My rating: 3 of 5 stars Not bad. The story has an interesting, but not original premise*: Frankie wants to get her parents’ (especially her father’s) approval. Green and naive, she becomes an army nurse and ships off to Vietnam. Why? Her brother’s friend, the wise and dreamy Rye tells her “Women can be heroes”. Gradually she realizes what a serious decision she made but still clings to her dream of making a difference in the world:
Back in the world, when Frankie had told her friendsthat she’d hoped to make a difference over here, hoped to make her family proud, they’d rolled their eyes and acted impatient with patriotism…” p. 52
Once she returns stateside, she has trouble reintegrating into everyday life, suffers from PTSD, and develops other side effects from the trauma. Eventually, after several personal setbacks and near disasters, she starts to heal.
However, I have some issues with the book. Some of the story beats are too coincidental. I won’t spoil the story, but I noticed it early in the book, on page 19, and several other imes. I consider this lazy storytelling. There are also some eye-rolling moments. For instance:
Ethel stood in the midst of the chaos like an Amazon goddess, directing traffic, poistioning the casualties, pointing out what to do with the wounded.”
(p. 26)
Had it always been like this? Had mom always been a shadow woman, held together by vodka and hair spray?”
(p.230)
I will come clean: I really did not like Frankie. There were points where I wanted to throw the book against the wall! I wrote notes to her: “BE ANGRY, NOT DRAMATIC!” but she did not listen to me. She kept making poor choices. Oh Frankie, when will you ever learn! And from my earlier description of him, I didn’t like Rye either. His charm and good looks are just a facade, Frankie!
Also, too much vomiting. Why?! As I have pointed out in previous blog posts, “Once is unnecessary, more than once is a big turn-off for me. Find another way to show that a character is upset. Need I say more?”
In contrast, some passages brought tears to my eyes. For instance, her interactions nursing wounded soldiers and the native children were heartwarming.
Frankie’s interaction with the native children on MEDCAP trips was the only insight into the local life. This seems culturally insensitive, Hannah keeps the story mostly centered on the insulated life of the medical center. From nights of non-stop incoming wounded (known as “MASCAL) bombings, or downtime life for Frankie revolves around the doctors and nurses, blood and guts…all playing out to a soundtrack of late 60’s music.
I was disappointed in the ending. Why must Frankie be saved by a returning, albeit broken prince? Hannah does this in other novels. For a novel that is supposed to be empowering for women, this ending is, in my opinion, contradictory as well as implausible.
It makes for a good book club choice. Some people found the book engrossing, others agreed with me, especially about the ending.
*My final thought: This is a well-intentioned story that is a cross between Mash and China Beach but with less likable, less developed characters.
And there it was: remembrance mattered. She knew that now; there was no looking away from war or from the past, no soldiering on through the pain.”
In 1990, children’s author Rudine Sims Bishop wrote an essay explaining the need for diverse books in classrooms and libraries. Books as mirrors are those in which we see aspects of ourselves and windows in which we can glimpse possibilities and new worlds. They can also be “sliding glass doors” that open us to empathy, new ways of thinking, new ideas, and new possibilities. (Bishop, 1990, Potter, 2023)
Literature is a powerful tool for building empathy, understanding, and compassion in our students.”
(Potter, 2023)
As an educator, I tried to include as many diverse books as possible. (See my blog post “We Need Diverse Books- What’s in your Classroom Library? from July 2020.) As an adult reader, I was comfortable with my favorite genres, some that were mirrors, and some that were windows or sliding glass doors- historical fiction, detective novels, and of course, classics of the “canon”. I often read culturally diverse books published in America. The lives of “so-called minority groups- Latinos, Afro-Americans, Asian- Americans, Native Americans” (Rudine, 1990) provide a window through which I can connect to ways of being American that are outside my experience. They deepened my understanding of what it means to be an American.
Books about Diverse American Communities
The Last Story of Mina Lee, in which a Korean American woman gets to know her mother through the immigrant community her mother left behind.
The Cemetary of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez and “The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz, both tell of the struggles within the Dominican-American communities after leaving the Trujillo regime.
“A Fall of Marigolds” by Susan Meissner tells of a young nurse working on Ellis Island who meets many immigrants whose hopes for the future are dashed when they become sick before entering the United States.
