Now Is Not The Time To Panic

 Now Is Not The Time To Panic was written by Kevin Wilson. The story starts off with Franky meeting a guy named Zeke when he asks her to help him catch the greased watermelon in the public swimming pool. Franky sends her 3 brothers to help by promising them twenty dollars. After that, Franky and Zeke, both 16 years old are friends. They hang out at Franky's house. They find an old copy machine in the garage. Zeke fixes it. They design a poster with an image of their two faces with an enigmatic phrase. They post 100 copies throughout their small town in Tennessee. The talk of the town is abuzz with speculation on who put out these posters. Some panic ensues. Neither Franky nor Zeke ever take credit for the posters. Now, twenty years later, a reporter calls Franky and starts asking questions. Franky decides to talk to Zeke after all these years of not speaking. I enjoyed this coming of age novel.

 

 

 

 

Leave The World Behind

 Rumaan Alam is the author of Leave The World Behind, a novel that has also been made into a movie. A loving couple and their two kids leave their home in the Bronx to rent an AirBnb on Long Island. On their 3rd night there someone knocks on the door at 9:30 at night. Turns out the owner of the AirBnb were attending an opera in New York City when the electricity went out everywhere. Their AirBnb still has electricity but the televisions don't work and the internet is down. The owners ask if they can move in with the family until things get figured out. The next day the daughter spots hundreds of deer in the backyard. The daughter and the son go running off into the woods. The son gets a tick bite. The next day the son falls ill. He is vomiting and his teeth start to fall out. The owners will lead the way to the hospital. And then the novel ends and I didn't know if the world had ended or what was going on.

 

 

By Any Other Name

 This is an unusual book for Jodi Picoult. By Any Other Name is a novel with two threads. In the 1500's Emilia Bassano is educated and witty. She writes plays. But women are not allowed to write plays. Instead, in order to support her family, she gives her plays to William Shakespeare and he prints them under his name. The performances are widely attended. In the current time, Melinda Green researches her ancestor Emilia Bassano. Melina is also a playwright. In college her work is disparaged. Ten years later, her play about Emilia, is turned into a contest with the name Mel Green. Melina has to get around the misogyny of the judges. Her play wins the award so the convinces her male roommate and friend to pose as Mel. I loved this story about how women can do beautiful work despite the prejudices of culture.

 

 

Full Moon Near Sugar Loaf Cove

 

Solito

 The author of Solito, Javier Zamora, was born in El Savador in 1990. His father fled to the United States when Javier was one year old. His mother left when he was five years old. He migrated to the United States, unaccompanied, when he was nine years old. This book is a memoir about his journey. The 3,000 mile journey was supposed to take two weeks. He was headed north through Guatemala and Mexico. His journey was much longer. Another man took Javier under his wing. Together with a mother and her daughter they pretended to be a family. When they finally made it into the USA they were caught by border agents and deported back into Mexico. This was a harrowing and emotional story to read. 

 

 

Fox Creek

The acclaimed author from Saint Paul, MN wrote Fox Creek. This is one of William Kent Kruger's series of tales about Cork O'Connor who lives near the Canadian border. Cork used to be a police officer but now he runs a burger joint. Less stress for him and his family selling burgers. One day a man comes in looking for help to find his wife. He knows Cork does some private investigation work. He claims his wife is having an affair with Henry. Cork knows Henry. Henry is 105 years old and a spiritual leader in the local tribe. Henry is also an uncle to Cork's wife. Cork goes to visit Henry where he also finds his wife and the missing wife.  When Cork shows the wife a picture of her husband on his phone she says that is not him. This starts an ordeal as 4 people come hunting for the wife. Henry leads the two women out into the wilderness for their own safety. Cork and other tribal police follow the hunters to assure the safety of Henry and the two women. This was a fascinating tale about survival in the wilderness.

