31 Jan
In sleep’s brief escape,
at least you know the script when
Groundhog Day repeats
In sunshine’s cold glare,
steeping Assam tea leaves is
your silent response
In winter’s depths, still
frozen, tomorrow is a
chip off the old block
In the snow’s razor
sharp buzz cut, vegetation
waits to grow back out
In multiplying
scoopfuls, the mathematics
of a weightless flake
30 Jan
Humankind survives winter’s cold thanks to the use of fire, clothing and stable food sources. While a good many animals (but not all) make use of their fur or feathers to ward off the chill, that alone is not nearly enough to keep them alive during winter in the northern hemisphere. So how do they survive? Biologist Bernd Heinrich in Winter Season provides a wide breadth of examples to explain the role of evolutional design in shaping each species’ unique approach to protection from the cold and to fueling energy needs.
From flying squirrels to birds, and frogs to insects, Heinrich provides insight into the ingenuity used to insure a species’ survival. Yes, in some cases nest building plays a big part, but even then other tools are needed. These include shivering, toper, or hibernation. Cached food sources can play a part, too. But truly amazing are the radical changes that some animals undergo in their physiology, as they alter chemical composition to ward off certain death from freezing.
Heinrich lives in Maine, and most of the examples he provides in this book are based on his own observations over the years. Of particular interest is his study and description of the Golden-crowned Kinglet, a bird that weighs just 5 grams (about the weight of two pennies). Reading this book in the depths of winter where I find myself often complaining about the cold, I’m left with a sense of awe at the inventiveness, perfected through evolution, that has ensured the animal kingdom of standing a chance of surviving the coldest of weather.
29 Jan
The Parade, a Dave Eggers novel published in 2019, is set in an unnamed Third World country. In the aftermath of a decade-long civil war, the government has commissioned a road to link the former rebel state to the capital. Two foreign contractors have been sent to complete paving this highway. Because of precautions, needed should they be kidnapped, the two contractors do not exchange names when they meet. Instead, the lead worker gives the other the moniker of “Nine,” while he refers to himself as ”Four.”
Four is the book’s narrator, a long time employee of the international corporation hired to complete the job. (His nickname within the company is “The Clerk”.) A “by the rules” type of person, he follows the corporation’s strict rulebook in avoiding interactions with the local populace. Nine, on the other hand, much to Four’s chagrin, is a loose cannon, eager to socialize whenever the opportunity arises. Details of Four’s personal life are never given, other than he has a wife and daughter. His focus throughout is to complete the job on time and to return to his family. He dismisses the despair witnessed along the way as “standard for a developing country.”
His plans are turned topsy turvy when Nine falls seriously ill, most likely due to food poisoning from his nightly interactions with the natives. This forces Four to emerge from his isolated bubble, as he needs the help of the locals to keep his partner alive. Only then does he begin to comprehend the devastation caused by the civil war. Despite the dangers, Four does succeed in finishing the road to the capital. But in this parable of war and its aftermath, there is a twist at the book’s end that is sure to long haunt Four, and the reader as well.
25 Jan
Chased awake
by a nightmare, my sister refuses
to be lured by
the persistence of sleepy eyes.
Now that she is
too big to cradle, Father stands
helplessly inept,
his strength powerless to help.
Through tears,
she scornfully dismisses him,
insisting that
Mother be summoned instead.
She no longer
needs milk’s soothing comfort.
Such days are past.
Only a trail of breadcrumbs will
insure safe
passage beyond awakened fear.
Sprinkled like
starlight, a mother’s gentle lullaby
alone suffices.
A voice known since the womb,
the one promising
that they lived happily ever after.
Resistance erased,
my sister braves the forest again.
Her path now lit.
17 Jan
A few steps away
on still water—your chance to
tiptoe on the moon
Charged with aiding and
abetting an owl’s intent—
a midnight’s full moon
A neighbor’s laundry
already dried—in the moon’s
gentle rinse, softens
That distant highway
rarely heard—amplified by
a quarter moon’s ear
We wonder who left
a window unlocked—waking
to the moon’s trespass
Fading long before
daylight, an old moon retires—
content with its dreams
16 Jan
In her novel Bowlaway, Elizabeth McCracken presents the story of three generations of a family operating a candlepin bowling alley in Salford, Massachusetts. In the opening pages, an unconscious women is discovered in a cemetery. Laying upon her person is a bowling ball, a candlepin, and fifteen pounds of gold. When revived, she gives her name as Bertha Truitt, and when asked where she came from, she replies “I’m here now.” It is the early part of the twentieth century and the man who discovers her is Leviticus Sprague, a Black physician. In short order, the two marry, and soon afterwards, Bertha opens a bowling alley where she encourages the women to take part in the sport alongside of the men.
