Category: Uncategorized

Families and dysfunction

kim.harwanko

Some of us have either been to or have heard about parties that get way out of control especially in our younger years. Taylor Jenkins Reid takes this idea and juxtaposes it with the break down of a family in her latest novel Malibu Rising.

Four siblings living together in Malibu are preparing to host their annual epic party. There’s Nina, the oldest and the glue that holds the family together after their mother died, then Jay, Hud and the youngest Kit, still in high school. They are the children of legendary singer Mick Riva (think Frank Sinatra).  

Every hour leading up to the party we are given glimpses into the siblings past and present. With the clock ticking preparations are speeding up and so is the story’s tension as we learn all about the father that abandoned his children to fend for themselves and the extreme sacrifice that some made to keep the children together.

The party destroys the binds to their past enabling each of them to rise up and become the adults they were meant to be.

Our book club enjoyed the book. It’s a fast read with great tension. We talked about how Nina gave up her teenage years to become a mother to her siblings. Her willingness to sacrifice for the good of the family. How that probably wouldn’t happen in today’s world and what a lost that would have been for them.  We also talked about the responsibilities of parents. And then we talked about some crazy-ass parties we’ve been too.  We think you’ll enjoy this book.

Rating: 7.5

Photo by Lisha Riabinina on Unsplash

Family Secrets

kim.harwanko

Coben brings Win, Windsor Horne Lockwood III, out of mothballs and onto center stage in this self-titled adventure. Even though Coben’s books don’t lend themselves to great discussions at book club, we all love them.  And it’s good to read something fun and enjoyable. Besides he’s a Jersey boy.

How a family can lie to cover its secrets?  Win gets involved in a case with connections back to his family. He peels back the layers of lies and coverups and discovers a tragic truth. A painting belonging to Win’s family had been recovered at a home where a man was killed. Win has no idea who the man is or how he got that painting. Then the dead man turns out to be a member of a radical left group responsible for the killing of seven people decades earlier. Already intrigued, he becomes obsessed when his favorite cousin’s kidnapping around the same time is connected.

I prefer Win as Myron Bolitar’s sidekick. The two complement each other to perfection. Myron’s grounded character gives Win some great comic moments and curbs his egomania to somewhat acceptable levels. Win in a whole novel is a lot to take.

Our book club talked about the decisions made by family members and how they can affect several generations – the sins of the father, so to speak. We also talked about how lies grow and take on a life of their own.  Fun read but not great discussion.

Rating: 7.5

Photo: Vermeer’s The Milkmaid, Rijksmuseum

Broken Land/Broken People

kim.harwanko

Living through a disaster like the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s is unimaginable.  But we have become accustomed to nature’s fury. Every one of us has experienced the terrible destruction and the aftereffects of tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, tsunamis, fire, and/or flooding.  So, we have a deeper appreciation for what those people went through especially after this last year of Covid. The duration of that disaster was catastrophic, however, lasting a decade. Farmers lost their property; towns lost their citizens as the tragedy continued year after year. People took refuge in California – 2.5 million people left Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas. The refuges were called okies and lived in shantytowns working for pennies a day.

The Dust Bowl exposed a nasty side of nature and of us. The scientists/farmers managed to fix the problem with the land, but have we fixed our humanity. The author has used this historical setting to tell the story of a brave and lonely woman in this bleak backdrop.

The protagonist, Elsa Wolcott, goes from one bad situation to another beginning with her unloving parents. She is friendless and insecure. How could she not be? Her family casts her off without a second glance.  Her life is one bad turn after another. She earns respect and love through these hardships. We cheered her on and wanted that fairytale ending for her and well – you’ll have to read the book.

Our book club read The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah right after we had all been vaccinated. It was our first time being all together since the following summer.  We were so excited to see each other again that discussion of the book was unfortunately minimal. We liked the book because the author grabs you right from the beginning and doesn’t let you go. We talked about the difference in how people handle the Covid crisis and how the Californians dealt with the refugees. In our small part of the world, people were compassionate and caring and helped each other during Covid. This book illustrates just how bad society can be. We agreed that more empathy would help all of us be better human beings.

Rating: 8.5

Untamed

kim.harwanko

Glennon Doyle’s unique gift of relating the moments of her life in an upbeat remarkable way keeps you turning the pages till the very end like an encouraging sermon on a Sunday morning. “If you are uncomfortable – in deep pain, angry, yearning, confused-you don’t have a problem, you have a life. Being human is not hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.” It’s hard but it’s so worth it.

Our book club picked this book as we were coming out of the pandemic for its optimistic tone.  We were weary of the bad news, the politics and the negative vibe streaming off everything.  Unfortunately, we still zoomed our meeting, which is never the same as being in person.

