Best Books of 2010

If you believe the commercials on TV or in the paper, EVERYTHING is the #1 in its class. This post does nothing to dispell this notion. Amazon has posted its top 10 and top 100 lists.

Some of the books our group has read and posted about are on these lists. I'm happy to see The Immortal Life of Henrietta Slacks at the top of the list. See Lindsay's post for more info. And Angela's post on At Home is featured at #26.

I'm looking forward to what will be fantastic reads in 2011!

Bill Bryson

Reading my first couple Bryson texts was a “where have you been all my life?” kind of moment. Of course I love Bill Bryson, why wouldn’t I? Why haven’t I heard of him before? Why haven’t I loved his books always?

Having received a text for my birthday that I already owned from a dear friend (thanks to a kindred traveler, Miss Kari Ann Grieman), I opted to exchange the book for another that captured the spirit of our love of travel. I had been hearing about Bryson’s newest product, At Home on NPR for so long that I felt compelled to give him a chance. Having received an advance copy of “At Home” from a very generous co-worker (and former B&N Inc. employee), I purchased Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe and called it a day.

What a door a book can open! Rather, how many splendid doors! I have never read a book that was, at times, as informative, joyful, irreverent, and heartbreaking as some of the travel literature I’ve read, and I’ve read so little! There is no way I could give a proper review of these two texts so I’ll just leave you with these few thoughts:

Bryson has a way with maps and strange places that make them accessible. His books illuminate without illustration, inform without overburdening the reader with facts, and delight without becoming gaudy or crass. Furthermore, they are immensely readable and, I am sure, wholly unappreciated unless one has read them twice or more. I am certain that the next time I pick up one of these books I’ll notice much more than I possibly could, especially in At Home, than I did on the first perusal (which is really all one can do the first time they read such a book).

Field Trip!

The Riverview Book Club shook things up tonight, meeting at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts rather than the Riverview Wine Bar that has been so hospitable these last few months. Amanda suggested the change in venue to explore two exhibits: Basins, Baskets and Bowls; Women Explore the Vessel and Beware her Wiles; Woman as Temptress in the Renaissance Tradition which I particularly enjoyed. I did take some photos and if my camera and my abilities sync, they’ll be posted for our readership’s pleasure.

Our next meeting will be January 14th at the Riverview Wine Bar and to celebrate the success of our little group we’ve decided to share a meal rather than just get drinks. The fare at the Riverview has always looked wonderful so I’m looking forward to it! Our chosen text is The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. Please feel free to join us whether you read the book or not, we’ve had so much fun and look forward to entertaining other promiscuous readers!

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Amanda and Angela had nice posts as usual. I agree with them both fully. I am not in the mood to write a nice collective prose format of my thoughts, so I will add my thoughts in outline format.

• A timeline is a nice suggestion. Here's one that was last updated 2005, but it gets you through most of the book, and the website has some other nice information: http://www.afghan-web.com/history/chron/index4.html
• I, too, am very grateful for the many blessings in my life, including my ability to be the blunt person I am known for. Even if I remained mute, I am sure I'd get killed for my facial expressions!
• I REALLY enjoyed this book, especially the development of the bond between Mariam and Laila. 2 women in any situation will eventually realize that we are all sisters. However, it was very difficult to continue to read about the hardships (to say the least) they endured. At one point, I wanted to keep reading because I knew it just had to end at some point. I almost cheered out loud when it did happen (if you've read the book, you know the point I am referencing). Only that bond of sisterhood and motherhood allowed them to endure.
• "One could not count the moons that shimmer on [their] roof[s], or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind [their] walls." Together they lived the darkest part of their lives, darker than most people can imagine, but it was "shimmered" by their bond with each other and the children. But they were both full of hope, determination for what's right, and above all, love, that they knew deep down in the brightness of tomorrow.
• Point for discussion: Could you do for a friend what Mariam did for Laila? Could you allow a friend to do for you what Mariam did for Laila?

