In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Published by: Random House

Published on: March 2002 (reprint)

Page Count: 343

Genre: True Crime

My Reading Format: Audiobook borrowed from my local public library

Audiobook Published by: Random House Audio

Narrator: Scott Brick

Audiobook Length: 14 hours 27 minutes

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook and Audiobook

My Review

Ever since I read Capote In Kansas by Kim Powers, I’ve wanted to read In Cold Blood. The problem is, I’m kind of a baby when it comes to blood, gore and torture. I purchased the paperback, but it never left my shelf. Then, after speaking with Dave Cullen about his wonderful true crime novel Columbine, I was once again tempted to pick up the audiobook when Cullen said his book had been called the modern day In Cold Blood. I rented the audiobook from the library, but had to return it unread. Finally, after seeing @braincandybr tweet about listening to it. Although our tweet chat never happened, it finally got me listening. I loved every chilling second of this book.

I had forgotten that I attempted to listen to The Passage. After several hours, I just couldn’t take it. I’m not much of a paranormal reader and hadn’t given the book much thought since. Well, as soon as I heard Scott Brick begin his narration of In Cold Blood, I recognized that voice instantly. Associating that voice in the past with a horror story, In Cold Blood started off that much more creepy that it might have been otherwise. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. Instead, this story built over time and honed a steady level of intrigue and suspense. Just as with Columbine, I knew the crime and the ultimate outcome before starting the book, but I couldn’t tear myself away from the story.

Scott Brick did a terrific job narrating this brilliant true crime book. I can’t imagine Capote not being pleased. Together, Capote and Brick made the world around the Clutter family hum with a thick tension you wished the family felt in time enough to save themselves. I sat vigil with the Clutter family as they lived out their last day. I didn’t want to get to know them and to care about them but to do otherwise was impossible. When I wasn’t heartsick over the Clutters, I kept an eye out for Dick Hickcock and Perry Smith even though I knew they were dead long before I was born. Capote’s characterization and story-telling coupled with Brick’s narration brought to light the actions and the inner demons of the two killers. Although criminal psychology and the ethics of the death penalty were explored, there was no defense made for the pair. As the title indicates, they certainly were not were they glorified. The reader is allowed to draw his or her own conclusions.

The scenes in which the Clutter family are held hostage in their home and through the killings was difficult to listen to, but it certainly wasn’t so horrible as to not read the book. In Cold Blood is a must read. I cannot recommend the audiobook version enough. Scott Brick more than lived up to the challenge of the subject matter and Capote’s writing.

Ever By My Side: A Memoir in Eight [Acts] Pets

Published by: Broadway

Published on: February 2011

Page Count: 320

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Audiobook purchased using a monthly Audible credit

Audiobook Published by: Tantor Audio

Narrator: Simon Vance

Audiobook Length: 9 hours

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

My Review

Veterinarians, just like members of any other profession, are made, not born. What led young Nick Trout from his upbringings in England to his passion as a veterinarian surgeon isn’t as simple as being a lifelong lover of animals. It was the culmination of his relationship with his father, his mother and sister, and the pets he’s had or gotten to know along the way. His journey didn’t end upon graduation from University of Cambridge. It continued on through each part of his adult life. He tells his story, which is neither fantastic nor ordinary fluidly and with a humor unanticipated by this first-time Nick Trout reader.

I am not an animal lover by nature. It’s not that I don’t like them. I just have extremely little experience with them. Unlike my daughters, I never enjoyed zoos as a child. There were times that my siblings and I begged our parents for a dog. Knowing how much responsibility came with dogs, my parents never gave in to our pleading – even the time we worked up a pretty complex presentation for them. My husband also grew up largely without pets. Once we were married and moved into our own home, we never pursued pets of our own. You may be surprised that I ever picked up a copy Ever By My Side to listen to at all, even with Simon Vance as narrator. To be honest, you’re not wrong. There are so many things I am interested in that non-fiction about pets is something my eyes barely scan. That changed in this instance after I read a blog post about Ever By My Side on Simon Vance’s website. His heartfelt response to this book put in on my must listen list. I am happy that I did. Dr. Nick Trout’s discussion of his journey to and through his veterinary career was interesting and compelling.