Some of the members didn’t like the book.  They felt it was too preachy.  Others didn’t like the underlying politics.  But most of us thoroughly enjoyed the book.

As we are all empty nesters now, we have past the stage of parenting children and all their activities.  We are out of the community spotlight – so to speak.  It’s a different stage and we’d love to see what Doyle writes when she’s at our age. We’ve been there and done that. Not all of us have come to the same understandings through our experiences but we are trying to see issues from different points of view. Age is good that way.

During our discussion, some of us talked about the pain/issues we were presently undergoing, and some told stories of past issues.  When you feel comfortable to share its a great way to unload some of that heavy baggage and we all have baggage. After all, book club is always good for sharing and cleansing and some books really inspire good communication. This one did.

Rating: 8.0

Against All Odds

kim.harwanko

Covid and crawdads – who would have thought of any connection between them. But this month our book club pick seemed so appropriate.  Isolation was a theme we all understood after this long, fearful year. 

Now imagine you’re a young girl and all alone. No one to love and nurture you.  One by one Kya’s family left home. First, at age six, her mother. Followed by her siblings and finally her drunken father. She had to prevail over unbelievable odds from an incredibly young age.

Kya’s coming-of-age story takes place in the marshes of North Carolina. Imagine the loneliness of a 10-year-old girl living by herself.  Shunned by the locals who nicknamed her “marsh girl,” she learns to take care of herself. Kya is helped by a few people like Jumini, his wife and a young man named Tate.

Her story of survival coincides with an investigation into the untimely death of Chase Andrews, a married man, who had dated Kya. The authorities and Chase’s mother are convinced that he was murdered. The story twists and turns like traversing the backwaters of the North Carolina’s marshes. Some of our members guessed the end and others were shocked by it.

A lot of controversary surrounds the book – critics abound. It is a bit unbelievable but so what. Delia Owens writes so lyrically about the marshes that I wanted to visit and that’s definitely not something I ever wanted to do.

Our book club liked the book, and we had some good discussions regarding the setting and the time period (the book was set in late 1950-1960’s). And, of course, the ending, which I don’t want to spoil here.  It’s a good discussion book for book clubs. 

Enjoy.

Rating: 8.0

Photo by Dave Chambers on Unsplash

When family disintegrates

kim.harwanko

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

As the weather chilled and the leaves started to turn color, so did our taste in books.  We chose The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

What makes a family? Having dinner every Sunday at mom’s house? Genetics? What bond ties a family together? These were the conversations we had at book club about this superb book.

Mallard, Louisiana was home to light-skinned blacks who didn’t marry “dark.”  The Vignes’ twins, Desiree and Stella, were raised that way. One traumatic night their father was ripped out of their home by a gang of white men for no reason and lynched. This atrocious event scared the twins in different ways and at sixteen they ran away to New Orleans. But after only one year Stella left, disappeared without one word to her twin sister. The book then splits following each twin on their life course.

This book plunges beyond the surface of its characters down to their souls, laying bare their shattered lives.

We talked about how an event in our past affects the present.  How it impacts our daily decisions. We were intrigued by their story and wanted to find out more about the twins. Did they find happiness? Do they reunite?

Great book for discussion, which, of course, is always what book club is all about.

Rating: 8.5

Photo by Kool C on Unsplash

Something Scary in the Woods

kim.harwanko

Harlan Coben crafts another captivating mystery with The Boy from the Woods. His novels are enjoyed by our entire book club. And he’s a Jersey boy – always a plus.

The protagonist of Coben’s latest whodunit is Wilde who thirty years earlier was found in the woods of New Jersey. In a throwback to Tarzan, he had been living like a wild animal and had no memory of where he came from or what his name was.  The townspeople called him Wilde.

Fast forward to present and he is asked by Hester Crimstein, a criminal TV attorney, to probe into the disappearance of a teenage girl named Naomi Pine, a friend of her grandson. Wilde is a security expert with unique abilities to investigate and solve difficult cases. His is also a friend of Hester and her family. 

Nothing’s as it seems in the search for the missing teenager.  But what fun would it be if it were.

Coben’s books don’t usually lend themselves to intense discussion. However, we love to talk about the twists and turns and who saw what coming and so on.  Mysteries are so much fun.

We all agreed at book club that we wanted Wilde to search for his parents/relatives.  Who the hell left a young boy in the woods? That to us was the biggest secret of all.  Maybe there’s a second book being planned for Wilde and we’ll get our answer then.

Rating: 7.5

I came across this video of Harlan talking about the book and thought I’d share it – https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/harlan-coben/the-boy-from-the-woods/9781538748169/

Photo by Niilo Isotalo on Unsplash

Summer Breeze

kim.harwanko

Jennifer Weiner is a favorite storyteller of some of our book club members.  We enjoyed Mrs. Everything last year and so for our August book club we read Big Summer.  