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of those books where you should be required to have multiple resources by your side to enhance the reading. Here are my recommended tools:

• An atlas. And not just any atlas. It turns out my version from college was not a huge help. It featured countries by region, and Afghanistan and Pakistan did not appear in their entirety on any given page. I guess that is what the internet is for. Turns out B&N has a gorgeous National Geographic atlas for the price of $80.
• A notebook. I kept track of the regime changes and timelines with a rough outline. It did not come as big news that the country has been through much turmoil, but I learned, in detail, of some of the large of the political parties that ruled Afghanistan from the 1960s to early 2000s. It was no easy feat to keep track of, especially with the intricate, foreign sounding names.
• A dictionary or glossary. Seriously, this book would have benefited greatly with a map in the front and glossary in the back. Again, I guess the internet should suffice.

This was not a 100% joyful to book to read. In fact, I found myself reading large portions of it during the day. While reading in the evening, my brain had a hard time letting go and falling asleep while mulling over the graphic, and often sad, scenes. This is one of the benefits of book club - pushing ourselves to read challenging literature.

One of the main themes that stood out was Mariam and Laila's issues with their mothers. Both of the daughters were very different from their mothers, and had different expectations out of life. There weren't the in your face dramatic outbursts that may characterize some American mother daughter relationships. I found myself appreciating when Mariam and Laila found friendship, and then a sisterhood with each other. After all, Mariam was separated from her half siblings during her childhood and Laila didn't know her brothers well before they became casualties in the war. Some of the sweetest moments were when they bonded over Laila's child, Aziza.

Mother-daughter relationships are universal. But another new concept for me with this book was the burqa. Through their childhood and adolescent years, Mariam and Laila went unveiled. In fact, Laila's parents were on the opposite end of the spectrum as her future husband Rasheed. It was flinchingly hard to read Rasheed's demand for them both to wear the burqa after marriage. Nothing about him was likeable, but that was one more log on the fire with his awful treatment of his wives. Both Laila and Mariam had their outgoing, adventureous moments before marriage, but both characters mention how the burqa brought welcomed anonymity. Yet the one time they try to flee, while veiled, the initial anonymity did not save them in the short run.

With the way most of the book proceeded, I did not expect a happy ending. None-the-less, Khaled Hosseini brought as much resolution and peace to the characters as I could have hoped for.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

It is a good time of year for lists of blessings and things we are thankful for. After having read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, I’ve come up with a rather sober one:

1. I am thankful for having had the fortune and opportunity to partner myself with a person who does not hit me, rape me, isolate me, threaten me & my children, or shame me in any way, shape, or form. He has never put a loaded gun in my mouth, made me eat gravel, or kept me from my family.

2. I am thankful that I live in a country where the government values the equity of people regardless of their gender (in broad terms); that as a woman I am extended the right of an education, a profession, rights to my body, my children, my home, and the vote.

3. The simple fact that I am writing this, adding hyperlinks to other sites, and posting it on the Internet without fear of retaliation by my government is actually quite remarkable in the global climate that we live in. I’m allowed to do keyword searches of “Taliban” and “Al-Qaeda” in safety (although questionable anonymity).

Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns did not make me aware of these things for the first time. Rather, it magnified the political and social climate in Afghanistan in a way that reinforced a previously held, though perhaps underappreciated, gratitude. It is the story of relationships between women and the sacrifices many women in war zones are forced to make. It plots the trajectory from rival to friend to ally that many relationships can take. It is absolutely outrageous that women anywhere in the world are treated as Laila and Maryam, the protagonists in Hosseini’s illuminating tale. This seems like a story that one might introduce as not being true, but nonetheless has happened; truth through fiction.

In the book, we follow Laila and Maryam alternately as they come of age in Kabul and Herat (respectively). Their paths begin on different slopes of the same hypothetical mountain, and when their lives cross, it seems they’ve arrived at the same poisoned mountain stream. The story of their survival in the face of an awful marriage and the sacrifices they make for one another and for their children is heartbreaking, and at times, covertly uplifting.

