Marianne Perry's Blog, page 5
March 22, 2016
What Is Your Definition of Mother? Book Review: The Light Between The Oceans
What Is Your Definition of Mother?
Book Review:
The Light Between The Oceans by M. L. Stedman
Thomas (Tom) Sherbourne is the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock; a station built in 1889 on a remote island off the western Australian coast. He and his wife, Isabel Graysmark are the sole inhabitants; supplies are delivered by boat every few months and they have limited contact with the mainland settlement, Point Partageuse. Tom discovers a deceased man and baby in a dinghy on the beach. Assuming him the father, Isabel attempts to dissuade Tom the mother must have fallen out and they should withhold information about the incident. She calls the infant “a gift from God.” Traumatized for having fought and survived World War One, Tom is wracked with grief and guilt over Isabel’s two miscarriages and a stillborn birth. Despite uneasiness, he concedes to her request. They present the child as theirs, christen her, Lucy, and raise her in a loving secluded environs. The novel recounts events that result in Lucy’s birth mother, Hannah Roennfeldt, learning that her now two year old daughter, Grace Ellen, alive. The story expounds the consequences of the abduction, Hannah’s reunion with her child and the aftermath of those concerned. The Light Between The Oceans begins on Janus Rock as Isabel says “on the day of the miracle,” April 27, 1926 and concludes August 28, 1950 in Hopetoun, four hundred miles east of Point Partageuse.
The three-hundred and forty-three page book is well organized. A map of Australia provides insight about its extensive coastline; reveals the importance of lighthouses and situates places to track plot. The prologue in Part One sets the scene and identifies the causes of conflict fuelling the story. Backstory commencing December 16, 1918 fleshes out the major characters and motivation for their actions. Part Two begins April 27, 1926, ends with the police arresting Tom and the family’s departure from Janus Rock. The twelve chapters comprising Part Three focus on the primary action; the conclusion is laced with sorrow yet also glimmers of hope.
The novel will appeal to those interested in Australia with references to the virulent sea, a complex landscape, petrel birds and ghost gum trees picturing the country. Technical info re lighthouses is comprehensive and the moral code, position of trust and meticulous duties of a keeper, fascinating. Historical details with respect to the laws prohibiting a wife from being forced to testify against her husband strengthen context.
The author’s skill at imagery merits note and the following excerpt from the introductory paragraphs of Chapter 35 describing a Point Partageuse rainstorm serve an example:
“When it rains in Partageuse, the clouds hurt down water and soak the town to its very bones….The rivers quicken, finally scenting the ocean from which they have so long been parted….Women look in exasperation at washing not retrieved from lines, and cats slink through the nearest convenient doorway, meowing their disdain….The rain transforms the living and the dead without preference.”
The issues explored are complex including: what constitutes family, the definition of mother, the complexity governing choice and what determines right and wrong. The abduction is multi-layered and to present its case, the author employs viewpoints supplemental to Tom and Isabel’s: Hannah’s father and sister, law enforcement officials and townspeople. M. L. Stedman compels reader to reflect on what they would have done in similar circumstances.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
March 2016
Book Review:
The Light Between The Oceans by M. L. Stedman
Thomas (Tom) Sherbourne is the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock; a station built in 1889 on a remote island off the western Australian coast. He and his wife, Isabel Graysmark are the sole inhabitants; supplies are delivered by boat every few months and they have limited contact with the mainland settlement, Point Partageuse. Tom discovers a deceased man and baby in a dinghy on the beach. Assuming him the father, Isabel attempts to dissuade Tom the mother must have fallen out and they should withhold information about the incident. She calls the infant “a gift from God.” Traumatized for having fought and survived World War One, Tom is wracked with grief and guilt over Isabel’s two miscarriages and a stillborn birth. Despite uneasiness, he concedes to her request. They present the child as theirs, christen her, Lucy, and raise her in a loving secluded environs. The novel recounts events that result in Lucy’s birth mother, Hannah Roennfeldt, learning that her now two year old daughter, Grace Ellen, alive. The story expounds the consequences of the abduction, Hannah’s reunion with her child and the aftermath of those concerned. The Light Between The Oceans begins on Janus Rock as Isabel says “on the day of the miracle,” April 27, 1926 and concludes August 28, 1950 in Hopetoun, four hundred miles east of Point Partageuse.