The novel begins with Daphne Berg, who is a plus-size woman trying to capitalize on her writing and creative abilities by showcasing her zaftig figure in a positive way drawing online support and creating her own community.  What could possibly go wrong?

The influencer idea came from a particularly cruel “mean girl” type of event instigated by her then best friend, Drue Cavanaugh.  Years later, Drue comes back into Daphne’s life and begs her to be her maid of honor at her upcoming wedding.  Huh?

Drue, the extremely rich, beautiful socialite didn’t have any real friends. At least, that’s what she told Daphne.  And she really needed her to be in the wedding.  Drue didn’t trust anyone else.  Daphne would be able to post all the events surrounding the wedding and even had an upcoming designer had agreed to dress her for the part. As we read the book, we were all screaming – don’t do it, but w’ere older and allegedly wiser.

After Daphne agrees to do this favor for Drue, all sorts of crazy things start happening.  The story line even has a murder in it. 

Weiner beautifully captures Cape Cod and the complications of female friendships especially younger women.  We would have loved more of that and less of the murder.  Weiner has a lovely, young, bubbly way of creating these moments that are so believable and accessible.  We want more of that!

Our book club talked about the social media circus and how fortunate we are not to be so engaged in it. We post on Facebook and some a little on Instagram, but cautiously.  We do choose to live out loud but not so much online. An easy, breezy read.

Rating: 7

Photo by Alexandra Lowenthal on Unsplash

Beyond The Ghetto Gates

kim.harwanko

Beyond the Ghetto Gates tells the harrowing story of the Jewish people in Ancona, Italy during Napoleon’s invasion through the eyes of a young Jewish maiden named Mirelle.  

Forced out of her father’s beloved workshop by the Rabbi, Mirelle struggles to confirm. She is told that her time is better spent learning to be a good wife from her mother.  A woman is unfit for the job after all.

In the meantime, the Catholics in Ancona grow increasingly anxious with the approaching French army, blaming the Jews. They lash out, killing, and destroying, and cause great suffering. Mirelle and her family try to pick up the pieces as the French army arrives.

With Napoleon’s capture of Ancona, the ghetto gates used to segregate the Jewish people are destroyed, and the French troops do away with the civil limitations imposed on the Jews, at least for a while. 

The story also follows two French soldiers, Daniel and Christophe. Lifelong friends, Daniel is Jewish, and Christophe is Catholic (but not practicing). They cross paths with Mirelle and her best friend, Dolce. A love story takes shape and a marriage proposal for Mirelle. Although, not the one she imagined.

Francesca, a married, devout Catholic woman living in Ancona adds another dimension to the story.  She is torn between her religion and her marriage vows.

We love escaping into the past with a good book.  And Beyond the Ghetto Gates was just the story to bring us back in time to the city of Ancona, Italy in 1796. We chose this as our book club pick for June and everyone loved it.  We had a Zoom meeting with the author, Michelle Cameron and asked all sort of questions about the origins of the book, the research as well as the characters. We highly suggest this book for other book clubs.

By the way, did you know that Napoleon wasn’t really short? 

Rating: 8.5

Teaching in the Time of Desegregation

kim.harwanko

We had the pleasure of spending an evening, via Zoom, with author, Eileen Harrison Sanchez for our book club, Between Friends. It’s so much fun when you host an author. We were able to get all the background for the novel, as well as answers to those questions that always pop up when you a read a good book. 

Freedom Lessons is Eileen’s personal account of her time spent in a small rural town, Kettle Creek, Louisiana. A few years earlier the U.S. Supreme Court mandated that schools desegregate, but by 1969 many had not. Eileen spent one-school year as a teacher for an African American school when it was directed to integrate into a white school in the same town. The integration took place at the last possible moment (overnight in fact) to not lose its federal funding.

Eileen decided to tell the story through the eyes of a young white teacher (Colleen), a black teacher (Evelyn) and a black student (Frank).  This gave depth to the story and we had a chance to see the effects of this move on the town and its students.  

The author taught second grade during her time in Louisiana and struggled to supply her students with basic materials and books. She was creative and managed to improvise with game playing and performance motivating techniques. Eileen reached out to her students’ parents and worked with them to get library cards for her students. It helped her gain their trust, which was not an easy thing to do at that time in the South.

In the current environment this is a wonderful book for book clubs to read and to start the discussion on racism. All of us enjoyed the book and, of course, speaking with Eileen.  We had lots of questions about her time in Louisiana and how she continued her efforts to seek fairness in the education for all ethnicities throughout her long teaching and administrative years.

We recommend the book and are happy we had the opportunity to meet such an empathic warrior who was brave enough to do the right thing.

Rating: 8.5