Memoir Reading Challenge 2019

I am going to join the Memoir Reading Challenge next year to broaden my reading horizons a little bit.  I don't think I have read a memoir that was not in graphic novel form since the 1980s. There are 30 categories to choose from on the challenge page. Of course the graphic novel memoir interests me but also the food, political and travel memoirs. The challenge post also has a link to Goodreads' lists of types of memoirs and I found another interesting category: missionary memoirs.  I used to read them all the time when I was young.

I am signing up to read 5 memoirs only as I am not sure how interested I am in this genre. I know that I am going to have to read Julia Child and Jacques Pepin's memoirs on how they became chefs. About 3 missionary memoirs interest me as well as David McCullough's book on John Adams, my favorite president. There is a music memoir category that interests me but I will have to keep searching to find a book that fits in the caregory.

The Painter's Apprentice

This is the first book of Laura Morelli's that I have read and I was quite impressed. The story was rich with the arts and forbidden love in 1510 Venice when it was fighting a big battle with the bubonic plague. It is the author's second novel in her Venetian Artisans series.

19 year old Maria Bartolini has been sent away from her father's gilding workshop to work as an apprentice under famous painter Master Trevisan for 18 months in exchange for learning how to use pigments. She prefers to work with gold leaves but works hard to learn how to paint with pigment all while pining for her home, family and her lover, a Saracen working in her father's shop as a gold beater. When she discovers that she is pregnant Maria tries to get in touch with her family but is blocked by barricades set up to stop the spread of the pestilence, the bubonic plague. The Trevisan family maid figures out Maria's secret and together with the family's boatman exhorts money from her to keep the secret from Master Trevisan. Other artisans have been jailed and then exiled for the same offense so Maria pays them until she can figure out how to handle her situation.

I love art, using gold leaves too, so the artistic backstory was fascinating for me. I also love the Renaissance period. The pairing of these two made for a great story. Add in a forbidden love story between an interracial couple and a plague and you have a plot that is hard to beat.

As an artist I loved reading all the details about the gilding process. I was amused when artists from other areas of Europe were brought into the story who talked about using a new background for their art - canvas. It was deemed revolutionary to those who were doing traditional paintings on wood. The use of oil paints as a new medium was also discussed but the guild the Venetians belonged to still mixed pigment from natural resources. I thought this was hilarious but truth be told it was during this era that the art world began to change.

Another major part of the story was the bubonic plague. It affected commerce, how the artisans were able to obtain supplies and maintain customers as the city fell victim to the plague block by block. Neighborhoods were boarded up so no one could enter or leave which meant food could not be delivered to those in quarantine. When someone got sick they were forced by the police to sail to a nearby island where most of them died and were buried without notice to their families.

The characters were awesome.  All of them. From Maria to her father, aunt, cousin, lover, boss, the maid, the boatman and the boss's wife, they all played their parts well.  The maid and boatman provided the story with the evil characters while Master Trevisan's wife was the typical rich and gossipy wife. Maria had an aunt who was a nun who did her best to get her to enter the convent.

The author used contemporary English with the exception of the character and place names which helped to make the book a quick read.  I enjoyed The Painter's Apprentice immensely and rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

2019 Historical Fiction Challenge Sign-Up

It's hard to believe that reading challenges are already being announced for next year. The Historical Fiction Challenge is one of my favorites so I will be rejoining the challenge in 2019. However, I will be reducing the number of books that I will be reading to 10, the Renaissance Reader level. I signed up to read 25 historical fiction books this year and I am struggling with my interest in reading in general so I am not sure if I will meet my mark. With 10 as a goal I know that I can more than meet the challenge.

Berlin

Jason Lutes' historical graphic novel Berlin is a masterpiece. It tells the story of the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party during the years 1928 through 1933. It was originally serialized in 22 issues over 2 decades but it was published in one volume by Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly in September, 2018.

The story opens with Marthe Muller arriving in Berlin on a train where she has met Berlin journalist Kurt Severing. Muller has come to Berlin to take art classes and is mourning the loss of her brother in World War 1. Many of the scenes in the book show both of them throughout their days with the people they meet and live with. The Braun family is also prominent. They are a working class family struggling to make ends meet. Another family prominent in the book is a Jewish family adapting to the political environment.