There were many aspects of this memoir that were interesting: his early experiences as a veterinarian, selecting his daughter’s first puppy and joining a household with a resident cat, what stands out to me the most about Ever By My Side was the relationship between Nick Trout, his father and his father’s dogs. The first family dog, who was really his father’s dog, entered the house without the agreement of Mrs. Trout. I thoroughly enjoyed how the household adapted to the new family member. I could see my own dad doing something like that. It was interesting how the vision of veterinary school and Nick Trout’s future career diverged between father and son. There relationship was a thread woven throughout Ever By My Side. Pets aren’t the only creatures who stand by you no matter what you choose to do in life. All who stand ever beside you are your greatest blessings.

I fear I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but this is yet another excellent audiobook narrated by Simon Vance. That he himself is an animal lover added to the performance. That the book prompted him to write that beautiful post about his pets past and present was clear to me as I listened. Nick Trout’s memoir could not have been narrated better by anyone else.

I’m not sure what higher recommendation I can give Ever By My Side than to say that I was invested in Trout’s story from the very beginning. This woman, who was once a girl who easily grew bored at zoos, smiled, laughed, pondered and, in a few places, cried my way through this memoir. This isn’t just a memoir for animal lovers or those who would like to a look at the life of a veterinarian. It’s a memoir for everyone who appreciates how deeply humans can experience relationships with each other and with the animals who capture their hearts.

The King’s Speech

Published by: Sterling Publishing

Published on: November 2010

Page Count: 256

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Reading Format: Audiobook purchased from Audible.com outside of my monthly credits

Audiobook Published by: Tantor Audio

Narrator: Simon Vance

Audiobook Length: 7 hours

Available Formats: paperback, eBook, audiobook

Background

It has been a very long time since I’ve consistently gone to a movie theater to see movies that I think I would enjoy. It’s been long enough that I pay very little attention to the current movies. It’s not until the Oscars are mentioned that I catch even a glimpse of what had been out there over the previous year. The truth of the matter is that anymore these days I’m more likely to see a movie dealing with a princess than one featuring a king. The King’s Speech bucked that trend. I suppose because I have loved all things British monarchy for the past four or five years, when this movie came out, I paid attention. Still, I didn’t make it to the theater before it left. Then the Oscar nominations were announced and Tantor Audio announced that Simon Vance would be narrating the book Mark Logue wrote about his father Lionel and his work with King George VI. At that point I knew that I had to both watch the movie and listen to the audiobook.

Luckily Oscar nominees are brought back to theaters, so I planned to go see The King’s Speech on a work holiday. This is usually a day to myself and I was excited to be seeing the movie without having to worry about my kids. As luck would have it, I stayed home with an adorable but sick little girl. I considered starting the audiobook instead, because I was equally interested in both. First, I asked those in the know if the order mattered. I was cautioned to watch the movie first. As is usually true of movies, dramatic license was taken and those licenses are much easier enjoyed when you don’t know that they are being employed. I’m glad I followed that advice. By seeing the movie first, my interest in all things Lionel Logue and King George VI was high and I was eager to learn the whole story.

My Review

Prior to Charles and Diana, one might have easily assumed that a royal life was a happy and stress-free life. That was most definitely not the case with Prince Albert, son of King George V. The young man who was to become King George VI had a terrible speech impediment that brought him ridicule as a child and caused him much distress into adulthood. Prince Albert, being the second son of King George V, was never intended to ascend to the throne. Still, as a member of the royal family, he was expected to make public appearances and speeches. With new technology making it possible to capture the spoken word and transmit it via radio across the British empire fast becoming popular, Prince Albert’s stuttering became increasingly difficult to work around. For years the royal family tried every possible thing that might bring a cure for Prince Albert’s stuttering without success.