The three-hundred and forty-three page book is well organized. A map of Australia provides insight about its extensive coastline; reveals the importance of lighthouses and situates places to track plot. The prologue in Part One sets the scene and identifies the causes of conflict fuelling the story. Backstory commencing December 16, 1918 fleshes out the major characters and motivation for their actions. Part Two begins April 27, 1926, ends with the police arresting Tom and the family’s departure from Janus Rock. The twelve chapters comprising Part Three focus on the primary action; the conclusion is laced with sorrow yet also glimmers of hope.
The novel will appeal to those interested in Australia with references to the virulent sea, a complex landscape, petrel birds and ghost gum trees picturing the country. Technical info re lighthouses is comprehensive and the moral code, position of trust and meticulous duties of a keeper, fascinating. Historical details with respect to the laws prohibiting a wife from being forced to testify against her husband strengthen context.
The author’s skill at imagery merits note and the following excerpt from the introductory paragraphs of Chapter 35 describing a Point Partageuse rainstorm serve an example:
“When it rains in Partageuse, the clouds hurt down water and soak the town to its very bones….The rivers quicken, finally scenting the ocean from which they have so long been parted….Women look in exasperation at washing not retrieved from lines, and cats slink through the nearest convenient doorway, meowing their disdain….The rain transforms the living and the dead without preference.”
The issues explored are complex including: what constitutes family, the definition of mother, the complexity governing choice and what determines right and wrong. The abduction is multi-layered and to present its case, the author employs viewpoints supplemental to Tom and Isabel’s: Hannah’s father and sister, law enforcement officials and townspeople. M. L. Stedman compels reader to reflect on what they would have done in similar circumstances.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
March 2016
February 14, 2016
How Do You Celebrate Your Ancestors' Stories? Book Review: The Nine Lives Of Charlotte Taylor
The Nine Lives Of Charlotte Taylor by Sally Armstrong.
The Nine Lives Of Charlotte Taylor is a blend of fact and fiction that tells the story of Sally Armstrong’s great-great-great grandmother. It chronicles her life from May 1775 when at age twenty and estranged from her father, General William Howe Taylor, Charlotte departs Bristol, England on the Anton with her black lover, Pad Willisams, the family’s butler. The couple head to the West Indies to meet Pad’s relatives and begin anew. Upon arrival in Jamaica, everything unravels. There are no relatives, they are forced to work at The Raleigh Sugar Cane Plantation and live in squalor. Pad succumbs to yellow fever leaving a pregnant Charlotte alone. Feigning his widow, she is befriended by Commodore George Walker who operates a trading post in Nepisiguit in what is now the province of New Brunswick, Canada. He provides her passage there and she bonds with the People of the Salmon, a Mi’kmaq community, and gives birth to a daughter. The Commodore admits knowing her identity but Charlotte refuses to return to England and adhere to constrained rules. Cognizant she could not remain with the Mi’kmaq permanently; she dons a pragmatic outlook, concedes a husband necessary and weds Captain John Blake. The book recounts Charlotte’s experiences until her death in 1841.
Structurally, the 397 page novel is well-organized. It opens with a map situating the four locales in Northern New Brunswick, Canada where Charlotte settles: In the Preface, Armstrong states, “Historians claim she was the first woman settler on the Miramichi River.” The fourteen chapters are titled and dated with a year marking a significant phase of Charlotte’s life. I welcomed the titles referenced the map thereby allowing the reader to follow Charlotte’s journey plus understand the landscape of the period. The last section contains an Afterword, which speaks to Armstrong’s writing process, the accuracy of some details and unresolved questions about the real Charlotte Taylor. Acknowledgments express thanks.
Finally, Sources lists books, papers and archives consulted. Armstrong’s tale is rich with history: the West Indies trade, the Mi’kmaq, Loyalists, American colonists, etc. The Web Sites include Chronology of the Abolition of Slavery, The Acadian History Time Line and The Importance of Food in Eighteenth-Century Louisbourg. This section will aid those keen to acquire deeper insight into the 17th and 18th centuries and Armstrong merits commendation for its comprehensiveness.
Charlotte’s life is grim yet inspiring. She bears ten children, outlives three husbands, buries her oldest son and dies without surety of reconciliation with her father. She is unrelenting in her demands that females are treated equal to males and land registered in a woman’s name. Though upper class bred; her respect for and adoption of traditional ways melded with wit, stamina and will enable her to adapt to harsh environs. As a result of tenacity and resourcefulness, she establishes homesteads for her family and carves an identity of her own design. Though her life unfolds contrary to her initial imaginings, the reader senses her peaceful passing from old age symbolic of graceful acceptance.