The city of Berlin is actually the protagonist of the story. Both its luxuriousness and poverty are shown. The author has scenes depicting lavish salons, severely disabled homeless veterans, automobiles for the rich, crumbling buildings, and elaborate train stations. He also uses characters to show that it was a city of intellectualism with a loose sexual culture before it fell into decline.

While the main characters are interesting, there are many secondary characters that tell a major part of the city's story. Some of them you may only see in one scene but they reflect the views of people in a changing society who don't really care for change whether it be political or technological. Other secondary characters are members of political groups fighting for change.

The artwork consists of intricately detailed black and white drawings set in a traditional comic book page spread. Every couple of pages there is a full page drawing so detailed that I think it could be colored in with watercolors in the same way that urban sketchers work. Even the drawings without dialogue say a lot because the faces within them are so expressive.

Berlin is truly a masterpiece. It is an epic historical novel in 575 pages. I highly recommend it.

The Arab of the Future 3

Riad Sattouf has recently published part 3 of his series about growing up in the Middle East. It only covers 2 years of his life; from 1985 through 1987. Riad has a French Christian mother, Clementine, and a Lebanese father who teaches at a Syrian university. Together with his younger brother Yahya they live in the countryside village of Ter Maaleh where there are many deprivations of life. The power frequently goes out, there are no traditional grocery stores and many foods are scarce.

Riad is now 7 and continues to struggle with fitting in. Because he is blonde like his mother Riad is frequently accused of being Jewish. He and his best friend Saleem are star pupils and are never in trouble with the teacher. However, they incur the wrath of other students who regularly get caned by the teacher. They still manage to have a good time in an increasingly cruel society run by Bashir Al-Asad. His parents frequently fight as Clementine demands they either move to a large city in Syria or back to France where she is from. His father struggles with his lack of religious piety, something that his mother demands from him, including a demand that Riad be circumcised like all Muslim boys. Success always seems right around the corner for this family. With interesting relatives that make great secondary characters Sattouf has another hit with this graphic memoir.

As with the earlier two novels, the artwork consists of line drawings with a color scheme based on where the family is located during a scene. The drawings are colored pink when they are in Syria and blue when they are in France. Since most of the story takes place in Syria, this book is primarily colored in pink.

I have looked forward to getting this book since part 2 was published.  It was a long wait but well worth it. Now I have to wait for part 4!

Leaving China

When I purchased this book I thought that it was a graphic novel.  It is more of a memoir told in both the written word and in paintings. On each double page spread James McMullan shares a written page about a phase in his life and a painting showing that phase.

McMullan begins his story with his grandparents arrival in China as missionaries and their departure from preaching the gospel to providing practical assistance that their Chinese neighbors desperately needed. In this process some people became Christians but the family also became wealthy, by Chinese standards, as they created business enterprises to support their practical ministries.

His parents continued the work but when the author came of age he was more interested in art than missionary work. McMullin left China for training but returned with a family. When WWII began the family had to find other places to go to for safety and hence, leave China. This is what this book is about.

McMullan has a captivating story to tell and he tells it well.  While his paintings are nice, I think his written word about his experiences are what makes this book excellent. It is a family saga covering 3 generations.  Their story is shaped by the historical events of the era which also makes this book a learning experience for those unfamiliar with the late 1800s through the mid twentieth century.

I enjoyed the book immensely. It was a relaxing read and I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

City of Ink

City of Ink is the third book in the Li Du mystery series set in eighteenth century China.  In this installment of the series former imperial librarian Li Du is back in Beijing from exile.  He is working as the assistant to the chief inspector of the North Borough Office of Beijing's Outer City.

There are many new men in the city preparing to take exams for potential government positions when the wife of the owner of The Black Tile Factory and a man, who appears to be her lover, are found dead in the administrative office of the factory one morning. Li Du and his boss, Chief Inspector Sun, begin an investigation into their murders.

The murdered bodies were found on page 12 which meant that most of the book could be devoted to finding the killer.  I think that is important in a mystery.  I hate it when the crime doesn't occur until a third of the way into a book.

The author used setting descriptions to maintain the historical features of the novel but kept the dialogue mostly contemporary for a quicker read.  Some of the dialogue referred to a historical past but it was still contemporary. The reader certainly was able to get the feel of being in imperial China which showed the author's knowledge of the location and era.