1943 George VI half penny I picked up at an antique shop. It caught my eye.

It wasn’t until Lionel Logue entered the picture that Prince Albert found hope of progress, let alone a cure. Logue, an Australian man with a love of theater, happened upon speech therapy. He was not a medical doctor. He trained under another man who had some success working with people who had speech impediments. The training took a more behavioral approach to addressing speech impediments. At that time, doctors believed that there was a mechanical problem causing the problems. Logue soon found success with his own using this approach and his reputation in Australia grew. Eventually, he and his family emigrated to England, where he began seeing patients in his own practice. It was his reputation that caught royal notice. After so many failures in the past, it would be natural for Prince Albert to have begun working with Lionel Logue with some reluctance. In the end this meeting turned into a life-long association, one that impacted both men a great deal.

Simon Vance did a masterful job narrating The King’s Speech. Just as in the fiction, he brought the right tone and pacing to this book. I’m not a huge consumer of non-fiction. Just as with Columbine and Zeitoun, this is an example of how non-fiction can read much like fiction. It can keep you listening and wanting to know more. No matter what the genre, combining a book with just the right narrator can make for some of the best reading experiences you’ll ever have.

A 1937 George VI shilling I picked up at an antique shop. Couldn't resist.

From the moment began with the actual recording of the speech made by King George VI, I was keenly interested in The King’s Speech. Presented are two men from very different backgrounds, continents and life experiences. Although the monarchy was no longer a governing body, the British people needed a strong monarch to guide them through the violence, fear and chaos of World War II. Had it not been for an enterprising man from their own ranks, that might never have happened. When Lionel Logue served his King, he served his country that much more. As much as I loved watching Colin Firth blustering about Logue’s office cussing a blue streak (and you know I did very much), the truer portrait of both Logue and George VI was so much more interesting.

I give The King’s Speech my Seal of Approval. No other book has made me notice let alone buy old coins from an antique shop (it didn’t hurt that they weren’t expensive). My eyes were drawn to George VI.

Afterwards

One section of The King’s Speech that especially interested me was the section about D-Day. Bedford, VA, a city not far from where I live, lost the most men per capita of any other city in the country on D-Day. As a result, the National D-Day Memorial was built there. I see it every Sunday as I drive to church. When it was first opened, I took my parents there and we had the good fortune to meet and talk to a few of the “Bedford Boys” ourselves. It was clear how much this memorial meant to them.

I had originally wanted to post this review on D-Day, June 6th, but life got in the way. Even though today isn’t an anniversary, I thought I would share a few pictures from the Memorial. If you ever get a chance to make it out my way, you should be sure to see it.

This is what I see up on the hill as I drive to church every week. I don’t see the detail from the road, of course, but it’s an impressive site nonetheless.

This is one of the first sculptures you see. This is the first man to climb the wall. Behind and below this soldier are others fighting their way up.

This sculpture shows two soldiers who have made it out of the water and up on to the beach. This whole section is incredible in that they have simulated bombs exploding in the water as well as gunshots. This is something you will never forget.

The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder

Published by: HarperCollins

Published on: October 2010

Page Count: 200

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Reading Format: ARC sent to me by the publisher

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook (Kindle only, not currently available for Nook)

Erin Blakemore had a wonderful idea when she set out to write about some of her favorite literary heroines and their authors. The best part of this idea was the way she translated it into print for her readers.  I got so much from this book. Each chapter gave me the opportunity to relive my first experiences with Jane Eyre, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Jo March, Janie Crawford, Celie, and Scarlett O’Hara. What enriched the experience was the background on the authors. Who they were, how they lived, and why they wrote what they wrote.  The Heroine’s Bookshelf is a wonderful tool to begin thinking more deeply and critically about your favorite literary heroines – if you want to. Erin Blakemore certainly knows what it’s like and what it means to get competely lost with your heroines.

