52 Books in 52 Weeks: Books 24, 25 & 26

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi, Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

In honor of summer, I’ve taken a break from my usual literary diet of nonfiction and have begun delving into some of the novels my daughter recommended. It’s been a great diversion, and I am rediscovering the joy of diving into someone else’s life and immersing myself in it.

Stones from the River takes place in Germany, spanning the years that include the rise and fall of the Nazis. The main character is a young woman who is a dwarf, and focuses on her personal struggles to fit in against a larger backdrop of an entire society that no longer “fits in” to Hitler’s worldview. Thoroughly captivating, often heartbreaking, this was one that I hated to finish.

Ellen Foster is a short book, written from the perspective of a simple girl in the rural South who has grown up in an extremely dysfunctional family and has seen way too much. But the real hero is the foster family from whom she appropriates her surname.

Black and Blue is a book it turns out I’ve read before, but it was worth rereading. I always enjoy Anna Quindlen’s novels, and her descriptions of the heroine’s day-to-day life made my palms sweat, knowing that danger lurked right around the corner. To say I was disappointed with the ending is an understatement, but then abuse seldom has a happy ending.

I’m looking forward to some more beach reads this summer!

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 23 - Dirty Secret

Dirty Secret by Jessie Sholl

Bugs. That is what I will forever remember about this book, which I picked up because of my interest in (OK, obsession with) Hoarders.

At first it was a comfortably familiar scenario: girl leaves exciting job and sympathetic partner in NYC to help sick, hoarding mother in Midwestern city. There was the usual back-and-forth, past-and-present description, providing insight on how the problem began, how it progressed, what the situation was like now, and the impact it had on the author. Mom’s house was a wreck – an assorted mess of unopened bags from the thrift store, clothes and knick-knacks piled everywhere but on the shelves where they belonged, used food containers, non-working appliances. Nothing I hadn’t seen on my TV screen week after week.

Then, as my kids would say, “shit got real.”

After one extended visit with Mom, the author’s feet started itching. Tracing the source of the problem to a used pillow the hoarder “couldn’t resist” purchasing at the thrift shop, at first she thought the problem was body lice. Bad enough. But the usual poisons, potions and lotions didn’t work, and soon she (and the still-sympathetic, long-suffering partner) were infested with what doctors thought might be mites, causing scabies.

Natural cures, insecticides, creams, gels, lotions … it was hard to concentrate on some of the psychodrama taking place in this book because I kept scratching and wondering why modern medicine didn’t have a cure for the parasites that caused scabies. And how she was able to bring all her bottles and tubes of liquids on the airplane with her to Italy. My mind kept going to the TSA list, and I’d flip back to the publication date just to see if perhaps the rules had been different when the story was written. Then,  just when I (and the author) thought the rash was gone and the bugs were dead, another visit to Mom brought about a relapse. Itch, scratch, itch.

I might have been better able to concentrate on the psychological aspects of this book if it weren’t for the “skeeve” factor. But alas, it is what it is. And as much as I enjoyed the read, I was happy I could stop scratching once I reached the end.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Books 21 & 22 - Liar's Poker and The Big Short

Liar’s Poker and The Big Short by Michael Lewis

If you want to restore your faith in America’s financial future, feel good about the people in power at the country’s biggest investment banks, and face today’s fiscal nightmare with the confidence that the system is inherently good and will surely repair itself, I suggest you avoid these two books like the plague.

Liar’s Poker gives an insider’s account of the no-rules chicanery that took place on the trading floor of Salomon Brothers and other major players in the ‘80s, which eventually led to the stock market crash of 1987. Then, just when you think the power brokers have surely learned their lesson and mended their ways, here comes The Big Short, describing how these same frat boys rose up from the flames like so many phoenixes and proceeded to concoct an even more mind-boggling get-rich scheme. The result of that one: the stock market crash of 2008. The one we’re still reeling from.

They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But the postscript for these guys is that they managed to get wealthier regardless. And not just a little wealthier. Incredibly, inconceivably wealthier.

Michael Lewis is a great storyteller, and even though I didn’t understand a lot of the financial goings-on that he described (and frighteningly, neither did an awful lot of CEOs), both books were thoroughly readable and – dare I say – enjoyable. 

The takeaway: Grandpa was right. Under the mattress is a safe place for money.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 20 - The Only Thing Worth Dying For

The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm

One of the few stories my father would tell about his service in World War II was the time his outfit was strafed by “friendly fire” because they had advanced much farther and faster than had been anticipated. I remember thinking that communication must have been pretty poor in “the old days” and that that kind of horrific mistake must of course have been eradicated by the wonders of modern warfare.

Sadly, as this book relates, that is not the case. 

After reading the story of this team of Green Berets who infiltrated Afghanistan early in the War on Terror, I have a newfound respect for their bravery but also an enhanced fear of the powers-that-be who are purportedly running the show. It was shocking to read how poorly informed they were of the landscape, the people, the politics and even the man (Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s future leader) they were tasked with protecting. But even worse was the ultimate human error that led to tragedy amongst these valiant soldiers.

This is not a feel-good book. The title refers to advice given the platoon leader by his mother: “Following your ideals is the only thing worth dying for.” Perhaps the reader can take some comfort in that.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 19: 11/22/63

11/22/63 by Stephen King

I must admit that it crossed my mind that reading this massive tome (849 pages) might make me fall critically behind in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks quest. But the premise was just too compelling to let that stop me. As with so many of Stephen King’s books, once I got started reading, it was hard to put down, so I ended up finishing it in little over a week.

All I will reveal about this book is that, in it, a man travels back in time to try to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. From that seemingly “simple” concept, a convoluted tapestry is woven, one that leaves the reader questioning the nature of time, space and reality itself. Not to mention the impact each of us may have by performing even the simplest of actions: the “butterfly effect.” 

Ask yourself this question: If you had the chance to go back in time and prevent some awful catastrophe from happening, wouldn’t you do it? Of course you would! But I guarantee that after reading this book, you will want to rethink that response.