Strange events become the norm among the family that Bertha and Leviticus engender. Their family members’ stories include one suffocating in a flood caused by a molasses explosion, one dying by spontaneous combustion, and later, a murder. The novel features a string of odd duck characters who pass through the doors of Bowlaway. While colorful and interesting, because of bad luck (or perhaps a Truitt family curse), most of them are drawn into troubled lives and situations. Throughout, the question is raised as to whether Bertha’s ghost might be haunting this particular bowling alley. Unfortunately, just when the reader gets interested in a character, another bumps them off center stage.
McCracken is a gifted author, and her prose here often dazzles. But I found this book’s plot disjointed and difficult to follow. Not knowing the difference between candlepin bowling and its tenpin competitor, there is much to learn in this novel. The author is to be commended in tackling the issues of race, gender, and the many unusual forms love takes in relationships. Without a doubt, this ambitious novel has much to recommend it. Unfortunately, for me, I found its plot disappointed more than it delighted. Few of the characters were on center stage long enough to win my sympathy. In the end, rather than delivering a strike, there are too many candlepins left standing to declare this novel a perfect game.
14 Jan
Published in 2013, Americanah is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s fourth book. It is a novel that spends time in Nigeria, America and Britain. In its earliest sections, set in the 1990s, Ifemelu and Obinze are young Nigerian middle class students who have fallen in love. At the time, Nigeria is under military control, and for those who can, most young adults hope to win admittance to American universities to finish their education. While Ifemelu does receive a student visa to travel to America, Obinze does not. Even though he hopes to ultimately find a way to join her, he never does get the chance to do so.
In America, Ifemelu encounters racism for the first time. A large portion of the story focuses on her experiences in this country, particularly on her schooling, several romances, and later, her fame for creating a blog called “Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known As Negroes),” which goes viral. The author gently (and often humorously) pokes fun at White America in this section, but the emotions experienced by Adichie’s main character are universal. Meanwhile, unable to get into America, Obinze travels to Britain where he arrives as an undocumented immigrant. His experience of failing to find work there humbles him and, defeated, he does not fight his deportation back to Nigeria.
In 2009, fifteen years after Ifemelu’s arrival in America, she decides to move back to Nigeria. By this time her native country has become democratic, and the economy in its largest city, Lagos, is booming. Over the years, Obinze has become a prosperous businessman who has married and fathered a child. Even so, over the years he has kept close watch on Ifemelu’s career in America. She, too, through friends has kept track of his affairs. What comes next is not hard to guess, as a reigniting of their romance has long been signaled. Even so, Adichie deftly unfolds the final section of the book, and there are surprises to be had.
This empathetic story offers many rewards. But it is the exploration of its characters emotions that gives it true heft. The added bonus is the honesty of the author’s perspectives on the good and bad sides of both America and Nigeria.
14 Jan
The Anarchy opens with a quote from Leo Tolstoy: “A commercial company enslaved a nation comprising two hundred million people.”
The company he is referring to is the East India Company. Founded in 1599 to handle British trade in Asia, over the course of the next two centuries it would become the de facto ruling power in India. It all began when in 1614 the Mughal emperor received an ambassador from King James I, there to promote trade with the East India Company. Once the company put down roots in the country, it would steadily expand its reach through the entire subcontinent. To do so, it used the concept of divide and rule, bribery, murder, and when push came to shove, fielding its own personal army.
During the 18th Century, the Indian subcontinent saw waves of invasions, famines, and civil wars, all of which seriously weakened the Mughal dynasty. The East India Company took full advantage of the chaos to consolidate its power, and by 1765 the Mughal emperor became merely a figurehead, with the Company in charge. While a number of the key British figures involved might be known to the reader (e.g., Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, Charles Cornwallis), Dalrymple does not neglect the Indian actors involved as well. Most are colorful characters and their side of the story makes for fascinating reading.