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines is set in a small Cajun community and tells of the last days of a young black man condemned to death. The book has a strong sense of place and explores what it means to be human in a society that sees you as less than human.
The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is the story of first-generation Chinese and Japanese teenagers whose lives change after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as both their communities come under suspicion by not only their non-Asian neighbors but by the government as well. Along with the beautiful love story, I enjoyed the influence of art and music in the story. The writing also evokes a strong sense of place- Seattle in the 1940s.
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok is the story of a Chinese woman who leaves her rural village and comes to New York in search of her daughter who was taken from her at birth.
The Manucurist’s Daughter by Susan Lieu is a memoir of a Vietnamese-American woman whose parents were boat people who came to the United States in 1983. The author explores her family’s immigrant experience and the complex reasons her “fierce, successful and feminist” mother felt she needed the tummy tuck that led to her death.
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden is the first book I have read about life on a reservation. It has inspired me to learn more about it. The author provides recommended reading In the “author’s note”. As a thriller, it delivered! The story was well-written and the characters were interesting. The author created names such as “Delia Kills in Water” and Virgil Wounded Horse, and eventually, it becomes evident what the names represent. This added an extra layer of interest for me, as I anticipated the “reveal” for each character. And, a satisfying ending.
About 10 years ago I challenged myself to read more books in translation. As an undergraduate, I read books in French and Italian, including but not limited to Dante, Pirandello, Sartre, Camus, and Voltaire. I found these books to be windows into other worlds, but surprisingly they were mirrors; I sometimes marveled at how I could relate to the feelings and experiences of people from different countries and centuries. I suspect that is why ancient mythology has endured!
Why is this important for adult readers? By reading about other “communities”, we can have a more enriched view of the human experience. We are not as different as we think! As a window, I can learn about life, traditions, music, and culture, in other countries. These books can serve as a sliding glass door- when I read about an interesting dish characters are eating, I have often looked up a recipe and tried to make it! Interestingly, I have also read these books and found them to be mirrors. I see my hopes, dreams, and regrets in the characters who live in settings I may never see. These books are not originally published for American audiences but for their community. Finding commonalities outside our community is a way of building empathy and understanding.
A community that is safe, comfortable, and trusting can be so enticing that individuals can forget about the world outside of their community, or regard other communities with subtle prejudices.” (What is community, and why is it important? 2005)
Where to start? Many classics can be found in translation, such as those mentioned above, as well as these on my desk right now: “The Decameron” by Boccaccio, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky, and The Metamorphosis by Kafka. I would even include Maybe you want something more “modern”.
If you have been following my blog, you may know that I am reading the “Mario Conde” series by Leonardo Padura. This series is set in Cuba circa 1989. Although Conde is a detective, the crimes he investigates are McGuffins that impel him on his journey back to following his dream of being a published author. His obsession with rum, women, rock & roll, and baseball are motifs that set the tone of regret: a sorrowful tale of lost love, regrets, and dying dreams. How many of us have ever felt this way about life?
Some modern books and authors in translation : (this is a short list of suggestions)
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (Chile) although 40 years old, still seems relevant. The country is never mentioned, it is a thinly disguised account of Chile in the 20th century and the rise of the Pinochet regime.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Sweden) I laughed and cried in equal measure as I read this book about the curmudgeonly “neighbor from hell”.
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands by Jorge Amado (Brazil) This book delves into the fook and culture of Brazil. After Dona Flor’s husband dies, she goes to cooking school and eventually meets a new love…but her late husband has different ideas!
If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino (Italy) This is on my TBR. A Goodreads review calls it “a gloriously funny” book about books and readers.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Mexico) “A Novel in Monthly Installments With Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies”. And magic realism…
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (France) While not exactly modern, I recommend this book about a woman who never seems satisfied with her circumstances… especially her love life, which she compares to those in her romance novels. This leads to terrible consequences for all.
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (Japan) Shimamura, “an idler who inherited his money” visits the snow country to write, visit the hot springs, and collect beautiful woven cloth. Komako, a young, troubled geisha, falls in love with him, but he cannot return the emotion. It seems he lives his life from afar. This book could be read multiple times and layer upon layer will be revealed.