Throughout the story, Hosseini details Afghan politics. As someone with almost no knowledge of modern Middle East politics, I had a hard time keeping track of the various individuals and political groups they represent. Among the dozens of names of politicians and warlords, none of which I recognized, there are communists, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, the Russians, and the US. I think this difficulty added to the story however, it created a chaotic background to set the story against: it didn’t matter who was killing whom, the point was the Afghan people were living with fear, violence, and frighteningly dwindling resources every day, for years.

This was the first book I’ve read from the flood of literature that uses the Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, specifically) as a setting. I look forward to learning more and reading others. It is terrifying to process these books in the context of real wars (i.e. Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn), real US and NATO soldiers, and knowing that we might really be on the wrong side. As I think critically however, I am forced to wonder if there ever is a right side. The US isn’t at war with a country; it engages militia groups, rogue fundamentalists, and people who don’t represent anyone but themselves. The trouble consistently is that to get to our enemies, we must first step over the lives of innocents; blameless people who are our sisters and brothers and who are victims not only of the US’s retaliatory actions, but of the same global violence that inspired it.

The line by seventeenth century poet Saib-e-Tabrizi from where the title originates explains the brilliance in any community, as well as giving a context for the heartbreak of war:

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

October

Last month flew by with extraordinary speed. As a group we read The Journey to the Well by Diana Wallis-Taylor, which we decided last night was not an altogether fantastic book. A lovely story, certainly, but not well written nor uplifting. We appreciated the author's efforts at breathing life into the Samaritan woman from the Christian Gospel story of the woman at the well, but found it to be a bit out of touch with reality when, at the end, the entire cast meets Jesus and is instantly transformed into a peace loving and compassionate utopia where nothing bad ever happens. Additionally, the ending was very abrupt.

That having been said, it was with good intention that the book was chosen. After having read (and thoroughly enjoyed) The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and Mary Called Magdalene by Margaret George, we were looking for some Biblical fiction that gave flesh and soul to another marginalized female. Does anyone have other suggestions?

Short Histories - Bill Bryson

Do you need to hone in on your trivia skills? Do you want to wow friends and family with factoids during the upcoming holidays? If so, pick up some books from Bill Bryson.

A year ago, a friend recommended A Short History of Nearly Everything. The title seemed to exaggerate, but he did provide information on topics ranging from the creation and size of the universe to physics and chemistry to biology. The one notion that really stuck with me was his description of the size of the universe. Before this book, I couldn't quite wrap my arms around why space exploration is so important. It finally clicked with one chapter; showing how discoveries away from earth explains why life is the way it is here. He has the knack for taking complex scientific matters and explaining them for the reader in a way that doesn't put you to sleep. In my latest adventure in Borders, I discovered there is a new illustrated edition of the book. Its gorgeous!

More recently, Bryson has published a book titled "At Home: A Short History of Private Life." He happens to live in an 1850s era home in England, and sets out to describe the origins of various rooms, furniture, appliances and other creature comforts of the home. Be ready for an adventure, sometimes you have to look to the top of the page to remember which room he is covering in the particular chapter. In one of the earlier portions, he is describing the use of glass for windows and how taxes and technology changed the way people live. Have you ever wondered why, of all the herbs and spices, we normally only set out shakers for salt and pepper? Have you ever wanted to know why suit coats usually have three buttons on the cuff that don't serve any obvious function? Did you know that less than half of homes in Paris, France in 1954 had flush toilets?

Based on these two books, I'm willing to dig into his other stories. That is one of the true joys of reading - discovering a new author who has plenty of books to keep one occupied for a while. Happy reading!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot

How would you feel a piece of your body was left behind after you died? Would it matter if it were for science research? Would it make a difference if it was to be "for the greater good" for society? Some people would have a problem with the entire idea. But I, and I think most of society, would ask in return: "How do you define 'good?'"

Henrietta Lacks was a real woman, born in the 1930s, black and dirt poor. She was unfortunate enough to develop cervical cancer. Due to her education, finances, and personal reasons, she didn't start treatment until it was too late. She passed away at an early age, leaving her children to a future no better than her's. During the time of her treatments, her physicians preserved a piece of her cancer tissue. This tissue did something quite remarkable: when put within culture media, it grows without limits. To date, no other tissue has been able to achieve this feet. Because of it's endless growth, scientists have been able to test this human tissue in literally countless instances ... because it's still used today.

