Varina

Varina by Charles Frazier
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The wife of Jefferson Davis tells her story to a free black man whom she raised as her son until the end of the Civil War when they were separated. The story spirals...going to from one time period to the next, barely progressing the storyline. It’s beautifully written and has a unique point of view. But the meandering plotline makes it seem as long and tiresome as their escape to Florida.

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She gathered the children to her, hugging each of them separately and then all together like an enormous stinky bouquet.

V pulled open a cupboard drawer and found a sprinkling of mouse droppings. The oblong black nubs moved like suddenly magnetized iron filings or swirled tea leaves until they settled and found their pattern on the drawer bottom. Prophetic, but not subtly so. Just another message from the gods about diminishing expectations.

He theorized amnesia relieves melancholia. Which makes complete sense, because memory is so often to blame for it. Who couldn’t use their load of time and history lightened?

Make up your addled young mind too soon and afterward—unless you are a true and total rebel—your way forward in life narrows down to the dimensions of a railroad tunnel. Or, a better and more modern simile, to the horrific pinching aperture of a camera shutter, metal plates wrapping onto themselves, constricting, until the mechanism quickly opens and then closes for good with the snap of a trap, fixing you in a moment you’ll regret to the grave.

Don’t think about the existence of an artifact representative of that time, the whipping post. It played no direct part in their decades together. One could be with them for days and forget that their fundamental relationship was anything but friendship and respect and mutual responsibility stretching back to youth. But then something would happen. A small shift in Jeff’s tone of voice asking for the second time that some minor task be done, a moment of ignoring Pemberton as if he weren’t there. Flashes of language and particular tones of rudeness revealed that the relationship between the two men was deeply complex. That the fundamental note of their long history together condensed to a simple fact—one member of the friendship was owner and the other was both labor and capital. And then the shadow of that post traced divisions clear and precise as the sweeping shadow of a sundial.

The idea was, the you you are with others is not you. To be lonesome is to be who you most fully are.

A sorry realization when you know the best you can offer is not your presence but your absence.

Tropic of orange

Tropic of Orange by Karen Tei Yamashita
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yowza! There is a lot to unpack in this novel. Immigration, feminism, capitalism, noir, magical realism...the list goes on. Yet it is strangely intriguing and hopeful too. Don’t be afaid to dig a little. Understanding the history behind everything from orange production to gang maps will help you love this novel more.

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Franklin and Eleanor

Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an interesting couple! If Franklin and Eleanor attempted to go to the White House now, I’m not sure social media’s 24/7 coverage and everyone’s opinion weighing in would have allowed them to succeed. In an era where most of the nation didn’t even realize how crippled Franklin was, Eleanor and Franklin were able to have an unconventional, although symbiotic relationship. They truly cared and respected each other but found what was misssing in their relationship with other people. Eleanor couldn’t be the nursemaid Franklin needed and Franklin couldn’t accompany Eleanor on her romps. This relationship allowed Eleanor freedom to pursue her interests and explore new issues and talents. Is it a model of a great relationship? I guess that’s for the reader to decide. I’m amazed that as documented as these two are, there still seem to be facets we don’t really know. I trust Rowley did a thorough job researching and was careful to only print the facts, but it would be nice to know more than speculation on some of the particulars of the relationships they had outside their marriage. (And more of what their kids thought and did).

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So Far From God

So Far from God by Ana Castillo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book definitely takes some rumination, On the surface it meanders and it doesn’t seem like anything significant happens. But if you take a moment to ask what the magic symbolizes, what role each sister plays in society, and the overall significance of feminism, culture, and religion on communities, then it becomes a much richer book. Let’s just say I’m glad I read it as part of my grad studies, otherwise I would have missed the point.

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Here Comes the Sun

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A unique perspective of Jamaican life. Issues include poverty, sexuality, race...which are not unique but told in light of the Jamaican culture. Yet of course these issues are universal and we get to see these strong women try to navigate (mostly unsuccessfully) the world they are thrown into. How much are we willing to sacrifice for success? Wha is success? Money, reputation, power, beauty, love? Lots to chew over while you’re cooking up some jerk chicken...

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Even the red hibiscuses hang from their stems like the tongues of thirsty dogs.

It’s as though Verdene doesn’t exist—never existed—of her own free will.

Perhaps she was oblivious to this loss because she was too busy trying to bury memories of the past, using their brittle bones to construct a future.

The Good Neighbor

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fred Rogers was one of a kind. He truly knew who he was and acted in kind ways in all aspects of his life. The writing is not the best, and I wish there would have been more insight into how it was to be his wife or child, but overall informative and inspiring.

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There are many people in the world who want to make children into performing seals. And as long as children can perform well, those adults will applaud. But I would much rather help a child to be able to say who he or she is.” 37

Ironically, John Rogers, the younger son, observed in an interview that “Maybe there was a little too much self-discipline in our family, for my brother and me. Meaning that we weren’t ready for the self-discipline that maybe was exuded upon us. . . . I often feel that—I don’t know if we want to use the term—the hammer should have come down a little harder; more limits should have been set


I’ll never forget the sense of wholeness I felt when I finally realized what I was—songwriter, telecommunicator, student of human development, language buff—but that all those things and more could be used in the service of children’s healthy growing. The directions weren’t written in invisible ink on the back of my diploma. They came ever so slowly for me; and ever so firmly I trusted that they would emerge. All I can say is, it’s worth the struggle to discover who you really are.”

“One of the major goals of education must be to help students discover a greater awareness of their own unique selves, in order to increase their feelings of personal worth, responsibility, and freedom.”

House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Allende is a an amazing writer. The book spans four generations of Chileans. History mixed with magic, love, and violence. One of those epics that make you get lost in their world while you’re reading it.

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