The Best American Short Stories 2013

Elizabeth Strout is the editor of The Best American Short Stories 2013. One  of the stories, written by Junot Diaz, is one I had read before. I enjoy his writing. This story is called "Miss Lora." If Miss Lora was a real person she'd hopefully be arrested for child abuse because there is no way a high school teacher should be taking advantage of a student. Another story I read before was "Train" by Alice Munro. A veteran is on the train coming home when he impulsively decides not to return home by jumping off the train. In nearly every story there is someone who is broken. One of the stories I really liked was called "The Best Is Yet To Come." This is a story about a young farm wife in New England at the turn of the previous century. She is trying to get by after the death of their baby. She is inporportionately cheered by the visit of the farm wife at the next farm. There are a lot of great stories in this book.

 

 

Oryx And Crake

Oryx and Crake is a dystopian novel that the author, Margaret Atwood, describes as speculative fiction. I think she means a story like this could happen in the future. The story is about a boy named Jimmy. As an adult he is known as Snowman. One day his mother disappears and for years government officials repeatedly question him about her whereabouts. Jimmy lives with his Dad who is a scientist. In this society, each company builds living quarters for their employees to keep them safe and isolated from the crumbling world elsewhere. Jimmy is an average student. One day a new student named Glenn starts at his high school. Jimmy and Glenn spend much time together playing video games and smoking weed. On his extinction video game Glenn uses the handle Crake and Jimmy uses Snowman.  Glenn is a top notch student. After high school Jimmy gets into an art school where he learns how to write advertising. Glenn becomes a genetic pharmaceutical engineer. Later, after they are working for a few years,, Glenn asks Jimmy to help him write advertising for the new humanoid he has designed called Crakers. Things go wrong at this job and Snowman is left starving and barely surviving out of the compound in some trees next to the sea with some Crakers. Two more stories follow this one but I am going to have to pace myself. Maybe I will read one a year. This is an incredibly possible and sad story. 

 

The Book Of Records

 Madeleine Thien is the author of The Book Of Records. This book is speculative fiction. The main characters are Lina and her father who are waiting to migrate at a place next to the sea. They meet other travelers including a poet, a philosopher, and a scientist. Lina's father brought three books on their journey. The three people they meet are featured in the book "The Great Lives Of Voyagers." The three people lived in different centuries and in different parts of the world. The book is heavy with philosophy and, frankly, most of that went over my head. This was definitely not easy reading.  I am glad I read it on Libby because Libby has a feature where you can highlight a word you don't know and the definition comes up.

 

 

Florida

 Lauren Groff is the author of a book of short stories called Florida. All the stories are set in various parts of Florida, from the Everglades to the panhandle. Each story is different. Most of the stories mention snakes but panthers and alligators are also in some. Bad, crime ridden neighborhoods are mentioned in several stories accompanied by women plagued by insomnia who don't feel safe going out to walk or run at night. Most of the stories have bad storms. One has a hurricane. The writing is very precise which made for a captivating read.

 

 

Every Tom, Dick And Harry

 Eleanor Lipman is the author of the comedic novel called Every Tom, Dick, And Harry. In this story a young adult named Emma is taking over her parent's business so they can retire on the Atlantic coast, several hours away. Her parents helped clear out estates. They sold antiques and valuable pieces of art for a 40% commission. Now this is Emma's job. Plus she moved into their house. Her father was a teacher at the local school. He mentions that another teacher from the same school, a guy named Frank, needs a place to live after his wife died so Emma takes him in too.  Her new boarder turns out to be a super helpful house mate. He cooks. He cleans. He gives good advice.  Frank is great at advertising. Together Emma and Frank are succeeding at estate sales. In the book we learn about the other main characters in town such as the mayor, the chief of police, the chief of police's mother, Franks wife and step-daughters, and the owner of a large estate in a tony neighborhood. This large estate was a bed and breakfast on one level and a brothel on another letter. This book was very funny but slightly unbelievable.

 

 

 

 

Roof Walker

Susan Power is an author living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A couple of years ago I read her book The Grass Dancer. Now I read another book called Roof Walker. This book is about Native Americans living in Chicago for work because their reservation in North Dakota did not have many opportunities for employment. Many of the stories included native spiritual beliefs. Most of the stories mentioned the conflict between living in Chicago and living the native way. I liked the book because each story had a strong (get it done!) female character.

 

 

 

 

The Red House

 Mark Haddon is the author of the great novel called The Curious Of The Dog In The Night-Time. I loved that book. He also wrote The Red House which I just finished reading and I liked that one too. This book takes place in current time. Two semi-estranged siblings get together for a week at a house in the countryside. The older brother, Richard, a wealthy doctor invites his sister, Angela. Richard is newly married and has a step-daughter. Angela has her husband and her three children. The story is told  by all eight characters. We learn about grudges, resentments, hopes and problems. Plus we learn about the red house and who cooks what for dinner each night. After reading this delightful book I felt like I had been on vacation in the red house too.