 

 

Tom Lake

I listened to an audio version of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. As a special treat the book was read by Meryl Streep who is a very good reader. In 2020 the 3 daughters of Lara come home to the Michigan cherry orchard to help with cherry picking. The three daughters ask Lara to tell the story of dating a now famous actor. When Lara was in high school a talent scout flew her from her east coast home in Maine to Hollywood for an audition. Lara ended up getting the part. After a couple years in Hollywood she flew to northern Michigan to work in a summer theater. This is where she met the actor and his brother and also her husband. After the summer theater Lara married the cherry orchard keeper and settled down to lead a happy life. The actor always remembered the cherry farm. He actually tried to buy it on a few occasions. Eventually his brother settled his ashes on the cherry farm.  Ann Patchett is  fine writer.

 

 

Happy Independence Day

 

Turn Of Mind

Alice La Plante is the author of Turn Of Mind. The story  is told from the perspective of Doctor Jennifer White. Dr. White is a retired orthopedic hand surgeon who just retired because she has dementia. When her frenemy/neighbor is found dead from a head wound and with four fingers removed, Dr. White is a prime suspect. Dr. White can't remember if she murdered her neighbor or not. The police interview her multiple times despite her daughter, Fiona's, strong objections. By the end of the book we come to understand what happened. Sometimes listening to Dr. White's confusing thoughts, I became confused too. This was a really good book to read. 

 

 

Chimney Swift Neighbors

After I got home from the musical performance, I walked around my building to check my mail. The red brick building next to mine is a storage facility. They have a high chimney. I watched for 10 minutes as the chimney swifts flew inside. The chimney swifts looked like winged cigars. I saw close to 100 swifts enter the chimney

Last night I went to listen to the municipal band play patriotic songs.

 

 

 

 

 

The Children Act

In Ian McEwan's book, The Children Act, a judge in England is named Fiona. She presides over cases such as child custody, maltreatment, and family court. In one case she had to rule about two boys who were co-joined. Together they shared a bladder. One boy was stronger than the other. His heart was working for himself and his brother. He wasn't able to do the work of two boys for ever. If the boys were not separated, both would die. If the boys were separated, the weaker boy would die. People were impressed with her wise judgement. She gets a new case about a 17 year old boy who will die without a blood transfusion. His parents told the hospital they will not allow him to have a blood transfusion. Fiona hears the case in court and then travels to the hospital to meet the boy. Meanwhile, at home, Fiona's husband has told her he wants to have a sexual encounter with a younger woman before he settles into old age with her. He seems to think she would be okay with an open marriage. Fiona is not okay with this idea. This was a terribly interesting story. I hear it has been made into a film starring Emma Thompson as Fiona.

 

 

Laura

Today we met in Pepin at the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum which is right downtown on Highway 35. Inside they had a gift shop with her books and other books, prairie style dresses and hats, mugs, cups, postcards and old time candy. They had tools and implements, stoves and cookware, spinning wheels, furs, information about the school and Laura's teacher, information about Laura's family and where they lived. We spent a couple of hours in there.

Afterward we had lunch at the Pickle Factory. From there we drove 8 miles in land to the site of the cabin where Laura was born.

Here is the inside of the cabin where Laura lived. Behind me is the bedroom where all five family members slept. The other room is a pantry.

 

Lifeform

 Jenny Slate is a comedian. She used to be on Saturday Night Life. Although this book, Lifeform, was listed as a comedy I really didn't think it was funny. I listened to the author read the book for five hours. She rambled through her status as being single, in love, pregnant, giving birth, and afterward. Some parts were amusing.

 

 

Eagles

 Yesterday I met Offspring #1 and his family in Wabasha. We met at the National Eagle Center. Because of the way the river narrows after Lake Pepin, eagles gather here in the thousands.We walked around the center for an hour before going to a eagle talk for an hour. Last year I was here and I was the only one at the eagle talk. Today we had about 40 people gathered. We learned that an eagle can see a rabbit hopping three miles away. We learned about their dangerous mating behavior called cartwheeling. The young eagles show their sexual prowess by locking talons and cartwheeling down from the sky until they break apart right before impacting the ground.  The 3 eagle ambassadors are named Angel, Latsch, and Was'aka. Was'aka was the eagle at our talk. Was'aka ate half of a rabbit during the hour. He tore pieces of fur off the rabbit and spread it around the room. I was glad not to be in the front row. What a mess. Below is one of the 50 photos grandgirl#2 took with my phone.

