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The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
This memoir, is a must read, extraordinary in so many ways: the subject, the vivid descriptions of place and of people; the poignancy of the personal attachments. It is a page turner from the opening sentence.
Is it probably exaggerated? In my opinion, yes, but that is what makes it so appealing, the extremes it presents.
The primary personalities, the alcoholic father and mother are mind boggling. For Jeanette Walls her father was a knight in shining armor. Everything he did, no matter how bizarre and disappointing was either wonderful or accepted. You, as the reader love him, too.
The mother is a different story. Yes, her ideas were flamboyant, colorful, and differednt. But to the reader, the mother comes across as self indulgent, opinionated, and a spin artist, twisting reality to her purpose at every step of the way. Is that subjective or is it because it oozes out of Jeanette Walls words themselves. I think the latter.
The shocking opening pages where Jeanette, in a taxi, in New York City spots her mother rifling through street garbage and then, without stopping, allows herself to be driven to her destination.
The story continues with a flashback to her childhood and a great description of the family stopping in the desert to sleep, under the stars, with her father giving his children his love of ;nature, a gift indeed, and the memory of that night under the stars, etched in her mind forever.
The glass castle that her dad hopes to build for the family to live in some day is a continual thread running through the memor. His unrealistic hopes that none the less, while Walls is young, seem quite plausible to her and something she can respect and admire.
The gutter vocabulary used by the parents and grandparents in every day discourse is something you get used to, even though you might be astonished as I was at the way Mom and Dad speak of their parents, and speak to their parents.
The children's ordeals at school are painful for the reader. The other children laugh at their tattered clothing, their body odor, the stink surrounding their home. The Walls haven't enough money to pay for garbage disposal, so the parents dug a pit near the house and threw their garbage in the pit.
As they grew older, the magic the father was able to weave diminished. The older sister left as quickly as she could for New York. Jeanette soon followed, joining her sister.
When they could they brought their younger brother and sister along. How, despite the trials and tribulations, they could have the inspiration and resolve to try to lift themselves out of the depths to which the family had sunk, is quite challenging, although not all of them were successful.
This is a story not to be missed, 288 pages in paperback, published by Scribner.
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Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E.Lawrence, reviewed by R.Graham
Not for the faint of heart, Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E.Lawrence
is of course, well known to serious readers of history and T.E. Lawrence is
well known to cinema devotees. In
addition, no one who is anyone, hasn’t seen Lawrence of Arabia and marveled at
it. But to read the book, was for me, an awesome and humbling experience.
I had tried to read it as a young person, but without
success. This time, gritting my
teeth, I opened the first page and found myself instantly caught up the
thoughts and the style. Fortuitously, the years had changed me. Here was a book
to enchant, to teach, to reveal.
It did not disappoint me.
The opening sentence was a clue. What followed captured me
entirely:..…”For years we lived anyhow with one another in the naked desert,
under the indifferent heaven. By day the hot sun fermented us and we were
dizzied by the beating wind. At night, we were stained by dew and shamed into
pettiness by the innumerable silences of stars…”
At the end of the opening paragraph, my future reading for
the next 8 weeks was circumscribed.
Lawrence describes the desert in minute detail so you learn
about the differences in appearance of the sand, the rocks, the water supply,
the sunset, the dewfall, the rain, the wind, the hills and the valleys. You
learn about the camels, their ability to cope with the most arduous conditions,
their loyalties.
In book IX, speaking of Ghazala, one of his favorite camels,
Lawrence describes this incident, shortly after her foal died.....”Abdullah had
skinned the little carcass and carried the pelt behind his saddle…We started
well, but after an hour, Ghazala lifted her head high and began to pace
uneasily..…I tried to urge her but Abdullah dashed alongside me…sprang from his
saddle, calf’s skin in hand. He lighted with lighted with a splash of gravel in
front of Ghazala, who had come to a standstill, gently moaning. On the ground
before her he spread the little hide and drew her head down to it. She stopped
crying, shuffled the dryness thrice with her lips, then again lifted her head
and with a whimper strode forward..…”
The reader learns about the war to free the Arabs from the
Turkish domination, the effort to coalesce the innumerable tribes under one
leader, Faisal, the difficulty in coordinating the military and civilian
factions. And essentially we marvel at one man’s ability to persevere, despite
pain, failure, hunger, illness, and despair.
One such
episode is described in Book where he is in e desperate need of supplies and
help. Three times he tries to contact his British superiors in Suez, and is
repeatedly denied…”They regretted it was not their business….They were sorry,
but had no free boats… .I got through again. ……They cut me off…” In this instance, he persevered and was eventually
successful.