I haven’t yet met all of the heroines Erin Blakemore explored in The Heroine’s Bookshelf.  Half of them were new to me, such as Anne of Green Gables and the works by Collette.  As much as re-encountering some of my old favorites was, I wanted to get to know these new heroines as well.  I’m not the only one.  Janel at Bibliophibian is hosting a reading challenge.

My favorite feature of this book is the reading suggestions at the end of each chapter. They provide suggestions as to what type of situation is most conducive to reading a heroine and similar literary heroines if I’d like to explore a little more.  As such, it was my favorite Christmas gift this year, especially for young women.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have such a resource when you’re first finding yourself and can use guidance from someone else who has been there?

I read The Heroine’s Bookshelf on the plane on my way to Chicago in November.  It made for the perfect travel read.  Each chapter is self-contained and you can read them in any order without changing its impact.  I did read it in order even though I was jonesing to dive straight into Scarlett O’Hara’s chapter.  The anticipation and the self-control made it that much better.

If you ever find yourself in need of some building up in self, faith, happiness, dignity, family ties, indulgence, fight, compassion, simplicity, steadfastness, ambition, and magic, be sure to pick this book up.  There’s nothing a literary heroine can’t help you work through or overcome.  You might as well pick up two copies.  You’ll be giving this one away as gifts without a doubt. It’s a precious gift because it helps you see more clearly the heroine within.

Zeitoun

Published by: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Published on: June 2009

Page Count: 368

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Reading Format: Audiobook rented from my local library

Narrator: Firdous Bamji

Audiobook Length: 10 hours, 28 minutes

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. Eggers’s riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun’s roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy — an American who converted to Islam — and their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible. Like What Is the What, Zeitoun was written in close collaboration with its subjects and involved vast research — in this case, in the United States, Spain, and Syria.

I have a confession to make. The only reason I ever considered let alone read Zeitoun was because of the title. During the last Bloggiesta I realized that I’ve written a book with titles beginning with every letter of the alphabet with the exception of Z. On several occasions I put out feelers on Twitter for novels with titles meeting that one single requirement. Consistently people suggested Zeitoun. Still, I searched various book sites looking for even a half-way decent novel that fit. I found nothing.

It’s not that I’m not against reading non-fiction. Columbine is a book I can’t stop raving about. No, it was the idea of reading about the hardship and injustice surrounding hurricane Katrina that did not appeal to me in the least. Eventually, knowing that there was an empty Z out there on my library page began to outweigh my hesitancy. That my local library had an audiobook copy of it right out in the open on the very day that I finished On Beauty with nothing else at my disposal sealed it. I had at least 30 more minutes of drive time and I figured if nothing else, I can DNF it and then blog about why. What I found was that this coincidence was kismet. Before I stopped listening on that first drive I was kicking myself for not reading it sooner.

Throughout this book, a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin kept coming to mind:

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

When we allow fear to rule our lives, in times of disaster or no, there really can be no safety. Zeitoun and his experiences while staying behind when his family evacuated New Orleans is a testament to that.

Dave Eggers did a wonderful job bringing Zeitoun, Kathy, and pre/post-Katrina New Orleans to life. While reading the book I felt like the Zeitoun family were close friends, I was at all times fully engrossed in their story. When Zeitoun went missing, I felt like I was losing a brother or an uncle. He also did a great job of discussing the significant issues that arose with law enforcement and FEMA after the hurricane without using a hindsight is 20/20 attitude about it. Anyone can armchair quarterback the next day, the next month, or the next year. This was really one of my biggest concerns about picking up this book. I do not like to get preached to in my reading. There was none of that in Zeitoun.