One side of the coin is the amount of 'good' this tissue has brought to human society. The medical advances are numerous. Science geeks can't keep their pocket protectors straight in their pockets just thinking about it.

On the other side is the Lacks family, none of whom had any idea that this happened, nor any education to help them even if they were told. Billions of dollars were made through these advancements, and the Lacks family saw not one penny, even though some think part of the greater 'good' to come out of this would be to give this poor family a break.

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" tells both sides of the story, mostly without bias. It's not until the afterward that the ethical issues are debated by the author. What would true "informed consent" mean to the continued research of human tissue? Would we as a society be able to responsibly make a decision? Would science be able to responsibly handle society's reaction? As Sloot states, "How you should feel about all of this isn't obvious." So give this book a try, and answer me this: how do YOU feel about it? Do you feel 'good?!'"

The Master Butchers Singing Club

Previous to reading The Master Butchers Singing Club by Minnesota author Louise Erdrich, I had read Love Medicine, Tracks, and The Last Report of the Miracles at Little No Horse.However, it wasn’t until reading The Master Butcher that I understood Erdrich’s style in a way that allowed me to appreciate the weight of her story, as well as the telling. Truth be told, I think Love Medicine and Tracks went way over my head and will have to give them another go around.

The Master Butchers Singing Club is the gripping story of Delphine Watzka, a rural North Dakota townie and Fidelis Waldvogel, a German immigrant. Following World War I, Fidelis immigrates to the US in the hopes of getting to Seattle, though he only gets as far as Argus, North Dakota. He settles there, opening a butcher shop and raising his four sons with his wife, Eva, who is absolutely a brilliant force in the book. Weaving stories of murder, a threatening sheriff, the delightful Waldvogel family, and Delphine’s relationships with the endearing Cyprian and lovely Roy, Erdrich brings us a truly bittersweet story of human relationships.

So much happens in the book that each chapter is thrilling to read even on its own. The challenge to the reader may be keeping a pulse on Delphine and Fidelis’ relationship throughout the story. We travel with Delphine through her desire for the very sexy Cyprian, the resulting disillusionment and nontraditional relationship, her affection for Eva and loyalty to Eva’s sons, and the polar strength that both she and Fidelis summon to stay apart. We endure the insufferable Tante, the delightful Clarisse, the brooding Sheriff Hoch, and Delphine’s very drunk, very loveable and pitiable father, Roy. Each character and story line is drawn with such depth and cautious detail that the tale could go in any direction and I admire Erdrich for being able to stick with the story she’s chosen. It is clear that the story of the master butcher of Argus is just one of many that could come out of this fictional town.

Erdrich has previously written about the Anishinabeg communities in North Dakota and Minnesota and one theme of The Master Butchers Singing Club is the interaction of the native peoples of the plains with the white settlers. Specifically, Erdrich weaves in the Battle at Wounded Knee in an out-of-the-blue though not irrelevant way. The character of Step-and-a-Half absolutely fascinates and, though a very peripheral character, she had almost exactly the role I was expecting. "Almost" is the key word here; I would have been disappointed if I had been able to guess it.

Above all, Erdrich’s writing style makes this book so wonderful to read. Whether she is telling a tragedy or describing something amusing, she makes it count. She writes sentences like: “The light pouring through the curtains made a liquid sound, he thought, an emotional and female sound as it moved across the ivory wall.” I had to read that a couple times to really understand the air and sound behind an observation like that, but once I was there in the room I thought yes, I know that kind of light. The thought from the book that stuck with me most when I had finished was observed by Step-and-a-Half as she closed the story: “Our songs travel the earth…Not a single note is ever lost and no song is original. They all come from the same place and go back to a time when only the stones howled.” What imagery! What grace! What connection to the ancestors!

**If you decide this isn’t enough to make you want to read the book, go see the show at the Guthrie Theatre. It is showing until November 6th and is absolutely outstanding.