Another key point that Dalrymple makes is that the East India Company may have been the first business too big to fail. Whenever it ran into financial difficulties, the Company turned to the British Parliament, demanding to be rescued. Since they had already bribed a good many Parliament members with company stock, the government always found the money to keep it afloat. Throughout its history, the East India Company focused entirely on making a profit for its stockholders. It did not matter that their corporate greed led to famines that killed millions or destroyed local economies. The company’s control over India finally led to its demise. By the 1850s, the British government grew alarmed by the East India Company’s commercial monopoly, and it finally stepped in to take the reins of control. In 1859, the company officially disbanded. In its place, the British government would continue to rule the subcontinent of India for another century.
This is a must-read for anyone wanting to better understand the history that laid the groundwork for the British Raj.
11 Jan
Everyone is asking for change today.
Some want to go back to
a traditional cookbook, others are intent
on baking a whole new soufflé.
A few merely petition hungrily for coins.
As if on a campaign trail,
everyone seems uniformed in t-shirts
messaging demands.
How loud those standing blank seem.
Chained, but undeterred,
its cordial tail wagging, a dog refuses
to disenfranchise anyone.
The wind, though, feels shifty to me.
In the meanwhile, here on
the ramparts, disparate opinions picnic.
9 Jan
Barry Cohen, the lead character in this 2018 novel fits the mold of an anti-hero. In the opening chapter, we find him drunk and bleeding in a Greyhound bus terminal in the middle of the night. The reader soon learns he is a wealthy hedge fund financier whose world is falling apart. He is a man with a troubled marriage and a three-year-old son who is autistic and has yet to speak a single word. On top of that, he is under investigation for fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. His plan is to travel across America in search of a simpler life and the possibility to reconnect with his college sweetheart.
The year is 2016, and Donald Trump is running for President against Hillary Clinton. Cohen’s odyssey by bus takes him to Richmond, Atlanta, El Paso, and finally to California. While the story focuses primarily on him, there are chapters devoted to his wife Seena as well. It is difficult to feel sorry for this affluent married couple, despite their troubles. After all, both lead privileged lives, and despite Cohen’s attempt to connect with “regular people” on his bus trip, he can return, any time he chooses, to a bank account that will see him through the roughest of times.
Wisely, the author uses comedic elements and a satirical overview to keep the reader engaged. And the supporting characters encountered on the road trip provide a steady breath of fresh air. What impressed me the most is that he does not attempt to wrap up the story with a “then they lived happily ever after” scenario.
Shteyngart is a gifted author who has earned critical acclaim throughout his career. Lake Success continues his winning streak, even if Barry Cohen fails to be a character most readers can identify with. Adding the unfolding results of Trump’s election to the story proves to be a smart move. It succeeds in making this novel feel as timely as today’s headlines. Lake Success comes with faults, but it is a road trip that most secluded Americans will enjoy taking.
4 Jan
That dog in the liquor store,
a rescue, content
at the cashier’s feet, isn’t here
to pass judgment.
Whatever our weakness, be it
beer, whiskey, or
the cheapest road to oblivion
that we can find,
her cloudy brown eyes conceal
no hint of derision.
She’s been around the block
enough to know how
to forgive the harsh tug from
irrational impatience.
Penitent or not, each scratch
beneath her chin is
rewarded with a tail’s thump,
as bottle in hand,
all are momentarily absolved.
1 Jan
Below is a list of the books I’ve read in the past year (linked to my book review), followed by abridged reviews of ten books that stood out to me.