One of the things I most appreciated about Zeitoun was the story surrounding Kathy’s conversion to Islam. Without stories like hers, it’s difficult to understand what might draw a person to that faith. It really was beautiful the way that she changed her life. Not only did she handle all of the communication and billing issues for the couple’s business, she was strong willed in other aspects of her life. While no one would want to deal with what she did, I felt that she handled each and every hurdle like no one else I know. She is someone I’d love to meet someday.

Zeitoun was narrated by Firdous Bamji. He is an actor by trade and a pleasant narrator. That he could easily pronounce the Syrian names and places really enhanced my reading. Had I not listened to this book, I think they would have been a stumbling block. I’m not even sure I would have pronounced Zeitoun the way he did without hearing it first.

If you are like me, and don’t like to read books that might be politically charge, I urge you to give Zeitoun a chance. It is an important book just as Columbine is. In order to learn from the past and never let it be repeated, you have to understand exactly went on in the first place. If you’re not like me but have just not yet picked it up, what are you waiting for? If you live in New Orleans and need work done on your house, I’d suggest you contact Zeitoun. You’ll be glad you did.

Other Voices

You know what I think, why not check out what other bloggers have to say?

Care’s Online Book Club
Erin Reads
Asylum
Books and Other Stuff
Melody&Words

Columbine

Published by: Grand Central Publishing

Published on: April 2009

Page Count: 443

Genre: non-fiction

My Reading Format: audiobook rented from my local public library

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook

As did most Americans, I followed the events of the Columbine massacre intently. I was shocked that anything on that scale could happen.  I continually listened to and watched the news for information on what happened and, most importantly, why it happened at all. More than 11 years later, I thought I knew the basics. What I found as a result of reading this book was that I knew pieces of misinformation provided via the media.  Retractions are never prominent and rarely have the impact of the original story. For example, Michael Moore apparently believed the myth that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went bowling the morning of the massacre. In his book, Dave Cullen strips away the myths, rumors, and untruths, bringing to life the facts leading up to, including, and following the Columbine massacre. Although non-fiction, Cullen’s writing is so engaging that, although I remembered that day and its aftermath pretty well, I was transfixed. I didn’t want to leave my car (I read the book via audiobook) because I just had to know exactly what happened next.

I spent a good deal of time talking about the book while I was reading it, but three things continue to come to mind even to this day: Cullen’s research into why Eric and Dylan did what they did, the reality of what they’d actually planned on doing, and the Klebold family (see my post from yesterday).

Much of the media focus and, therefore, myths surrounded the simple question “Why?” Cullen did not find much evidence to support the conventional wisdom that Eric and Dylan were bullied to the point of explosion. What he discovered was that Eric was a psychopath and Dylan was suicidal. The combination of these two personalities proved deadly.

I don’t want to go into any details regarding Eric and Dylan’s original intent. If you’ve not read the book, this discovery will prove to be some of its most dramatic moments. I would equate talking about it here to adding spoilers when reviewing a work of fiction. Suffice to say that it shocked me, had me talking about Columbine non-stop at work, and kept me up several nights thinking about it.

I rented the audiobook for Columbine from the library because I wanted to read it *now.*  It fit in more readily to my audiobook schedule than it ever would have in my neverending TBR pile. It’s narrated by Don Leslie, who did an outstanding job reading material that at times was hard enough to listen to – let alone read outloud. I would highly recommend him as a narrator. The person responsible for putting this book into Leslie’s capable hands was a genius.

Wow, how to sum up my thoughts and feelings about this book? I don’t think there has ever been a work of non-fiction that has had this effect on me. It opened my eyes to the way time and extreme crisis impacts memories. Cullen did a spectacular job of telling the story without taking sides. The factual tone of his writing says so much about the difference when people choose to let tragedy devour them versus let it challenge them to become better, stronger people. I don’t know how I could more highly recommend Columbine than to tell you that I bought it in paperback while I was listening to the library’s copy. I had to have a copy in my hands to keep.  I just had to.

Other Voices

You’ve read what I have to say.  Why not check out these bloggers’ reviews?