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (Russia) Although you may have seen the movie, I recommend reading this romantic, epic novel about the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann (Germany/Switzerland) This book, written in 1924, is considered by many to be one of the most important books of the 20th century;Â I will leave it to you, dear readers to make your own opinion about that. Hans Castorp leaves his “flat-land” home in Germany and travels to a tuberculosis sanatorium in the mountains of Switzerland. What began as a visit became a seven-year stay. The “veil” is drawn and he becomes a hermetic somnambulist, on the “magic mountain”, losing all connection to his former life, only to “awaken” suddenly, like a modern-day Rip Van Winkle.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Columbia) “Gabo” (as his fans call him), is one of my favorite authors. Try this shorter novel before delving into the more dense books. Everyone in town knew a murder was to take place, but no one stopped it. Was the murder a “psychological accident” or an act of honor?
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (Japan) is a quirky account of Keiko, a young woman who has tried (and failed) to fit in all her life. She finds purpose working in the convenience store, but for friends and family this makes her a “social dropout”. Friends and family pressure her to strive for more…a career, husband, and family. Will these changes make her feel more useful? Can she give up the convenience store?
Drive Your Plow over the Bones of Your Dead by Olga Tokarcsuk (Poland) This literary whodunit novel brings a sense of being in an enchanted European forest. Janina, elderly, solitary, and her friends Dizzy, Oddball, and Good News become entangled in a string of murders in and around a small Polish village. All is not as it seems…
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru) This “hilarious, mischievous, and masterful” book recounts an affair that Marito has with his Aunt Julia (by marriage) while working for a radio station with a coworker who is slowly going insane.
Readers may ask why I did not include books written in and about England. I struggled with that as I wrote this post. In short, we are mostly an Anglophilic country when it comes to mainstream society, especially literature. The theme of this post is exploring literature that is more written for communities that are foreign to us, thereby expanding our capacity for empathy as well as our horizons. There are countries in which the national language is English but whose culture is “foreign” to most Americans. I will include some here.
“Foreign” Books published in English:
The Dubliners by James Joyce (Ireland) What is there left to say about this great literary work? Buy it, read it, reflect, and read it again!! Although it has been read and discussed for over 100 years, each reader will have their own relationship with the book- recognizing similar characters, thoughts, and situations in their lives. That’s what makes it timeless!
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Ireland ) is a beautiful book about what it means to be human…doing the right thing, even when that is more difficult than just looking the other way. It is short and bittersweet, and the ending is perfect.
Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch (Ireland) It’s 1832 and Coll Coyle has killed the wrong man. Absolutely engrossing. Beautifully written. The characters endure heartbreaking loss and experience inexplicable violence. The voice of Sarah gives the story unforgettable humanity.
Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor (Ireland) In the bitter winter of 1847, from an Ireland torn by famine and injustice, the Star of the Sea sets sail for New York. On board are hundreds of refugees, some optimistic, many more desperate. Also on board is a killer. I couldn’t put it down. It was thoroughly engaging… and never predictable. I highly recommend it.
My Sister the Serial Killer by Braithwaite Oyinkan (Nigeria) The author’s portrayal of a gorgeous, captivating psychopathic killer made this psychological thriller a book I could not put down. It explores family secrets, sibling rivalry, and loyalty. How far would you go to protect those you love?
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (India) Goodreads describes this as a book that “takes on the Big Themes—Love. Madness. Hope. Infinite Joy”. The beautiful writing sets a strong sense of place in Kerala, a lush and foreboding place. The book also features tragic, memorable characters.
In conclusion, I will close with a quote that summarizes the need to open ourselves up to the experiences of other communities rather than remaining insulated in only those things that are familiar and comfortable:
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
There are two types of people in this world, Mary: people with time to sit under the trees, looking up at the sky and pondering life… and those who end up hanging from those same trees, looking down on the life they might have had, had they been born different. You were born different, by the grace of God, so you get to choose.”
p. 52
I was very hopeful for this book. Although not completely original, the book’s description had all the ingredients for a novel that would tackle issues of race, fame, birthright, and family… just to name a few. Would it answer questions such as “At what price Hollywood?” and “What is racial identity?What does it mean to be Black/White?”
I say this because this debut novel promised to mix elements of “Passing” by Nella Larsen, “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett, and “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid as well as “A Star is Born” from the fresh voice of Crystal Smith Paul. Unfortunately, poor editing, problems with continuity, and flat characters made it a disappointing BOTM selection. I will give some examples. 1. Confusing/ poorly written lines: “Elise never went to sleep, and she wasn’t the only one.” (p. 1.) That evening? Habitually?