 

 

Good Dirte

Charmaine Wilkerson is the author of the historical fiction novel called Good Dirt. Ebby lives in a New England town. When she is 10 years old, intruders break into their house with the intention of stealing a large jug that has been in the family for generations. Her older brother confronts the thieves and they shoot him. Ebby feels responsible for his death. The story goes back and forth in time. We learn about the enslaved man who made the jug, Ebby's great great great grandfather. The story isn't told linearly but I found it easy to keep track of the characters.

 

 

In The Unlikely Event

 Judy Blume is known for her children's books but she has written 4 for adults. This one is an historical fiction novel about her experiences as a child growing up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In The Unlikely Event gives details about the 3 passenger planes that crash landed in Elizabeth in the space of 58 days. One of the main characters in the novel is Miri who is 15 when the first plane crashed. Judy was actually 14 when it happened. Miri lives with her mother and grandmother. Miri's Uncle Henry comes over for dinner nearly every night. He is a reporter for the local newspaper. Her boyfriend lives in the orphanage near the site of the third plane crash. The author describes the 1950's era by mentioning songs, hair styles, shoe styles, and cars. My only complaint is that she included so many characters and some with similar names so it was hard to remember who was who.

 

 

Rhubarb

Once a year I like to make a decadent dessert in the spring. When I make it I tell myself I have 51 more weeks to work off those calories. I have had to skip it the last 3 years because I was traveling. I was really looking forward to it this year. But I couldn't find any rhubarb besides what was in various gardens around town. Today I visited the farmers market at Levee park and bought some rhubarb from an Amish farmer who lives in Wisconsin. Here is my recipe for Yorkshire rhubarb. 

 

Ingredients: 1/4 C. butter, 2 eggs, 3/4 C. milk, 3/4 C. flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 C. sliced rhubarb, 1/2 C. brown sugar

 

Method: heat butter in 1 quart baking dish in 425 degree oven till bubbling. Combine eggs, milk, flour, and salt in blender. Pour into hot butter. Pour rhubarb into center of batter and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or crust is brown. Serve warm with whipped or ice cream. 4-6 servings. 341 calories 

 

Big Fish

 I just spent an hour reading Big Fish A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace. As I got to the second chapter I thought this story reminds me of a movie I saw with Ewan McGregor and Jessica Lange. As it turns out this is the book the movie was based on. The story revolves around a son's irritation with his father for all his hyperbole and bull s**t. The poor son just wants the story told straight. The story is told differently in the book and the movie. In the book the father is often gone for weeks at a time but he always comes home eventually. In the movie, the night of his wedding, his father starts telling a story of how he caught a giant catfish using his wedding ring as bait. The son is disgusted and cuts off all contact with the old man until, years later, he learns his father is dying. In both the movie and the book, the father is more of a story teller than an actual father who can have an honest relationship with his son. Great story though, I loved it. I don't think a person has to be a great story teller or have an honest relationship with their child. I think it's possible to do both.

 

 

The Eights

 British author Joanna Miller is the author of the historical fiction novel called The Eights. Set in 1920, four women are the first women to be enrolled at Oxford University. These four women are housed in the 8th dormitory. They have strict rules about what to wear, when they can leave the University (with a chaperone) and who is allowed to visit them. Otto (short for Ottoline) served as a nurse in World War One and she is trying to process the horrors she witnessed. Beatrice is trying to get out from the shadow of her mother, the famous suffragette.  Dora had planned to get married but decided to come to Oxford after her brother and fiancee were killed. Marianne is the quiet and clever daughter of a pastor out in the country. She has to go home every other weekend to help him with his church duties. Together they form a friendship to battle the rampant misogyny and the Spanish flu. The author also attended Oxford. These four women are fictional. Some of the events they witnessed were actual.