 

 

Not Something I Would Do

Today the weather was warm and sunny. This is the third day in a row where we had temperatures over 50 degrees Fahrenheit. As I walked along the shore I saw a group of four seven year old boys standing on the ice next to the shore having the times of their lives. They had sticks and were pushing into the ice but staying within 5 feet of shore. I suppose the danger added to their fun. Their joy made me smile. Walking further along the lake I saw four groups of anglers sitting out on the ice fishing. To the top left you can see sugar loaf bluff. To the right of that are the ice cliffs. Over the past few days the ice has looked darker and darker. They were really far out there. How can they relax in such danger? I circled their locations. This is not something I would do. 

 

 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle And Flying Club

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle And Flying Club is an historical fiction novel written by Helen Simonson. I have read one other book by her called The Summer Before the War. This book takes place in the fictional town of Hazelbourne which is on the coast. The book starts at Armistice Day (ending of World War One) and for a year after that. Constance is a main character. She grew up on a farm. Her father died when she was young. Her mother recently passed away from the flu. Now she works as a farm manager. Her brother was the sole inheritor of the farm. Constance needs to make money. She has a degree in accounting but employers are expected to save those jobs for men. With the help of her mother's friend, she gets a job helping an older lady recover from the flu. Together they travel to a hotel in Hazelbourne to take in the sea air and recuperate. Another guest at the hotel asks Constance for help. This guest, Poppy, grew up wealthy and she is something of a maverick. She likes to wear pants and to drive motorcycles. As the year progresses Poppy and Candace become close friends. What struck me about this book is the cultural restrictions placed on certain segments of society at that time. Some filling stations would not sell gas to young women on motorcycles. A German waiter at the hotel is discriminated against because of his heritage. He was put in a concentration camp on the Isle of Mann during the war. Even a year after the war has ended certain people in town treat him very badly. I enjoyed this story much more than I thought I would. There was an abundance of drama and intrigue.

 

 

Above The Line

I read Shirley MacLaine's book called Above The Line, My "Wild Oats" Adventure. The story is partly about a movie she made on the Canary Islands with Jessica Lange. The movie was called My Wild Oats. The other part of the book is some stream of consciousness rambling about the lost island of Atlantis. She is a much better actress than author. 

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Tell Me Everything

 I love the writing of Elizabeth Strout. She is so talented in writing about ordinary people living in Maine. I found Tell Me Everything at the library. She has a new one that came out this year called The Things We Never Say. This book had characters I knew from other books such as Olive Kitteridge, Lucy Porter, and the Burgess boys. In this book Bob Burgess has a big role. He is semi-retired as a lawyer but he takes the case to defend a young man accused of killing his mother. The man's mother was a lunch lady at the school and was quite unlikable. The entire book is about relationships, both family and friends. We never know how important we are in the lives of others.

 

Revolutionary War

 Today I joined the "Learning Club" which is a group organized by Winona State and held at the Winona History Museum. Today the topic was the revolutionary war. I was ten minutes early. The very enthusiastic speaker (former botany professor) asked me if I was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I said I wasn't and that my ancestors were immigrants after that (which is true as far as I know). She is a member of DAR and proud of it. She is a distant relative of Thomas Jefferson and proud of that too. She spoke about the resolutions the first European settlers had in this new country which were freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and they were against slavery. She plans to give two more talks in the future.

 

 

Leaving Rollingstone

 I read Kevin Fenton's autobiographical book called Leaving Rollingstone. He was born in 1959 and grew up in Rollingstone which is 11 miles northwest of Winona. He grew up on a farm and was the youngest sibling in his family. His mother was a nurse in Winona. His Dad was a farmer. As a farmer, due to physical disabilities, was not successful as a farmer. Kevin was into rock and roll. His sisters loved to dance and his eldest brother joined the Army. Everybody in town was a Catholic and the only school was a Catholic school. After they lost the farm they moved to Minnesota City. Once his father died and all the other siblings moved out, Kevin and his Mom moved to Winona so she could be closer to work and he could be closer to high school. He floundered as a young adult and made some self-destructive choices. He eventually became an ad man in the big city (Minneapolis). More about this time in his life is implied in his other book, Cyan Magenta Yellow Black. I enjoyed his looking back with nostalgia but also honesty.

 

 

Dakota Project

 Today I attended a seminar at Winona State University in their student center ballroom. I sat with a couple of teachers and one other lady from the community. The teachers were glad to see such a big turnout and that members of the public were in attendance. Six speakers from the Prairie Island area came to speak. One spoke about natural law and inherent rights. He spoke about the 1837 and 1851 treaties. According to the treaties, the town of Winona belongs to the Dakota. After the 1862 uprising, all treaties were abrogated. He also said, and I found this surprising, conservative Supreme Court judge, Neil Gorsuch, has always voted in favor of Native rights. There were about six speakers talking about land rights, land trusts, the environment, social work, art, and community relations. The main message I took away from this three hour session is that Mitakuye Owasin or we are all related.