The Capital Times : A Proudly Radical Newspaper’s Century-Long Fight For Justice And Peace / Dave Zweifel and John Nichols
Sapiens : A Brief History Of Humankind / Yuval Noah Hanari
Vietnam : A History / Stanley Karnow
The Liars’ Club : A Memoir / Mary Karr
On Beauty / Zadie Smith
A Good Man Is Hard To Find / Flannery O’Connor
Bucking The Sun / Ivan Doig
A Short History Of Nearly Everything / Bill Bryson
The Book Of Strange New Things / Michel Faber
The Power / Naomi Alderman
Chances Are… / Richard Russo
The immortalists / Chloe Benjamin
Mobituaries : Great Lives Worth Reliving / Mo Rocca and Jonathan Greenburg
The Echo Maker / Richard Powers
Happiness / Aminatta Forna
Rules Of Civility / Amor Towles
Northanger Abbey / Jane Austen
The Collected Stories Of Eudora Welty / Eudora Welty
In The Garden Of Beasts / Erik Larson
Giants In The Earth : A Saga Of The Prairie / O. E. Rölvaag
The Story Of Ireland : A History Of The Irish People / Neil Hegarty
The Pillars Of The Earth / Ken Follett
Confessions Of Felix Krull, Confidence Man : The Early Years / Thomas Mann
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions Of Glory, 1874-1932 / William Manchester
Selected Shorter Writings Of Mark Twain / Edited By Walter Blair
The Underground Railroad / Colson Whitehead
Roughing It / Mark Twain
Sons And Lovers / D. H. Lawrence
Short Stories From The New Yorker
Tomboyland : Essays / Melissa Faliveno
Bad Land : An American Romance / Jonathan Raban
Tuxedo Park : A Wall Street Tycoon And The Secret Palace Of Science That Changed The Course Of World War II / Jennet Conant
Sketches By Boz / Charles Dickens
Three Women / Lisa Taddeo
Say Nothing : A True Story Of Murder And Memory In Northern Ireland / Patrick Radden Keefe
The Hobbit, Or, There And Back Again / J. R. Tolkien
Summer World : A Season Of Bounty / Bernd Heinrich
Disappearing Earth / Julia Phillips
A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again / David Foster Wallace
The Liars’ Club : A Memoir / Mary Karr
When Mary Karr published The Liars’ Club in 1995, it was hailed as a groundbreaking work. Since then, the book has inspired countless other memoirs. In 2019, The New York Times listed The Liars’ Club as number four on a list of the 50 best memoirs to be published since 1969.
The story of Karr’s family and the drab Texas town where she was raised proves captivating from beginning to end. What makes it truly special is the unforgettable voice of Karr observing the world as a child growing up in the 1960s. She captures the keen observations of childhood, and its misconceptions, to a tee. It comes as no surprise to learn that the author is a gifted poet. Her prose effortlessly captures the dialogue of the region, delivering it with gritty honesty and captivating clarity.
It is an account of her parents’ tumultuous marriage, their alcohol abuse, as well as her mother’s being “nervous” (Texan slang for severe depression). But this is a family where the bonds remain strong even in the bleakest of times. While portions of the story are heartbreaking, more often than not Karr’s account is filled with dark humor and wit. Its title comes from an informal club of men led by her father where fabulous stories were exchanged. Their “tall tales” are cleverly woven into Karr’s family history. For anyone interested in this particular genre, The Liars’ Club is a must-read.
Rules Of Civility / Amor Towles
I was first introduced to Towles when I read his second novel, A Gentleman In Moscow. It was one of my favorite reads in 2018. Rules Of Civility was his debut novel, and I wondered if it would disappoint me after so enjoying his later effort. I needn’t have worried, as it was quickly proved that Towles is no one hit wonder, but rather, a gifted writer likely to delight readers for decades to come.
In the opening chapter, Katey Kontent and her boardinghouse roommate are celebrating the arrival of 1938 in a jazz bar in New York City when they chance to meet Tinker Gray, a handsome banker. Both of them quickly fall under the spell of his charm and good looks. This encounter propels Katey on a path, in the next year, that takes her from the lowly realm of Wall Street secretary to associating with the upper class of New York society, as well as landing a much better job with a new magazine in development at Condé Nast.
Tinker is just the first of several men and women she becomes intimate with, and she is able to use the opportunities presented by them to better herself. It is a modern fairytale blessed with a good many fascinating characters, but none more charming than Katey herself. Blessed with intelligence, youth, and a wry wit, she effortlessly carries the weight of this entire story. For me, it was impossible not to be won over by someone who turns to the books of Charles Dickens and Agatha Christa for support and inspiration.
Giants In The Earth : A Saga Of The Prairie / O. E. Rölvaag
Over time, O. E. Rölvaag’s account of homesteader life on the prairie has rightfully acquired critical acclaim. Published in his native language of Norwegian in 1923, it quickly drew the interest of the Scandinavian population in this country as well as overseas in his home country. Its popularity resulted in an English translation in 1927.
The novel is a detailed account of Norwegian homesteaders venturing into the untouched prairies of the Dakota Territory during the 1870s. The story focuses on Per Hansa and his family, who band with a handful of other Norwegian families to gain a toehold in a flat landscape mostly untouched by human occupancy. It is a gripping account of a population just one step away from an unexpected calamity and extinction in a place where the cruel, long winters threatened both sanity and the ability to keep a family fed until spring’s rescue.