 

 

Municipal Band

 

Beginning in 1915, the Winona Municipal Band has been playing concerts for the city. The band shell is located near Veterans Park next to Lake Winona. The concert goes from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. I heard the Star Spangled Banner, the beer barrel polka, a Sousa marching song, Top Gun Medley and finally America The Beautiful. The members wore white shirts with a round logo on their sleeves. All were adults. There was quite a crowd although extra seats were available. How cool to hear a band, especially a tuba, playing in person!

The Coin

I am not sure that I fully understood the book, The Coin by Yasmin Zaher. The story is set in 2016 in New York City. A young Palestinian woman lives in an apartment. She has a job teaching young black boys at a school. Most of her funds come from an inheritance from the car crash that killed her parents. She gets involved with this well dressed homeless man. Together they make money buying Birkin handbags and reselling them for more money. She wears designer clothes. She has an obsession with cleanliness and goes into detail about her hygiene routines. She also writes in a "stream of consciousness" style like Virginia Wolf which I do not appreciate. 

 

 

Shopgirls

 Set in San Francisco during the 1980's this historical fiction novel, Shopgirls, was written by Jessica Anya Blau. The main character is Zippy who graduated from high school and now lives with a roommate who is a lawyer. The lawyer eats only every other day so Zippy does the same. Zippy got a job as a shopgirl at the famous I. Magnin store. This store has famous designer clothing and make up. Zippy is in the women's dresses department. She has a skill for knowing what would look good on a woman and she quickly becomes the best selling shopgirl. She works with other women at the store. Some are mean, some are indifferent, and some are friendly and kind. Zippy has to deal with her mother who works at a hardware store and her mother's new husband. They need her help financially. I thought the story was somewhat entertaining.

 

 

The Sunflower House

 Have you ever heard of the Lebensborn program? This was a Nazi program during World War Two. The Sunflower House, written by Adriana Allegri, describes the situation by using a character named Allina Strauss. Allina lives in Germany with her aunt and uncle. She works at her uncle's bookshop and makes strudel with her aunt. One day her aunt and uncle are killed by the Nazi military. Other soldiers try to rape Allina. One commanding officer protects her and takes her in his car. He rapes her and leaves her, bruised and bloody, at a state run baby factory called the Hochland Home. She is forced to work as a nurse to the expectant mothers. Once born, the babies are taken from their mothers and given to high ranking Nazi members. This was an excellent historical fiction novel.

 

 

Steamboat Parade

This is my second year attending the Steamboat Days parade in Winona. This was a 2 hour parade including Miss Winona, Miss Minnesota and Miss America. I saw 6 marching bands. I saw a huge class of gymnastic students cartwheeling down the street. I saw clowns but no politicians.

A Marine Corp. marching band.

Someone had to scoop the road after the Clydesdales went by.

The Percherons wore black diaper bags under their tails.

 

Driftless Water Dance

 Today at noon I attended a no kings rally here in Winona. Three people spoke for about 15 minutes. Then the protestors stood on the edge of the park along Broadway. Many cars and trucks honked in agreement. Some of the protestors had some great signs. One guy had photos of Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, and Kim John Un indicating who liked military parades. One held a sign that said "The Emperor Has No Clothes." I have had that in my mind for many years now. The protest was peaceful. I felt good seeing all these people join together. This afternoon I traveled to Wabasha to see a driftless water dance group perform. The performance was at the National Eagle Center amphitheater. Four dancers entertained the crowd while a videographer and a drone took photos. The dance was entertaining. I remember when I could run and jump and leap off the stairs. Those days are gone for me.

 

 

Hike

I went for a hike this afternoon. I parked near the Super 8 and hiked up to Sugar Loaf Bluff. In the far distance you can see a small sliver of the Mississippi River. Lake Winona is in the near distance. That parking lot is for the YMCA. There is a large white structure/silos which are the Bay State Milling Company. My apartment is just 2 blocks south of there. This picture was taken with the north to my back and the south to the front. Scarlet Tanagers were calling today.

On my way down I had enough energy to hike left towards the Winona Ice Park.

In the winter when ice forms on these bluffs people climb them.

The ice climbing area goes for like a 15 minute hike. Lots of people could hike here. Me? No way, Jose.