“Nathan had been obsessed with his wife and never embraced her professional life outside of acting,” (p. 90) What does that mean? It is never explained.
“Some said she stared, but if you knew her, you understood her interest was a compliment- most people she just looked right through.” (p. 352) Huh?
Taking water from the filtered tap… (OK, we know they are rich. Of course, the water is filtered.)
“Elise was, however, the most unusual-looking of the trio, with eyes that changed from dark blue with her moods. They’d been steel gray for weeks now, unenthused by life.” (p. 10) Was Elise unenthused, or were her eyes unenthused?
2. Continuity- many instances but I do not want to spoil the story, so I will provide minor examples: On one page the character is wearing a dress with a lace collar, but on the next, she is adjusting her suit jacket. I know this seems silly to point out, but it is distracting. As well as: “Elise never went to sleep, and she wasn’t the only one.” “Sara slept so much Elise had usually felt compelled to check on her…” Wait..what?
3. Grammar mistakes: “My momma raised Laurie and me up in the same way…” (p. 211) “They met every week to trade information, organize and fellowship.” (p. 235) “How does her gifting her estate to my sisters and I seem like coercion?” (p. 372) This one had two errors! Yikes!!
4. Unrealistic or confusing story beats… I can’t include examples unless I include spoilers… but I did make a note of them! (For instance, the whole concept of the Blair House was hard to buy into., and all the machinations were hard to follow) This kept me looking back through the book to clarify the facts/timeline in the story.
One, thing, in particular, is confusing… Nathan and Kitty work on “The Misfits”, a movie by Telescope Pictures, a fictional studio. Perhaps the author and editors did not know that this is the name of a real movie, released in 1961, written by Arthur Miller, and directed by John Huston, starring both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable (the last films for both stars). I kept thinking that this would develop into a relationship between Kitty Karr and Marilyn Monroe or Clark Gable.
5. Flat characters… Elise and Kitty are somewhat developed, but the rest of the characters are one-dimensional and forgettable.
Elise starts out rather shallow and does grow (a bit) but is unlikable until the end:
with ten years of acting and five hundred million dollars in box office sales under her belt, Elis’s life hadn’t belonged to her in years. Sometimes the emotional restraint it took to conceal her unhappiness was just a hair away from masochism.” (p. 4)
good luck finding an available seamstress to work on an eight-thousand-dollar gown hours before the Oscars. Refusing to panic, though she was starting to sweat… she stepped out of the dress and fetched the joint from the sill of the rose window. To the surprise of the room, after lighting it she offered it to no one, not even her sisters.”
P. 398
The author gives more insight into Kitty’s feelings and motivations., but not always:
“Kitty had uninstalled all the overhead lights because they reminded her of being onstage. The result was a tomblike environment Kitty found comforting.” (p. 89) Why? it is never explained.
6. Too much vomit. Once is unnecessary, more than once is a big turn-off for me. Find another way to show that a character is upset. Need I say more?
7. It became extremely political in places, which is ok, but readers should be aware before they pit. The ending seemed far-fetched, but hey, it’s fiction, and in fiction, we are allowed happy endings.
I was surprised that most readers were not bothered by any of this. It was a Goodreads Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2023) and Best Debut Novel (2023). Why get an editor… as the narrator observes:
The whole thing could come crashing down…But Elise had decided weeks ago to let the chips fall where they may- to wing it. She figured the details would work themselves out. That was the American way. “
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a boy who wanted to be a writer…His heroes were Ernest Hemingway, Carson McCullers, Julio Cortazar, and JD Salinger.” p. 111
At 35, Mario Conde, “the Count” laments the state of his life… a policeman who dreams of being a writer. How did he wind up in this life? He can’t understand it. He and his friends had such dreams… This is the heart of the story…the murder of a teacher at Conde’s high school (“Pre-Uni) brings about reminisces of his time there. What could he and his friends be if they still had their time again?