A Reader’s Respite
Letters on Pages>/a>
Dog Eared and Well Read
Reading Rants
Page 247
Book Journey
A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy
Start Narrative Here

I am currently listening to Dave Cullen’s Columbine. I actually had intended to start The Passage when I finished Voyager, but my request for Columbine came in at the library. Since I didn’t feel like ripping the 11 CDs and I had a deadline, I started Columbine. I just started the fifth CD and it is riveting. Although I know the ultimate outcome in terms of lives lost, I am glued to my car because of what I didn’t know and how it all came together.

What has struck me the most since I started listening has been the story of Dylan Klebold’s family. The mother of Brooks Brown, Dylan’s childhood friend, recalled one day during Dylan’s childhood when he freaked out when his friends laughed at him when he fell down during an outing. Ultimately Dylan’s mother needed to separate him to get him to calm down. My heart broke for her. One of my daughters is prone to tantrums, especially when she is tired. I cannot remember how may times my husband and I have had to isolate her to get her to calm down. I continuously wonder if I handle those times properly. How many times has Dylan’s mother thought of those types of events? Are those events the ones that come to mind when thinks about what happened? Dylan committed an unspeakable crime, but that doesn’t change the fact that his family lost a son and a brother, too. I listened to a description of the secretive funeral and cremation that followed. I’ve been thinking about how horrible that must have been for them – to know how their son/brother terrorized an entire community and that this does not change the fact that they love and miss him terribly.

How do families in those situations balance the shame and the grief? How do we as a society view them? Are they victims in their own right or are they to be shunned by association? To what extent are they to blame? To what extent should we look to them for blame? Does it depend upon the family and their reaction? I don’t know if there will ever be any cut and dry answers to those questions. In fact, it’s easy for me to even ask them at all because I have not lost a family member so violently. If I were in another place in my own life, I might not have give the Klebold family much for thought. I know I certainly didn’t think about them at the time. I have children now, though. I know how much you invest in them, how much you give of yourself to make a good, safe life for them. Sometimes that’s just not enough. Those who never have cause to be blamed or held accountable for their children’s actions are the lucky ones.

Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation

I am so over the seemingly endless supply of oh-so-serious books on growing, birthing, and raising children.  I’ve found that I leave those books feeling guilty and inadequate, especially those I read about childbirth and breast feeding.  I decided to no longer read them.  A prime example of this was when Allison was extremely colicky.  After days and days of trying whatever I could think of help her, I was at the point where I wanted to jump out the window.  I put her in her crib and picked up a book on breast feeding and caring for infants published by a pro-breast feeding organization.  In it I found the tiniest of sections about the subject.  I wish I had chucked the book against the wall as soon as I read the first line in that section.  It went something like this: “I’ve never raised a baby with colic, but… ”  In the end it basically said, “Don’t put your baby in the crib and walk away.  What if the very next thing you try is the thing brings your baby the comfort needed?” Talk about guilt and manipulation!  How could it possibly be beneficial for my children to bring them up when I feel that way?

While I’m sure that it is never the intent of the author, I truly believe that some of those pregnancy and parenting books do more harm than good.  There are those in which the agenda becomes more important than the individual.  This is not the case with Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation.  I just knew that it would be right up my alley when I read the prologue about her childhood and how her parents raised her. As a mother of daughters 5 and 7, I can take it all to heart.  The scene where Elizabeth’s father talks her out of a trip to Mexico without forbidding her to go gives me hope of making it through my daughter’s teen years.  I wish I had the moxie to put my thoughts about parenting on paper like Elizabeth Beckwith has.  Reading through it I am reminded of a pregnancy book, The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine. I wish I had read that book instead of the over-earnest crunchy-granola books that I did read at the time.  I would have come out emotionally stronger and better prepared for my life as a mother.