 

Steamboat Days

Yesterday through Sunday is Steamboat Days in Winona. They have rides, a carnival, street food trucks, concerts, music and performers including the Unicycling Unicorn on a 12 foot unicycle. He needed 5 men from the audience to get him up there. The car show is on Saturday. Royalty will be crowned. The big parade and fireworks show will be on Sunday.

 

True Gretch

I listened to an audiobook read by Gretchen Whitmer called True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, And Everything In Between. Known for her honest speaking a love of clothes in the color fuchia, Gretchen explains why she made the decisions she did. She is very loyal to the people of Michigan. She calls them Michiganers. As Govenor, she had to deal with some difficult times including a polar vortex, a 500 year flood, and Covid 19. On top of that she dealt with the very real threat of domestic terrorism. A group of guys (not all from Michigan) made plans to kidnap and kill Gretchen and her family. Gretchen Whitmer is both humble and hilarious. 

 

 

  

The Last Report On The Miracles At Little No Horse

 Louise Erdrich is a truly gifted writer. Her story in The Last Report On The Miracles At Little No Horse spans the years from 1912 to 1996. Father Damien Modeste is the main character. Father worked with the native people in North Dakota. He learns their language and he forgives all their sins. He keeps writing letters to the Pope about miracles happening on the reservation. When another priest comes out to investigate he thinks one of their deceased nuns was a miracle worker. Father Damien disagrees with that assessment. There is some comedy in the book too. There is one scene when a Native couple see a moose swimming. They chase the moose with the canoe and attach a rope to the antlers. They want the moose to swim close to their house so they won't have to carry it so far. Their plan fails. The man with the gun gets fishing hooks stuck in his rear end. The moose gets to shore. The woman jumps out. The man with the gun peppers the back of the moose with buck shot and the moose keeps running dragging the man and the canoe all around the reservation for a full day.

 

 

 

Skios

 Skios is a humorous book about a conference in a posh hotel on a Greek island. Written in 2012 by Michael Frayn the book starts off with Doctor Norman Wilfred on a plane. Hired to give speeches all over the world, Norman has learned the hard way to keep a copy of the speech in his carry on bag. His talk is on scientometrics. He is known as a dry speaker with no humor and an unfriendly personality. Nikki is the organizer of the conference and she goes to pick him up at the airport. Once there a young blond man walks up to her. She asks if he is Dr. Norman Wilfred and he answers, "I cannot lie." So Nikki thinks it's him. This young guy is pretending to be Norman. Norman, whose luggage was taken by someone else ends up at the house the young guy is supposed to be. This part is somewhat unbelievable because in the day of google images, Nikki shouldn't have been fooled. Why the young guy wanted to pretend to be someone else is never explained. By the time Norman gets to the conference a full day has passed. His imitator has charmed everyone at the conference and no one believes Norman when he tells them who he is. I did enjoy the descriptions of the luxurious hotel and beautiful scenery.

 

 

Future Home Of The Living God

Times are strange. Today I read an article about a prosecutor in West Virginia advising women who have miscarriages to report the incident to the local police. He said he wouldn't prosecute a woman for having a miscarriage but other prosecutors said they would. Did you read and enjoy The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood? If so I think you would enjoy Future Home Of The Living God by Louise Erdrich. The book is similar to The Handmaid's Tale and set in Minnesota. A 26 year old woman named Cedar lives in south Minneapolis. She is Native American and w.as adopted by two white liberal parents and brought up in Minneapolis. She receives a letter from her birth mother on the reservation so she goes up there to visit and to learn more about her culture. She meets her mother, her mother's husband, her grandmother and her little sister. At the end of her visit she tells her native family that she is pregnant. She gets back to Minneapolis only to learn that authorities and asking pregnant women to turn themselves in. The government has turned totalitarian.  Evolution is reversing and births are going wrong. Cedar hides out in her home for a time but eventually gets picked up and taken to Fairview Hospital. Every day the pregnant women are given vitamins which are actually tranquilizers. No one knows what happens to the women or their children but they are never seen again. With the help of her mother and her roommate Cedar escapes the hospital and heads back up to the reservation to hide. Eventually Cedar gets picked up again and this time she is taken to Stillwater Prison where her future is even worse. The book is disturbing but beautifully written.

