He relives parts of his childhood in an attempt to try to remember more. The loss of his two best friends as a child haunts him continually. It's also really sad that he can't seem to have a lasting relationship, not even with his own best friend.

There are many characters and many suspects in both stories. The only thing is, I pretty much new early on who murdered Katy Devlin, or at least who had instigated the crime. I don't want to be too hard on this book because there were parts of it I really liked and I do think this author has promise and would consider reading another of her books. But, I found a lot of the angst between Rob and Cassie a bit contrived and overdone. Some of the description, especially of police procedure became tedious for me but a lot of crime novel readers like that so I tried to overlook it. This 400+ page book could have used (IMHO) some better editing and been half as long and a better read. But I did like the mixing of the crimes, and the characters seemed real to me with normal emotions. Except for Rob, he is way too easily seduced by Katy's older sister. At his age and with his experience he should have been a lot better at dealing with her and recognizing her deception. Rob is just too dense for me to like. Cassie is much more perceptive and tells Rob what he needs to look for, and is right every time. But he never listens to her! I also didn't like it that more isn't revealed about the old crime. After all his investigating, Rob gets no closer to solving that mystery. Hopefully in another of her books he gets closure.