Nobody can imagine what night-time is like for a policeman. Nobody can know what ghosts visit him, what hot flushes assail him, the hell where he simmers on a slow burner, or where fierce flames shoot around him. The act of closing your eyes can be a cruel challenge, conjuring up troublesome figures from the past, who never leave your memory, who return, night after night, with the tireless regularity of a pendulum. Decisions, mistakes, acts of arrogance, and even the frailties of generosity return like irredeemable sins to haunt a conscience marked by each petty act of infamy committed in the world of the infamous.” p. 26
This, and a new love brings about an existential crisis for the Count…
I dream I could dream other happy dreams, build something, possess something, hand something on, receive and create something: write. But it’s the futile delirium of a man who feeds on what has been destroyed, That is why a policeman’s loneliness is the most fearful loneliness: it accompanies his ghosts, sorrows, guile…” p. 28
This book, as well as the previous one in the series, “Havana Blue”, is not a typical detective novel. The crime is a McGuffin, a backdrop that helps move the story of the Count’s sorrowful tale of lost love, regrets, and dying dreams. As he reflects, “writing is very difficult, that writing is something almost sacred and even painful”, and that being a policeman has sapped all his emotional energy. Finally, there is this to contemplate…the Count’s rumination on death:
There is nothing,…the mere idea that man’s time on earth is a brief interlude between two voids has been humanity’s greatest source of anguish since it became conscious of its existence. That’s why I can’t get accustomed to death and it always surprises and terrifies me: it’s a warning that mine is getting closer.” p. 233
Creating something will be a way of leaving a legacy for the future. Would he ever write again? Will he ever become a writer?
He thought it alarming how easily heaven and earth could combine to crush a man like a sandwich about to be chomped painfully”. p. 285
5 stars and looking forward to the next book in the series, “Havana Red”. The translator is British and the translation reads well.
“Literature is a long conversation through time and space.”
Barbara Kingsolver
Although this book is intellectually stimulating and well-written, its bleakness can be depressing. In her introduction, Kingsolver speaks of the inspiration for this novel. She had finished a tour for her last book and was grappling with the subject for the next one. She knew that she wanted to write about opioid addiction. She knew “any novel worth your time and mine should concern itself with the problems that keep us awake at night.” She just did not know how to present it. In the introduction to the Barnes and Nobles Exclusive Edition, Kingsolver recounts how the story of Demon Copperhead came about. She was staying at an inn that was once Bleak House, the seaside residence of Charles Dickens, and was allowed to explore the house and even sit at the desk where Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield. While looking out at the sea, she realized that this was also Dicken’s view while he wrote the novel that was “closest to his heart.” She then had an “ethereal visit” and felt
“a ghost of outrage past, suggesting I was a coward if I couldn’t risk telling the stories that matter most. Whether or not people want to hear about such things. It’s the artist’s job to make them want to hear.”
Barbara Kingsolver
A voice told her: “Look to the child”. Was this Dicken’s permission to rewrite David Copperfield to tell a tale of misery about the Appalachian mountains, “a beautiful, rural place” in which she grew up, now a place where an entire generation of kids are growing up a product of families destroyed by prescription drug abuse. With Dickens’ approval, she has it all here: every major character is rewritten in this tale of childhood trauma and eventual resilience. If you are interested in comparing the original to this version, I recommend this link as a place to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Copperhead
Reading the original is not a prerequisite for this book. Just beware. This is not feel-good fiction. Along with an exploration of the opioid crisis in Appalachia, the characters discuss the economic tragedy brought about by the mining industry, the education system in the region, society’s denigration of their lifestyle as “hillbilly” culture, and the social/historical aspects of Melungeon people, and lastly, the role of art as a means for societal change.
Kingsolver feels that Dickens would approve. In her acknowledgments, she starts with the following paragraph:
“I’m grateful to Charles Dickens for writing David Copperfield, his impassioned critique of insitiutional poverty and its damaging effects on children in his society. Those problems are still with us. In adapting his novel to my own place and time, working for years with his outrage, inventiveness, and empathy at my elbow, I’ve come to thinkof him as my genius friend.”
Barbara Kingsolver
Charles Dickens (Getty Images)
This book is a selection chosen for both book clubs I belong to. For the most part, the members of my book club liked the book. Some have read David Copperfield, but most have not. Some are now planning to read it. Several members were a little put off by the language. The author was looking for authenticity in her writing. Overall, this book provided content and style for a great discussion! 4 out of 5 stars not only for the utter bleakness of the book but for the ending!
Lovelearning 