 

 

Eight Hundred Grapes

 Laura Dave is the author of a silly book called Eight Hundred Grapes. A 30 year old woman named Georgia finds out something shocking about her fiancee so she leaves town and drives to her family's vineyard in Sonoma. There she finds her twin brothers have changed, her mother has changed and her father has changed. Rather than focus on her own problem with her fiancee and the wedding is only ten days away, she focuses on her family. Georgia doesn't like the decisions they have made and she tries to change their minds. Actually her dithering about the fiancee annoyed me. Eight hundred grapes are how many in each bottle of wine her father makes.

 

 

The Second Life Of Mirielle West

 I knew there were leper colonies in Hawaii but I was unaware that there was one in Carville, Louisiana. In her historical fiction book Amanda Skenandore writes about a woman from Hollywood, California who is sent there after her doctor diagnoses her with leprosy. For an unusually long time she stays in denial about her condition. Mirielle is married to an actor. She is used to champagne, parties, and glamour. This diagnosis comes at her just a few months after her son drowned. She has two little girls at home. She is taken from the hospital to a empty train car with one nurse and two other patients. She is a prickly person in the first place and she does not adjust well. She comes off as rude and snotty.  The appearance of some of the patients horrifies her. There is no telephone at the facility. All mail has to be disinfected in the steamer and not all letters make it through that process. There is a ten year old girl her who pulls pranks on everyone frequently but she reminds Mirielle of her daughter so they end up bonding. Eventually Mirielle comes to accept her fate and goes about helping the other patients and joining in on the social activities. The Second Life Of Mirielle West is a great story. I also read another book by the same author called When We Were Yours and that was a good book too.

 

 

The Known World

 Published in 2003, The Known World is a book about a black man in Virginia who has slaves. Written by Edward P. Jones, the story is about Henry Townsend. Henry was a slave until his father purchased his freedom. He then went on to purchase 30 slaves to work on his tobacco plantation. The story starts out with Henry's death in 1885 and then weaves back and forth through time which makes the story a little difficult to follow. The basic lesson is that power corrupts people. The book has lots of characters and multiple story lines.  In the book slave sellers pick up freed black people and sell them in the south. Some parts of the book were sad to read but I think reading it was time well spent.

 

 

Y/N

Esther Yi is the author of Y/N, a novel about a Korean-American author who falls in love with  Korean pop star named Moon. Her name is Y/N and she works and lives in Germany where her job is to write sales articles about artichokes. A friend gives her a ticket to watch the Korean boy band. After the concert Moon retires. Y/N flies to Korea to find him. I know that K-Pop boy bands are popular so it makes sense that a novel should be written about them. This sure was an odd book to read though. Y/N's name isn't about yes/no. Her name is about "your name."

 

 

Unpacking

I unpacked a dozen boxes today including this one.

 

Sani-cloth is coming to town!

  

Moved

After storing my belongings in a storage locker for 3.5 years I have now moved 110 miles to the south east. The truck was loaded, moved, and unloaded.  All this cost a pretty penny but I only have one back and I need to take good care of it. So I moved, bought a few groceries, hooked up the internet, found the coffee pot, hung up a new shower curtain, and took a shower. That is enough for today. Opening these boxes is similar to Christmas. Now, where did I put the hardware for my bed?   

My Dark Vanessa

My Dark Vanessa is a 16 hour long audio book written by Kate Elizabeth Russell. The author started writing the book when she was 17 and finished the book when she was in her 30's. That was useful because Vanessa is 14 when the story starts and 25 when it ends. The child Vanessa's voice is different than the adult Vanessa's voice. At 14 Vanessa is sent to a boarding school near her home in the year 200. There she meets a 46 year old English teacher named Frank Strane. Strane flatters Vanessa. He gives her special attention. She meets him in his office. He grooms her and eventually has a sexual relationship with Vanessa. The next year their secret is out. Strane convinces Vanessa to admit she made the whole thing up which she does. She ends up getting kicked out of the boarding school after being made to public confess her lie to the entire student body. Despite all that Vanessa believes she is in love. She welcomed his advances. Even into adulthood she continues to believe she is not a victim but a willing participant in a great love story. Other girls report Strane as a sexual predator. Vanessa is asked to testify against him but she refuses. Even as an adult, seeking treatment for her PTSD episodes she refuses to believe her therapist when she is told she was a victim and he was a pedophile. The story is disturbing yet riveting.