City of Ink was much better than the second book in the series, The White Mirror. I think the reason is that City of Ink took place in Beijing and White Mirror took place while Li Du was on the road. In the first book in the series, Jade Dragon Mountain, Li Du was on his way out of Beijing into exile but there was alot of back story taking place there.  I think Beijing is the best setting for this series since the hero is, after all, a librarian. Li Du seems to be more in his element here.

City of Ink is a great whodunnit. I highly recommend it and give it 5 out of 5 stars!

The Soul of America

The Soul of America The Battle for our Better Angels is the first book by Jon Meacham that I have read.  Part of the title comes from a famous quote from Abraham Lincoln wherein he says that the memory of our bonds of affection will swell the Union when touched by the better angels of our nature.  I was inspired even before the Introduction by 3 quotes.  One from James Baldwin, another by Franklin Roosevelt and the third by Lyndon Johnson.

As I was reading I felt I inspired by the recitation of American history that I was quite familiar with but have not heard anyone talk about in decades. Citizens from my baby boomer generation are well familiar with the thoughts the author presented and believe them.  I am not so sure that young Americans do and I doubt that they would bother with a book written by someone from my generation.  I am 60 by the way.

The author's grasp of history is evident as he connects events from Reconstruction and the Civil Rights movement. He showed Lyndon Johnson's knowledge of the need to return to the events at Appotommax, where Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant, in order to fix the civil right wrongs of the 1960s. He shows how politicians in our past and present have used fear to get elected and how that did not work out well for them or for the country either.

One fact that I was not aware of was that every President from Reconstruction to the beginning of the 20th century had to make deals with the KKK in order to get elected. Warren Harding, who did not like them, made a critical public remark about them and their response was to create a conspiracy theory that he had black blood.  This conspiracy theory was backed with false affidavits concerning his birth record. Sound familiar? Another new fact for me was that there was a national debate at the end of the Civil War whether emancipation meant equality. The South got organized and won that political debate.

While it seems that the Trumpian politics of today are a new low for the U. S., Meacham tells us a forgotten history that says otherwise. Our politics have always been nasty with brief interludes of peacefulness.  However, there have always been several voices in each generation speaking against the wrongs of the day, voices that succeeding generations followed.

While I have always believed that each generation has improved life in our nation and that this would always continue throughout history, I cannot be as optimistic about the future as the author.  The reason is that the young people I know do not acknowledge that there is a shared American past or even a shared creed. This is new. We have never had a generation so unconnected with the past. It's only what can I get for myself from so-and-so in the fastest way possible. What I think is discarded by them because I am old and responsible for all the things they think are wrong with the country. Many of these things are not wrong, it just prevents them from having to work to get ahead.

As I write this review, I have just watched the funeral of Sen. John McCain where the ideals presented in The Soul of America were talked about but only by those whose careers were either over or will be over soon due to their advancing age. Who will take up our American cause and show our true soul? I am anxious about this. I try to be hopeful but it is hard.

The author offers a salve for these feelings in the final chapter with a Harry Truman quote, "The next generation never learns anything from the previous one until its brought home with a hammer." The author ends with "The moral utility of the past should help us prepare to act in the present."

I did not have high expectations when I got this book even though it has had many great reviews and everyone told me I had to read it. I viewed it as a political book, a type of book that I try to avoid. However, I was surprised by how Meacham connected the past with the present. It is a fabulous trip down America's memory lane and Meacham shows all the good, the bad and the ugly parts as well as how it explains where we are now as a nation. I am thrilled that I read the book and highly recommend it. 

The Essex Serpent

This is the first book by Sarah Perry that I have read. It is her second novel, a work of historical fiction set in London and Essex in 1893.

After Cora Seaborne's uncaring husband dies, she abandons her society life in London and takes a trip to Colchester and the coastal town of Essex with her 11 year old son and his nanny where she is free to pursue her personal interests in the natural sciences. She continues to see her former husband's physician who she initially feels affection for, affection that is returned. Here she first hears about the 300 year old legend of the Essex Serpent who has recently been seen roaming the local waterways. The serpent has been rumored by local residents to have killed a man. In Essex Cora meets the Reverend William Ransome and his wife Stella and becomes a friend of the family.