The book is its own reward. One page after another feeds you with wonder. He describes his friendship with Auda,
the feasts that are provided in tents throughout the campaign, his perception
of the aging effect the war had on all whom he met, and including himself, the
meticulous planning for the individual campaigns.
But it is the introspective aspect of his nature that I
found disturbing. He is plagued by
self-doubt, a terrible feeling of the uselessness of it all. Underlying all the effort, the success,
the failure, the courage, the monumental heights that men can reach, is the basic
sorrow and helplessness that is T.E. Lawrence.
The final chapters, describing the capture of Damascus, offered page after page of suspense. It was difficult to put the book down.
Having praised this book, it is incumbent upon me to say,
that the only way I could read it was to have a map next to me. The little maps
in the book are useful so long as
you keep them marked, or the page number firmly in your memory, not had to do
once you realize how necessary this is. As for his drawings, they are a treasure. He was a man of
many parts, as the saying goes.
I look forward to reading it again
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BOOK REVIEW The Last kid Picked by David Benjamin, Random House, 2002; hard cover; 271 pp.
The complete title of this little autobiographical gem is The Life and Times of The Last Kid Picked. From personal experience with my own family, I must say, life with my three sons when they were in elementary school would have been much easier if I had read this book first. It certainly fills an empty niche in the effort most mothers make to understand some of the behavior their boy children. And the actual details of this young boy's trials and tribulations can make your heart ache even though the book is light hearted. You learn on the opening page that the child's parents are separated, emphasizing the lingering pain of not having his father in his daily life:. "I stood out from the crowd. I was the kid without the father."
The place is Tomah, Michigan where the child attends a Catholic School and suffers the indignity of being the last child picked. His companions, whose names have been changed to protect their identities, are drawn with broad brush strokes which allow their activities to create wonderful images, exaggerated, but wonderful nevertheless.
Their activities focus on baseball and fishing in muddy waters. How they do not contract terrible skin infections and other disease is a mystery which would have been a comfort to me in those days long ago when my three were also fishing in muddy waters.
The fishing expeditions resulted in tadpoles which were duly saved, of course, and turtles, full of menace. All of the preceding escalated into escapades that adults find intolerable but for these boy children, just another thing that happened yesterday because today something else is evolving, equally unpleasant and hazardous.
The table of contents is intriguing:...."A Perfect Day....Jesus christ KId Go Outside....By the Shores of Lake Monona.."
But don't be deceived. Underlying the carefree lighthearted approach is the sad struggle of childhood when you are the last kid picked. "..... I befriended Koscal and Fat Vinny because no one else would ever think to volunteer. Koscal and Fat Vinny, in turn, hung out with me...."
It is sad. It is funny. It provides insight into the inscrutable minds of young boys intent on keeping the world around them unsanitary and dangerous. and the ending is just what is wanted.
Yes, this is required reading for mother's of young sons, providing gentle insight for all those whose children are picked first.
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Book review: Patriot Hearts by Barbara Hambly
Patriot Hearts is an American historical novel, a collection of vignettes based on the lives of the wives of the first three American presidents and the life of Sally Hemmings, the mistress of Thomas Jefferson.
It is 426 pages of amazing meticulous research. The style varies as it tells the stories of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison and Sally Hemmings
From time to time it is a narrative, utterly charming and compelling, and interestingly enough, a movie script offering superb detail for the set designer.
Some of the narrative portions, such as the story of Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson on their return to America from Paris, are page turners, presenting well drawn characters and fascinating descriptions such as voyaging across the ocean and life in Paris at the time of the French Revolution.
We can look at the book's opening six pages for examples.
The first episode, a treasure chest of historical detail, is subtitled Dolley Madison, with the annotation *Washington City, Wednesday, August 24, 1814, 9:00AM.
Here, at this specific moment in time, we are introduced to Dolley talking to a childhood friend, Sophie, with Polly the parrot, flying about and squawking, as the to women evaluate the threat posed by the attacking British troops.
Little details create a very visual scene with interruptions from household staff, Paul, 15, the valet and Freemason, the butler.
It is England versus America once again. We learn about Admiral Cockburn's conquest of Maryland, specifically the burning of the port, Havre de Grace, Cockburn's follow-up treatment in London of James Madison, and Cockburn's intention to capture Dolley and trot her along the streets in fetters, also in London.
Middle of page 5, we learn that the reason Dolley is not fleeing from Washington City is because she wants to wait for Jemmy, and the Generals of the militia and she is not afraid of the angry attacking British, led once again by Admiral Cockburn.
We also learn the reason the British are angry. It seems folks in Massachusetts burned down the Canadian Parliament Building in York.