It details Per Hansa’s strong work ethic and his belief in the American dream. Rölvaag touches upon this tiny community’s tribulations as they learn to cope in an inhospitable landscape. It describes a time and place where a vicious storm or a plague of grasshoppers in a single day could result in starvation. The author also portrays the uneasy interactions with Native Americans and the fraught encounters with other settlers from cultures different from their own. It also touches upon the mental illness and depression caused by loneliness in such a remote locale. Today’s readers will marvel at the grit and determination it took to gain a foothold in such an unforgiving landscape, one in which a single misstep or an unforeseen natural calamity brought death to their door, with the nearest doctor or assistance a two day trip away.
The pillars of the earth / Ken Follett
Published in 1989, The Pillars of the Earth became a best seller and later spawned a 13 part television mini-series. Follett’s historical novel, unfolding in the 12th century, deals with the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Knightsbridge, England. It focuses primarily on the period known as The Anarchy when civil war raged in England over who was the rightful heir to the Crown in England and Normandy. Set against the backdrop of true events of the time, its story tells the fortunes of the Knightsbridge priory and surrounding village.
Before writing this book, Follett had concentrated on writing thrillers. It shows in his pacing here, where there is rarely a dull moment. Eschewing poetic flourishes, the author’s prose is to the point. His main characters are well draw, and his description of daily life at that time enhances the story rather than bogging it down. It is not often that one calls a 1076 page book an easy read, but this one certainly qualifies.
The last lion: Winston Spence Churchill: visions of glory, 1874-1932 / William Manchester
This 973 page biography is the first book in William Manchester’s trilogy that covered the life of Winston Churchill. While Churchill is best remembered as the valiant Prime Minister of the United Kingdom when he led his country in defeating Germany during World War II, the first fifty-eight years of his life presented here show that even before taking on the Nazis, Churchill already had produced an impressive resumé. While his political beliefs and actions might not appeal to a good many readers, his personality and talents burn bright on the page.
Born into an aristocratic family, in the years that preceded his becoming Prime Minister in 1940, he led an incredibly full life. In early adulthood he saw action in both the second Boer War and later served time in the trenches during the Great War. It was his talents as a war correspondent that first brought him fame, and over the years he published several books about his various war experiences as well as numerous other well received histories. He was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 1900, and he held his seat until 1964.
During the first twenty years of the Twentieth Century, he was a member of various cabinets of both liberal and conservative British governments. The number of posts he held is impressive, including First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for War, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Throughout this time, he faced dark times and political exile. He was blamed for the debacle of the Gallipoli campaign during War World I, and was later involved in moving Britain to the gold standard, an event that later, come the Great Depression, led to a ruined economy,. But despite his missteps along the way, he remained true to his beliefs no matter the political costs.
What charmed me most was his loving relationship with his wife, Clementine. She and their children were his anchor throughout his life. His correspondence with her over the decades, often playful and sexually charged, makes for delightful reading. That said, by no means an easy read, for anyone interested in a key figure in events during the period, this work presents a detailed look at the key points that shaped not only Churchill himself, but the world as a whole. Thanks to Manchester’s gift as an author, this book is not a dry academic account of the times, but one that comes fully alive on the page and worth the reader’s investment of time.
Short Stories From The New Yorker
Published in 1940, this collection comprises 68 stories that appeared in the first fifteen years of The New Yorker magazine’s existence, 1925 to 1940. Included are stories from many well-known authors, such as John O’Hara, J. D. Salinger, and E. B. White, but the quality of the featured authors remains first class even if the many of the contributors are no longer recognized today.
It is unusual for me to find every single story a delight to read in such a collection. But in this case, these stories stand head and shoulders above writers practicing the craft today. Surprisingly, a good number of them address the racial issues of a time period that still remain reverent today.
While this vintage book will be difficult for modern readers to locate, a visit to one’s public library should provide access. Almost a century on, the issues addressed in it remain front page news, still relevant decades on. These voices from the past provide fresh perspectives for the world we find ourselves in.
Tomboyland : essays / Melissa Falivero
In Tomboyland’s nine essays, Melissa Faliveno tackles a wide range of issues. Raised in a small village in south central Wisconsin (and close to where I live), from her earliest years she wrestled with questions regarding gender and identity. Androgynous in appearance, she discusses the working class town where she used her athletic ability to fit in. Growing up confused about her own sexuality, the essays focus on how community and family shaped her adult self.