I haven’t finished reading this book yet, but after laughing my way through the first three chapters (and bits and pieces of the rest), I feel so much better about myself and my parenting. While guilt and manipulation may work to make your children behave better (ha!), Elizabeth realizes that it doesn’t do much at all for parents.  There is no need to feel miserable in the most important role of one’s life.  When it comes to parenting, I’m definitely on Team Beckwith.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life by Eve Brown-Waite

I enjoy reading memoirs from time to time.  It’s a nice break from the norm and, typically, the person writing the memoir has had an eventful, if not sad, life story to tell.  The first memoir I wrote about was A Girl Named Zippy, which was a wonderful story of growing up in the Midwest.  Although not everything smelled of roses for Zippy, her memoir is full of humor and is heartwarming.  I read The Glass Castle shortly thereafter.  Although Jeannette Wall’s life had a good deal of hardship, there was a touch of humor to it.  You could tell that she didn’t take herself terribly seriously.  The other memoirs I’ve read and reviewed here are more brooding, such as The Mistress’s Daughter and Without a Map.  They may not have had the humor of the others, but they provided insight and were cathartic for the author.  First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria most definitely falls into the first category.  Eve Brown-Waite tells of her struggle to marry the man of her dreams while taking a bite out of third world hardship is a hilarious, delightful, and hopeful read.

As a young adult, Eve seemed to live her life based upon declarations she had made.  At one point she announced that she would join the Peace Corps.  It’s not that she didn’t think that the Peace Corps performed a great deal of good work, but she ultimately makes the appointment to see the recruiter because she said that she was going to join and she didn’t want to look like a wimp.  What she doesn’t foresee is that she would fall in love with her recruiter and not want to leave him for two years.  The kicker is that it would be darn difficult to impress John, the Peace Corps poster boy, by chickening out of what brought them together in the first place.  Besides, being clingy would be a sure way to lose him.  So, off to Ecuador she went full of misgivings about her future with John. The road to destiny was a rough one, which the author mostly remembers with a smile.  There would be no memoir had they not ended up together, but the best part is the way that Eve writes about herself.  She is self-deprecating and continually second guesses herself, but the reader is able to catch of glimpse of the woman John met.  We knew that he wouldn’t be able to live without her, either.  What other woman would pack up and move with him to perhaps the most desolate and unsafe part of Uganda? While there, Eve is secure in her relationship with her husband, but getting a handle on life in Africa provided a new sort of insecurity.   She isn’t a natural housewife, but she doesn’t believe that she’ll be strictly a housewife for long.  Her background in AIDS prevention in the United States was a gift waiting to be opened in Uganda, or so she believed.  The people and organizations in Uganda didn’t see her as the gallant knight riding in with the answers she needed. What she found out that for the most part she was in Uganda to learn, not to teach.

Throughout this memoir, Eve’s style and sense of humor made exploring some less than exotic regions meaningful.  She clearly illustrated that people might live and play within very different cultures, but that humans were more alike than different, be they from South America, North America, or Africa.  There is, however, one notable exception (full disclosure – Literate Housewife is nearly 75% Dutch):

“I’d come to prefer the pilots who were Dutch, like Coby.  She was competent and full of common sense, which I’d come to think of as a Dutch trait.” ~ pg. 148

“I envied Coby’s lean, athletic body and had begun to think of her natural athleticism as another Dutch trait. Right up there with cheery competence and a fondness for cheese.” ~ pg. 162

In these two sections, she quite eloquently said what Egbert Dodde, my wise yet not quite so eloquent grandfather has taught me since birth:

“If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.”

He also often said that there were two types of people in this world: Doddes and those who only wish they could be Doddes – but that’s a whole other story.  Now that I think about it, I don’t remember the author mentioning anything about how naturally modest and humble the Dutch are. That’s curious.  I’m sure it’s in there some where…

In all seriousness, I do have a fondness for cheese. Can you tell that I had so much fun with this memoir?