I read a positive review of this book last year but what made me pick this book up at the library is its gorgeous cover. We don't often see beautiful covers like this so I want to point out that it was designed by Peter Dyer using images from iStock and William Morris. Dyer is a graphic artist in London who has designed many book covers in his illustrious career.

I don't usually read straight historical fiction as I prefer historical mysteries. Historical fiction reads a little slow for me. However, I felt this book was even slower than normal for historical fiction. I was engaged in the plot during the first half of the book but completely lost interest at the halfway mark.  While I continued reading I was bored. There was very little plot movement or character development. I couldn't wait for the book to end and skipped some of the last 100 pages.

This book was disappointing. That old saying that you can't judge a book by its cover applies here.

Crippled Grace

Crippled Grace is a book in the Studies in Religion, Theology and Disability series by Baylor University Press. The series will include books that discuss disability in all of the faith traditions. The author is a theology professor at Alphacrucis College in Sydney, Australia. Readers note that both the author and this blogger have mobility impairments.

The author, Shane Clifton, had my utmost attention from the first paragraph of the Introduction. I knew that I would be buying this book which I had taken out of my local library. He struck a cord with this statement "We are told by charismatic preachers and motivational speakers that to concede to the constraints of disability is to fail in faith; to give in to doubt rather than be positive... " Boy, have I heard that fail in faith message over and over.

He also brought up a touchy subject that people with disabilities are set up to be used as inspirational, something we in the disability community call inspiration porn.  The purpose of inspiration porn is to make nondisabled people feel better about their life circumstances. The author states his intention in the Introduction to show in his book that disability, happiness and faith are not self-contradictory.  I had never thought of this viewpoint before but can see that he is right.

Clifton was already a theology professor when he became a quadriplegic. The experience caused him to reevaluate his thoughts on Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas' viewpoints toward virtue. For example, Aristotle believed that ill health was not only undesirable but restricted the full exercise of virtue and the good life. He also believed women and slaves were inferior and therefore incapable of virtue.  You can make a similar application of these thoughts toward disabled people and discern that Aristotle would not have considered disabled people capable of living a good life. Likewise, Aquinas felt that happiness could be impeded by illness, ie, disability.

There is much more theology from both of these men and other theologians as well as the Bible on issues such as suffering, pain, happiness, and grace.  This is, after all, a theology book. Where necessary, Clifton shows how the theology has been incorrectly interpreted to the detriment of people with disabilities. When he shows a different, or correct, interpretation I am emotional; gaining new knowledge, but emotional. In addition, there are several chapters discussing the psychology of happiness and friendship and one chapter on sexuality.

I must admit that the theology and philosophical theories did not sink in because the communion of experiences among people of disabilities tugged at my emotions. I will read the book at a later date to pick up what I missed.

The book made me feel better as a person with a disability. For me, it has now been 32 years since I became disabled. There was some camaraderie from hearing similar life stories from other persons with disabilities and their families and also the identification of feelings I had toward God and the local church that I was not always consciously aware of. I wanted to get out a yellow highlighter to mark sections that were important to me but this is a library book so I could not do that!

When I picked up this book from the library I thought I would be giving a review of its theology on disability. However, it touched me personally and that is all I can say. 

Origin

Origin is the 5th installment of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series.  However, unlike the earlier books this one had a boring start, mediocre middle and a strong finish.

I have a rule that if a book does not grab my attention by the first 50 pages I put it down.  It didn't grab my attention but I kept reading anyway because this is a Dan Brown book.  In the first 3 pages there was talk about a new scientific revelation that scientist Edmond Kirsch discovered that would upend all religions. For the next 100 pages there was only talk about what it could possibly be. There was no action nor any statement about what this new revelation was. Kirsch was planning on revealing his discovery at an event at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain that would be live streamed to millions.  However, Kirsch was murdered during his presentation but before he could state what his discovery was. As his former teacher, Robert Langdon was invited to the event and witnessed the murder.

The story then picked up as it alternated between Langdon's attempt to find out who killed Kirsch as well as figure out what his discovery was and the scene at the Spanish Royal Palace where Prince Julian, assumed to be a staunch supporter of the Roman Catholic faith, is about to ascend the throne.

