The Wondrous And Tragic Life Of Ivan And Ivanna

The Wondrous And Tragic Life Of Ivan And Ivanna by Maryse Conde was originally written in French and was translated into English by the author's husband. Ivan and Ivanna are a pair of twins born to a single mother on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Their mother, Simone, works hard to provide for them and the twins are very close. Their father is a musician. When the twins reach adulthood their father sends them plane tickets so they can join him in Mali. Ivan and Ivanna adjust to living in Mali and they are still very close but their paths are starting to separate. Ivan becomes radicalized. Ivanna works hard and wins a scholarship to attend a police academy in Paris. Ivan and Ivanna cannot stand to live together and they cannot stand to live apart. The story is told like a Greek tragedy that involves racism, terrorism, colonialism, migration and economic inequality.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Little Failure

 Gary Shteygart is the author of Little Failure. The book is actually his memoir of his life as an immigrant from Russia. Born in Leningrad, Gary was named Igor. His parents changed his name to Gary when they immigrated when he was 8 years old in the 1970's. According to Gary, his father called him little failure and also snotty. Gary was born with asthma and was a sickly child.  Steroid inhalers for asthma were not available in Russia. While Gary's father called him names and sometimes disciplined him with physical force, his mother gave him the silent treatment when he acted out. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer and since Gary didn't have the aptitude nor interest in law school, he thinks of himself as a failure. Each chapter starts out with an actual photograph of himself at that age and the author is very self deprecating and humorous throughout his memoir. 

Friends For Life

Friends for Life by Meg Wolitzer was written in 1994. The story takes place in the 1990's in New York City. Three friends, Meredith, Lisa, and Ann worked together on a school project in second grade and they have been friends ever since. Now, at age 30, the meet in a Chinese restaurant on the first Monday evening to catch up and lean on each other. The book offers a lot of character development and some comedy but not very much excitement.

 

The Girl In His Shadow

 I read another historical fiction novel called The Girl In His Shadow by Audrey Blake. Audrey Blake isn't really the author. Audrey Blake is the name chosen by the pair of actual authors whose names are Regina Sirois and Jaima Fixsen. These two women met in an on line writing contest. One of them lives in Canada and the other lives in Kansas. The story is based on real people who lived in London during the 1830's and 1840's. Nora Beady is 8 years old. Her parents and sister died of cholera and Doctor Horace Croft takes her to his house to recover. His housekeeper, Mrs. Phipps, takes Nora under her wing. Dr. Croft runs a free clinic from his house in the morning and teaches medicine at St. Bart's Hospital in the afternoons. In his free time he studies anatomy and science and dissection. Nora wants to be useful so she helps Dr. Croft with his work by transcribing his notes, drawing illustrations of body parts, cleaning the clinic and helping patients. Nora is a quick study and Dr. Croft encourages her to think scientifically. At this time it is illegal for women to practice medicine. Dr. Croft brings in a new surgical assistant which brings conflict into the household. The story was engrossing and I enjoyed reading about Nora Beady.

Forest Birds

 Today my local Audubon group hosted a zoom meeting about birds in the Superior and Chippewa National forests. Since 1995 researchers have studied birds in the forest by visiting 1000 locations and listening for ten minutes in each location. The study is done between June 1st and July 10th when the birds are nesting. That is a boat load of data. These two national forests are home to a diverse number of birds, 162 species to be exact. Over the years they have seen trends. Coming to the forest more frequently are the Veery and the Canada warbler. Black billed cuckoo and  Carolina warbler are on the decline. The researchers have to take training to identify all the birds by sound. While out in their spots they keep track of species by writing down in a large circle what species they hear and approximately how far away the bird is. One factor involved with the birds is the infestation of the Eastern spruce budworm. Birds that love to eat spruce budworms are becoming more common. Birds who rely on spruce trees for nesting are becoming less common. I am glad that the forest service supports the research on birds.

Being Mortal

 Atul Gawande is the author of Being Mortal: Medicine And What Matters In The End. The author is a physician, a surgeon, and he writes about modern medicine sometimes causing more suffering by offering and suggesting treatment that offers little hope of extending life. He writes about how in the 1940's most people died in their homes. Now, most people die in the hospital. End of life discussions are hard but he offers four questions that should be asked of our loved ones who are facing death. What are you most afraid of? What is important to you now? How much are you willing to loose to gain more time to live? What makes a good day for you?  If those four questions can be answered, end of life decisions can be easier for family members. Most doctors are not trained to help people make these decisions. But when these conversations take place and the patients have some control over the end of their lives and their families feel more at peace. Unfortunately, insurance companies do not pay doctors for these conversations. Insurance will pay for a 3rd round of chemotherapy though and ordering the treatment takes a lot less time than end of life discussions. Some doctors are committed to extending life even if that means more suffering for the patient. Recognizing the best course of action when the end is near is difficult and this book explains why it is difficult and what you can do to make it easier.