The Nest

In Cynthia D'Aprix's novel, The Nest, the four siblings of the Plumb Family gather together. Before their father died he set aside some money for them to inherit when the youngest sibling, Melony, turned forty. Thanks to their uncle, George, the nest has developed into a very tidy sum. All the Plumb siblings are looking forward to receiving the nest. Two of the siblings need the nest to escape their present financial difficulties. This meeting takes place when Melony is 39. Their eldest brother, Leo, has not been a responsible son nor brother lately. His irresponsible actions lead to a car crash where a waitress was severely injured. To preserve the reputation of the Plumb family, the nest is used to pay people to keep quiet. I enjoyed the story but honestly the four siblings of the Plumb family are highly self-absorbed and unlikeable with the exception of Bea.

 

 

Blaack Cake

Charmaine Wilkerson is the debut author of Black Cake. In this fiction novel siblings Byron and Benny are reunited after the death of their mother. They had been estranged for 5 years. Their mother leaves them a audio recording with the true story of her identity and life. Byron and Benny had been told lies all their lives. Their mother was also a great cook. For Christmas she made a black cake that had fruit soaked in alcohol all year. The book is full of secrets and betrayals. Byron lives in California and is mapping the ocean floor for science. Benny lives in New York City and is saving so she can open a cafe/coffee shop. Their mother did not grow up in an orphanage in England. Instead she grew up in a beach town on an Caribbean island (probably Jamaica) where she was a champion swimmer.  This book does a nice job while touching many sensitive subjects.

 

 

Ice Park

Winona has an ice park which is part of Sugar Loaf Park. Sugar Loaf is just to the left of this photo. Highway 61 is at the bottom of the hill. Last weekend they had their ice festival. People came from around the country to climb these person made cliffs of ice. Volunteers run hoses off the cliff to form the ice. The ice park is a twenty minute walk from the parking area. I have been up there in the summer but not the winter.

 

Lights Out

Last night I attended an Audubon meeting here in Winona. The topic was light pollution. We watched a 35 minute documentary called Lights Out In Texas. Next we heard from a Winona State Professor who studies astronomy specifically when two objects collide in space. She also knows about light pollution because twenty years ago she had a student who was interested in light pollution in Winona and he also happened to have a pilot license. She showed us pictures of light pollution over the last five decades. Light pollution for the most part is worse. According to her figures, 60 to 80 percent of today's children will never see the Milky Way because of light pollution. Winona State has done much to reduce light pollution. They replaced their outdoor lights with lights that shine only down. Also, the lights go dim unless someone walking by triggers the light to come on fully.  The residential parts of Winona are fairly dark. The lightest places are automotive dealerships and big box stores like Walmart and Target.  According to her, light pollution is better but there is still room for improvement.

 

 

Blue Wave

Yesterday evening I joined Winona Indivisible for a protest march starting at Windom Park. We walked around with signs for 90 minutes. Various commuters either ignored us, waved at us, or beeped their horns in quick succession. My sign read "The blue wave is coming." I liked this home made sign better.

 

 

The Revolving Door Of Life

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of The Revolving Door Of Life. This intermittently hilarious book talks about life in Scotland. Various characters interact with each other. One is a father of two sons, Bertie (age 7) and an infant. His wife goes to Saudi Arabia for a 5 day trip but ends up staying longer. He gets in touch with his mother. His mother now lives is Portugal with her new husband but she is glad to come to her son's house while the wife is away to help. The guy's mother cannot tolerate the wife. When the son went to the airport to pick up his mother, Bertie offered to hold the infant because the infant was less cranky with him. Bertie spots his grandmother's red suitcase coming so he sets the infant down. Father and grandmother do not notice the infant going away on the luggage conveyor belt until after he is behind the scene. That was one hilarious incident. Both Bertie and the infant do better under the care of their grandmother. Another woman on the far side of town is trying to prevent her father from falling into the arms of a Slovakian woman who is after her money. She solves the problem by asking an annoying friend of theirs to tempt the Slovakian woman into an affair.  In between all these hilarious skits are facts about the legends of Scotland. I highly recommend this book.

 

 

Park Avenue

 I read Renee Ahdieh's debut adult novel called Park Avenue. The story is about Jia. Jia's parents owned a Korean bodega in New York City. Jia wants a better life for herself. When a Korean lady lawyer comes into the bodega to buy tea, Jia admires her Birkin leather bag and decides she will be a lawyer and own a Birkin bag too one day. Now Jia is an adult at a prestigious law firm and she just made junior partner. When a senior partner asks for her help with a wealthy Korean family, this is her ticket to make senior partner. What she learns from the Koren Park family is that money cannot buy happiness. Jia rethinks her life's goals and her work/life balance. This was a superficial yet enchanting read.