Sunday Caught My Interest

This was one of those weeks I am glad has ended. I did finish Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach – still not sure how I feel about it. But other than that there was not much to celebrate. In addition to all the turmoil and troubles in both Boston and Texas, some things have happened closer to home that took their tolls. A friend of Himself lost his 23 year old son suddenly due to an aneurism. This young man just starting his adult life is the same age as eldest and so it hit both of us really hard. And we are desperately missing youngest who luckily for us be home in less then two weeks. And the cancers surrounding us seem to have grown exponentially with two friends moving into the seriously dangerous category. Either there is something in the environment or Himself and I have finally reached the age where we will just have to face more of this awful disease. Meanwhile we have pouring rain today but the tulips Himself bought for me yesterday on our way home from the funeral are blooming on the kitchen counter and eldest has hung out on the couch with me keeping the cat company. “Hug your kids” and “cherish the moments” have become almost cliches in today’s world – however, they do seem to be appropriate responses after this week.

Here is what caught my interest this week:

Women seemed to be the focus of my interest this week starting with Mad, Bad, & Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors by Lisa Appignanesi reviewed by Still Life with Books. The author covers the history of mental illness and women in the last two centuries utilizing the stories of women in both the literary and feminist  arenas.  She starts with the case of Mary Lamb (sister of Charles) and moves forward in time discussing the ever-evolving notions of the mind and how it works.

I really enjoyed The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (the story of Queen Elizabeth II and her growing obsession with reading) so I was please to see a review of a similar book, Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn on A Guy’s Moleskin Notebook. Kuhn allows his character of Queen Elizabeth to reflect on her life and the restrictions of being a royal. Seeking a bit of adventure and relief from her daily routine, the Queen slips out of Buckingham Place and boards a train for Scotland.

Lakeside Musing reviews Angela Thirkell’s second novel High Rising (1933). Thirkell wrote several novels and her second novel is set in the pre-war English countryside and Joann writes, “Reading High Rising reminded me of  Barbara Pym minus the clergy – a perfect comfort read!” A somewhat disheveled widow with several sons writes novels to support the family and does so with the help of a secretary, a selfless young woman caring for her mother. Enter in a gold-digger, a country doctor, an eight-year old boy obsessed with trains, and you have a plot that sounds like a great read.

Finally the Pulitzer Prizes were announced this week:

Fiction – The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson is set in North Korea. Johnson became interested in North Korea while looking at the effects of propaganda. Using the life of Jun Do, who was raised in an orphanage as the son of its master, Johnson paints a picture of a reclusive nation and the people who live there. Caribou’s Mom speaks of the book saying, “The Orphan Master’s Son is a dense and complex novel that deserves more than one reading.”

Non-Fiction – Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King. This must be something to beat out Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (which is generally raved about). King’s work chronicles a racial incident in a small Florida town in 1949 and Thurgood Marshall’s involvement in the case. The Legal Legacy blog writes, “This masterful and riveting non-fiction book is about some of the bravest men in the history of this country…This is a book that should be required reading. This horrifying, edge-of-your-seat tale really happened, and not that long ago. Its repercussions helped make the country what it is today. King, who unearthed FBI files that were under seal for sixty years, has done an outstanding job in telling this story which manages to be heart-breaking, inspiring, infuriating, and admirable all at once.”

Biography – The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. The novelist Alexandre Dumas is well known for his novels such as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. What isn’t know is how he was inspired by his father’s life as a black slave, a sword-fighting member of French aristocracy and leader of armies. Devourer of Books writes, “If you have even the vaguest interest in Alexandre Dumas, the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, or the history of slavery and race relations, The Black Count is a must-read. Highly recommended.'”