In First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, Eve Brown-Waite shares about life and her experiences in other countries with humor and honesty.  Never once does she get preachy or self-righteous.  She doesn’t paint Peace Corps volunteers or others from the outside working in the Third World amazingly selfless heroes or holier than thou saints.  They are human beings who simply feel called to do what they do, no differently than the teacher, dentist, or computer programmer next door.  Nor does she write about those living in the Third World as simply victims of tyrannical governments or uncivilized heathens.  Everyone was well-rounded and flawed.  No one saved anyone, yet everyone saved each other. Eve was leading the charge and I loved her for it. You will, too.  This is a perfect memoir to read this summer.

******

To read this memoir, click here.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

84, Charing Cross Road has to be one of the most charming books I’ve read in a long time.  It also showed me how I assume almost everything I read is fiction.  It took me about a quarter of the book to think: “The American has the same name as the author.”  This book is a compilation of actual letters written between Helene, a starving American writer who loves high quality (read not American) used books, and the staff of the Marks & Co., Booksellers at 84, Charing Cross Road in London, England.  While a majority of the correspondence is between Helene and Frank Doel, a couple of his co-workers write to her on the sly.  Eventually, even his wife end up writing to Helene.  This relationship spans 40 years and is a testament to the friendships that can be made through the love of books.

This book, at just a scant 97 pages, was a quick read.  I bought it around lunch time on a Saturday afternoon and had it finished before dinner -  including time out for the family.  I loved the life and humor in the letters.  I loved the distinction between American ways of communicating and the more traditional and formal British.  Helene’s constant good-natured ribbing of Frank was so delightful.  Clearly Helene takes after my Dad’s family – they only tease the people they like.  The best example occurs after Frank inquires as to whether Helene would like him to send her a particular volume.  He was inclined to ask because she is on a tight budget, doesn’t much care for first editions, and she hadn’t previously requested it.  Here is Helene’s response:

he has a first edition of Newman’s University for six bucks, do i want it, he asks innocently.

Dear Frank:

Yes, I want it.  I won’t be fit to live with myself. I’ve never cared about first editions per se, but a first edition of THAT book –!

oh my.

i can just see it.

As with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this book highlighted the lost art of letters.  Just because we can now almost instantaneously communicate with nearly everyone around the world whenever we want to, it doesn’t mean that we haven’t lost something.  Today, I can email, text, or leave a comment on Facebook 24/7.  Because it takes so little effort, there is something lacking.  When all communication took days and weeks to arrive, I think people were more attentive to what they wrote.  They put more of themselves into the process.  I don’t need to take the time to be sure I’ve included everything anymore because following up is just another click away.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to receive emails, etc.  I always will.  They will never, however, replace a hand written or even typed letter.

I cannot say enough about 84, Charing Cross Road.  I so appreciate that Helene and the staff at Marks & Co. consented to publishing the letters.  As with The Uncommon Reader, this book is a tribute to readers everywhere. Although these letters began shortly after the end of World War II, the love of books and the kinship between book lovers is universal and timeless. This book is a treasure worthy of owning and reading repeatedly.

+++++

Slightly off topic: I attempted to buy this book the last time I was at a large, chain bookseller.  I couldn’t remember the author’s name, but I remembered the title.  After waiting 10-ish minutes at the Customer Service desk, they were unable to find the book in their database.  I had them try “84 Charing Cross Road” and “82 Charing Cross Road” (they made me second guess myself).  By the time we were both ready to give up, it was too late for me to wait again in line to purchase a book anyway.  After the kids went to bed that evening, I typed “Charing Cross Road” in to the same bookseller’s website.  First item returned? The movie.  The second item returned? The book.  Why in the world would a company make the in-store database so picky (only reason I can figure that they wouldn’t have found the book) while the website is so robust?  If I worked there I would be on the website.  Even then, how could a person working in a bookstore not know about this book????  Snarky, I know.  The proprietor at Printer’s Ink, my new favorite independent bookstore, didn’t know what I was talking about either.  Tsk. Tsk.

******

To buy this book, click here
.