 

 

Winterland

Winterland starts out in northern Siberia in 1975. Rae Meadows, the author, was fascinated by the Russian gymnasts. The story starts out with a 7 year old girl named Anya. Anya lives with her father after her mother disappeared 3 years ago. He works in a copper mining building. An older woman, Vera, lives in their apartment building. Anya visits Vera every day after school. Before her mother left, Vera was friends with her too.  Anya and her friend love gymnastics. Together they do cartwheels and the splits. Anya's friend is more skilled than she is. When the gymnastics coach comes to their school both girls try out. Anya is selected but her friend is not because her father spoke negatively about the government. In Russia, young gymnasts are useful to promote the country.  The preferences of the gymnast does not matter. Their happiness, education and health do not matter. When Anya injures a tendon in her ankle, the local doctor wants her to keep weight off of it for a month. The gymnastics doctor wants her back to practice in two days and injects her ankle with pain medication. Anya loves gymnastics in the beginning. She enjoys traveling to other parts of Russia to participate in meets. As she ages and the injuries pile up her feelings change. Once she makes it to the Olympics in the 1990's Anya looses her passion for gymnastics. I found it interesting to read about gymnastics training in Russia. There were no Russian gymnasts named Anya but the other gymnasts in the book were read. The only one I had ever heard of was Olga Korbut.

 

 

The Black Snow

The Black Snow is a bleak novel. Bleak with a capital B. Written by Paul Lynch, the story takes place is rural Ireland in 1945. Barnabas is a farmer who emigrated to America, built sky scrapers in New York, married a woman, and bought a farm in his native Ireland with his winnings. One spring day as he is plowing the field with his farm hand, a fire starts in his barn. Despite the help of other farmers, the barn burns to the ground with all 42 cattle and the farm hand. After that everything goes wrong for Barnabas, his wife, and his teen aged son. The local farmers are not much help. To be honest, Barnabas was a bit of a jerk plus they distrust him because he went to America. I enjoyed reading the book but I recommend against reading it if you are having a down day.

 

 

Four Souls

 Revenge is a main theme in Louise Erdrich's book Four Souls. Written in 2004 we learn the story of Fluer Pillager who sets off from the reservation to exact revenge on the lumber baron who took her land and cut down all the trees. The timing is around 1900. She goes to the Twin Cities to get her revenge. Taking a longer range view, she gets a job in his mansion as a launderess. Eventually she works her way into the family. In the end, she does her the land back and goes to live on the reservation again. I loved reading from the Native American perspective. Fluer is a woman to be admired. I would not have the patience to wait for revenge that long.

 

 

The Funeral Cryer

 I picked up The Funeral Cryer at the library today and started reading it and I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting. The author is Wenyan Lu. The story is set in modern times in a small village in northern China. This town is so far north that having a bamboo forest near the village is very unusual because bamboo doesn't grow this far north. The story is told by by a woman who is struggling. She is married to a worthless chap who doesn't work and doesn't even try to work. Jobs are scarce. Her 20 year old daughter left the village to find work in Shanghai. The woman grows vegetables in her back yard and does all the housework. Her husband leaves the house to gamble with his friends. When he is home he is frequently verbally abusive. She gets some work as a funeral cryer. Families hire her to attend the funeral and cry over the casket giving details of the deceased person's accomplishments. The people in the village assume her job brings bad luck so they avoid her. A barber has moved into the town and he starts paying attention to her. This gives her a new confidence. She stops listening to her husband and starts taking pride in her accomplishments. I enjoyed the story because of the plot but also because the descriptions of the pork and chive dumplings and tofu and stir fry sounded so delicious.