Finally, bottom of page 5, we learn that Dolley is wary of Sophie, despite the fact that Dolley and Sophie are best friends and have been since childhood, both being the tallest girls in the class. It seems Sophie's father was a Loyalist. The family was ruined and driven out of the country. Therefore, Dolley suspects Sophie's loyalty .
On page 6 we learn how many troops were needed, requested, and from what state. This is immediately followed with italicized thoughts of Dolley relating to her mistrust of Sophie. The burning question is, will Sophie betray Dolley's escape plans.
On the way upstairs after a quote by Dolley from Arab lore, Dolley summarizes what she is taking from the Presidential residence and why. We learn what Sukey said, where the gardener is and what the gardener has been sent out to find, plus Dolley's intention not to leave the without her Jemmy.
Still, middle of page 6, we now explore this business of Dolley's brave intention to save Jemmy, Jemmy's health problems, Jemmy's possible intentions, and Sophie's assessment of the military situation.
But Sophie abruptly stops the assessment as they enter the bedroom to see Sukey, spyglass in hand at the northeast windows. We are quickly appraised of the fact that Sukey, a slave, was a gift from her husband which Dolley had to accept.
Sukey has not seen any smoke but she does know, from Mrs. Jones' butler Lou, what exactly is happening at Goose Creek. More tactics enlighten us from the all knowing Sophie. Apparently there is agreement on the tactics and the advice given to Jemmy from Dolley but not accepted by General Armstrong.
Observations follow by Sophie, alluding to the spirit of the British fighting forces after their experiences of Waterloo vis a vis the expected encounter with the Virginia militia, in which Sukey agrees.
More packing plans discussed and Danny, the son of the butler is momentarily, part of the discussion.
Then back to Dolley' s philosophy of what should be saved from this Presidential dwelling under siege. This is followed by a bit of geography via the spyglass again, concerning Goose Creek, the hills, and the Bladensburg Road. Sukey is quoted and we learn how Dolley feels about the quality of the cherished blue china.
Argumentative Sophie challenges the packing philosophy, reminding Dolley about Washington and Jefferson and who took what the last time the Brits sacked the town..
Despite the heat, Dolley joins the argument with her explanation, including a few words about the difference between the ways men and women view household objects, Dolley being in favor of the values women place on children's dolls and children's porringers.
On to page 7, where meanwhile the neighborhood id going up in flames according to Sophie, while the tea set is evaluated as either staying or going.. This evaluation is somehow based on Sophie's recollection her afternoon 18 years ago with Lady Washington serving Sophie tea when Sophie returned from Paris.
Segue to a mirror encrusted with diamonds given to Lady Washington by the Queen of France.
Tea talk suspends for a moment, as Dolley, spyglass in hand at the window sees movement. She experiences sudden relief as she identifies the two carriages, topped with belongings, men following behind pushing wheel barrows.
Tea talk now segues to mirror talk, Marie Antoinette's gift to Mrs. Washington, a detail description of the mirror, the gold, the enameling, and how it was part of the accouterments for proper traveling, and memories of Lady Washington's skin texture and coloring, the mitts that she wore, the plumpness of her hands, eye size and color, and the contrast afforded by Lady Washington's black dress.
Now they start to look for the mirror in the curio cabinet downstairs, remembering the mirror's transportation difficulties across the ocean, including the ship being captured by British privateers.
The curio cabinet is described and its contents, and the uses to which the tea set was put amidst the animosity felt by Lady Washington toward the tea set and the mirror. She felt so much animosity that she would have trashed them both except for the fact that they belonged to the country and not to her.
This bit of nastiness is questioned by Sophie and explained by Dolley as the threatening sounds outside, reminds her of her dread of what might yet befall Jemmy.
And what about Martha Washington's attitudes? Would Martha have been unsympathetic to Dolley and her plight because of the resentment towards Jemmy? It was Jemmy who persuaded Washington to return to public life against Martha's wishes. Martha was indeed resentful. She had wanted her husband to retire from public life so they could live happily ever after.
Yes, it was Jemmy who persuaded George Washington to come out of retirement.
And Dolley, looking outside, sees unknown men speaking to some of the idlers who are watching the mansion. Suddenly, they are up and running, presumably to their homes to pack up and flee.
This was the first six pages.
Episode 2, set in 1747, entitled Martha, follows in style and content, the first 6 pages: a plethora of characters plus historical detail, analysis, and brush strokes to endow the characters with emotions. Most of the episodes are similar.
A few of the episodes are different. That of Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson after their return from Paris. is compelling.
To repeat, the research is formidable. The book requires a lot from the reader. But the reward is great.
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