Faliveno writes about tornadoes, sports, gun ownership, ties to the land, sexual kinks, and motherhood. It is refreshing that rather than being angry at family and the world for not accepting her true self, no blame is placed on others. Instead, she explores the loving relationships she encountered along the way to become a stronger person, comfortable in her own body. A gifted author, her prose is engaging and thoughtful throughout.
Many of the towns and places she describes are well known to me. In fact, I am acquainted with her father, having gotten to know him in the workplace. But even if none of this were the case, I still would have found these essays to resonate. After all, at one time or another all of us have felt like misfits in a world where none of us is “normal.”
Bad Land : an American romance / Jonathan Raban
In Bad Land, Jonathan Raban provides a history of the homesteaders who were lured to the Montana badlands in the first decade of the Twentieth Century. What brought them there was the promise of 160 acres of free land if actively farmed. Unfortunately, Montana had long been considered the Great American Desert, and in the years that followed, drought and poor harvests drove the majority of these homesteaders to finally give up their farms by the early half of the 1930s. The author visits many of their once-thriving communities that later turned into ghost towns.
Raban focuses on a number of these families, showing what happened to them in the following decades. The ones who failed in farming the land were forced to migrate, ending up on the West Coast where they found employment in logging or other blue color jobs. Those who remained turned to ranching, incorporating the land abandoned by those who left into their own homesteads. The author contrasts the political beliefs of those who went further west with those who stayed. While those who left joined labor unions and leaned Democratic, the ranchers in the badlands grew increasingly conservative and anti-government.
The final chapters of this book address the social and political culture of the ranchers near the close of the century. By the 1990s, they had embraced a belief that any kind of government oversight was an infringement on their rights to own guns and use the land as they saw fit. The irony is that they managed to survive in ranching thanks to generous government financial support over the years. While Bad Land was written long before Trump entered politics, it is clear that these individuals were waiting to support someone like him. The book goes a long way in foretelling our country’s current situation in which the political divide has widened to such an extent that one fears no middle ground can be found.
Say nothing : a true story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland / Patrick Radden Keefe
In his account of the Troubles in Northern Ireland that raged from the late 1960s until the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Patrick Radden Keefe focuses primarily on the actions of the Irish Republican Army. He begins by describing the IRA’s abduction of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of ten. Accused of being a “tout,” supposedly having collaborated with the British Army, her body was not found until 2003. By concentrating on her murder by the IRA, Keefe uncovers the numerous crimes committed by the IRA to prove they were basically a terrorist organization.
To do so, he focuses on a number of active participants in the IRA cause. This includes Dolours Price and her younger sister who, as part of the IRA, were involved in robbing banks and a later bombing in London, which led to their arrest. Once in jail in Britain, both engaged in a lengthy hunger strike that brought them close to death and which won worldwide sympathy for the IRA cause. But as Keefe’s investigation shows, the Price sisters and a number of other key members of the organization were likely involved in the killing of Jean McConville.
While I was aware of the IRA activities during the Troubles, at that time I was sympathetic to their cause. In this excellent and highly readable account of the organization’s actions, Keefe dispels the myth that the IRA were merely freedom fighters trying to overthrow British rule. While he also highlights the Protestant paramilitaries, police and British Army involvement in illegal killings, his detailed history proves that the Irish Republican Army was also guilty of extrajudicial punishment of innocent Catholics.
Disappearing earth / Julia Phillips
Disappearing Earth’s thirteen chapters all feature a different female character and can stand as separate stories. In the opening chapter, two young sisters are abducted and driven off by a man who pretends to be injured to lure them into his car. The girls’ disappearance reverberates throughout the rest of the book. That is because all of the characters share one thing in common, they all live in Kamchatka, a fairly inaccessible peninsula in the Russian Far East. All have an interest in the kidnapping and theories about what may have happened to the girls. But they also have their own stories to tell as they deal with the sexism inherent in Kamchatka’s patriarchal society.
It is no exaggeration to say that Kamchatka itself plays a major role in Julia Phillips’ novel. With no major roads connecting it to the rest of Russia, its volcano studded landscape is separated from Moscow by nine time zones. While the majority of the population is Russian, its minorities include Ukrainians, Koryaks and Evens. These last two on the list are collectively known as Kamchadals, and they are the region’s original natives. This blending of unique cultures supplies the background to all of this book’s stories.
The abduction haunts each chapter, showing how such an event affects individuals and an entire community. But each chapter’s female character dominates center stage when in the spotlight. I can think of no higher praise than to say that each of these chapters could be spun into an interesting novel of its own.
Robert Up At Dawn 