This book did not read like a Dan Brown book. The sentence structures were different. The suspenseful chapter endings were not there. There was no treasure hunt or emphasis on symbols as in prior novels but rather just a murder mystery. It seems like Dan Brown did not write this novel. That is how different Origin is from his prior books.

I was disappointed with Origin. While the plot premise was good, the writing was not. Let's hope he gets it right the next time.

Kaffe Fassett's Bold Blooms

I have read a few of Kaffe Fassett's books and even had the good fortune to take a 2 day quilt workshop with him 5-10 years ago. I love his fabrics and have used them in several quilts. Bold Blooms was not only eye candy for me but inspiration as well for future quilts that I am dreaming up.  I am counting this book as a selection for the 2018 Creativity Reading Challenge.

The book begins with Kaffe's story as an artist. He moved from California to London in the 1960s and began sketching items he saw in the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as in England's estate homes. Photos of his watercolor sketchbooks are included in the book which I found interesting as I never knew he used that medium. From those sketchbooks he began his design career, initially in knitwear, oil paintings, tapestries and then quilt fabric design. However, all along he was inspired by floral patterns, the larger the better. He is also a colorist, by that I mean he uses color intensely and combines colors in ways that most artists would not.

I have never used large scale prints in a quilt before but Kaffe shows how it is done. He includes cutting and sewing instructions for several quilts.  I am interested in making 3 of them but 2 use both traditional piecing and applique methods.  I am not good with applique so I am hesitant to try to make them.

As I said earlier this book is eye candy for an artist, quilter, etc... There are large scale photographs of his paintings, tapestries and fabrics as well as his muses from the London museums and estate homes. You also see him working in his glorious colors while knitting, painting, doing needlepoint and designing a quilt on a quilt wall. For those of you who do not quilt, we plan our quilts on a flannel fabric design "wall" that is held against a wall in our sewing room that is large enough to hold fabric pieces for the entire quilt.  Here we try out fabric colors to see what works together before actually sewing the pieces together. You can also see what the whole quilt will look like before sewing and if it isn't pleasing to the eye you can make changes.

The colors in the photographs are inspirational on their own. As an artist my heart begins to swoon when I see color used this way and I can see in my mind not only quilts I could make but colored pencil drawings too.  The big question for me is whether I need  to buy this book.  Probably. While I took it out of the public library it really belongs in my home library for future inspiration.

Highly recommended for artists and quilters!

Zahra's Paradise

Zahra's Paradise takes place in Tehran in 2009. The author and illustrator have chosen to remain anonymous for political reasons and are known only as Amir and Khalil. This is a graphic novel.

The story is about a mother, Zahra, searching for her son, Mehdi, after one of the biggest street protests that took place in Tehran after an election. Mehdi has disappeared.  His mother and his brother Hassan, a blogger and the book's narrator, search for him at all of the city's hospitals, prisons and at the morgue.  They plead with corrupt politicians for information on an almost daily occasion, showing them all a copy of Mehdi's photograph. Hassan even hacks into one of the regime's most notorious prison's computer system with the hope that he will find him there.

This story primarily shows that a mother's love has no boundaries. However, it also shows how Iranians engaged with each other at that time period, which was not so long ago, just 9 years ago.  We westerners have been taught by the media that Iran is solely Muslim yet Zahra's best friend since the 3rd grade is Miriam, a chain smoking, drinking Armenian Christian. The title of this book "Zahra's Paradise" is also the English translation of the name of the largest cemetery in Iran, located in Tehran. Those interred there include people who both supported and opposed the Iranian Revolution as well as the current regime. Also, the regime buried Jews there that they caught and murdered. This story is showing a more diverse Iran than I am accustomed to hearing about with Jews and Christians living there alongside Muslims.

The artwork is composed of black and white drawings with varying degrees of grey shading which I assume reflects the desperation felt by Medhi's family. The comic is formatted in a traditional comic book page spread.

This story is an important one to tell. It shows what life is like in Iran at this time period. While this is a book of fiction, real life events took place in its pages. The election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 as President of Iran resulted in days of protests. The arrest, torture and murder of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi is part of the story. Also, the hanging of 2 gay men was mentioned. I remember reading about this in the newspaper. What surprised me was what the Iranians in the book thought about the execution of these 2 men. They wondered why their leaders could not wait for God's judgment on them and why they felt that they had to be the judge and executioner.

Highly recommended!