Sally Armstrong is a skilled wordsmith. The imagery she crafts enlivens the past and reveals Charlotte’s persona. This excerpt from Chapter 2, The Atlantic Seaboard 1775 when she first sees the Baie de Chaleur paints a beautiful picture of a scene that captured Charlotte’s wonderment. “…Forests of fir trees drop off into fields of glistening seagrass that wave over long, sandy beaches…They (the whales) move like undersea mountains, riding up to the surface and slipping out of sight again.”
The next reference from Chapter 3, The Baie 1775where Charlotte witnesses a great blue heron has a similar effect. “A giant bird with blue-and-grey feathers, a long angular neck and spindly legs is standing like a solitary custodian gazing out over the water….The bird is grand but vulnerable, so lonely in its repose….lifts off the sand suddenly and soundlessly, its massive wingspan spreading to a width that astonishes her, its neck coiling as it takes flight.”
And thirdly, the moose calf moccasins Marie, a Mi’kmaq woman, makes Charlotte in Chapter 5, The Nepisiguit 1776 when she is about to move to the Miramichi. The act honours native artistry, testifies to a relationship that contravened social norms and emphasized our heroine’s determination to set her own course. Armstrong’s parsing is stellar. “They (the moccasins) are violet in colour, the skins dyed with the juice of blueberries, the sides ornamented with the exquisite quillwork of the People.”
Though of a steely temperament, Armstrong has developed Charlotte as a multi-dimensional character. Captain John Blake has just died and this passage of internal dialogue at the start of Chapter 9, The Southwest Miramichi 1785 allows the reader to feel her anguish and fears about her bleak dilemma. “…Dark thoughts whir like hornets. Is she cursed? A dead lover, a dead husband, and she is only thirty years old. Elizabeth is nine, John is almost eight, Polly is five and Robert three….She looks at her husband’s ashen face-no serenity there, just the marks of his pain-filled last hours-and thinks, What am I to do with you? Then, What am I to do without you?”
Armstrong also excels at depicting harrowing incidents Charlotte and her counterparts faced. Here are two excellent examples that transport the reader back to this era. Chapter 1, The Ocean 1775 when an Atlantic storm batters the Anton as it sails from England to the West Indies, and Chapter 11, The Miramichi 1791 during a three-day nor-easter that ravaged the community.
My primary reservation about this book relates to uneven pacing. Whereas Armstrong most often pens exacting writing, on occasion, she whizzes through events and periods with scant attention. A case in point is Chapter 13, The Point 1814 that spans 16 years in 12 pages. This inconsistency produces a jerky ebb and flow that disrupts an otherwise excellent read. A recommendation to enlarge the map and feature enhanced text would represent a visual improvement. I will conclude this review by applauding Sally Armstrong’s tribute to her great-great-great grandmother and affirm my belief that Charlotte Taylor is proud of her and this book. May we all take the author’s lead and celebrate our ancestors’ stories.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
The Nine Lives Of Charlotte Taylor is a blend of fact and fiction that tells the story of Sally Armstrong’s great-great-great grandmother. It chronicles her life from May 1775 when at age twenty and estranged from her father, General William Howe Taylor, Charlotte departs Bristol, England on the Anton with her black lover, Pad Willisams, the family’s butler. The couple head to the West Indies to meet Pad’s relatives and begin anew. Upon arrival in Jamaica, everything unravels. There are no relatives, they are forced to work at The Raleigh Sugar Cane Plantation and live in squalor. Pad succumbs to yellow fever leaving a pregnant Charlotte alone. Feigning his widow, she is befriended by Commodore George Walker who operates a trading post in Nepisiguit in what is now the province of New Brunswick, Canada. He provides her passage there and she bonds with the People of the Salmon, a Mi’kmaq community, and gives birth to a daughter. The Commodore admits knowing her identity but Charlotte refuses to return to England and adhere to constrained rules. Cognizant she could not remain with the Mi’kmaq permanently; she dons a pragmatic outlook, concedes a husband necessary and weds Captain John Blake. The book recounts Charlotte’s experiences until her death in 1841.
Structurally, the 397 page novel is well-organized. It opens with a map situating the four locales in Northern New Brunswick, Canada where Charlotte settles: In the Preface, Armstrong states, “Historians claim she was the first woman settler on the Miramichi River.” The fourteen chapters are titled and dated with a year marking a significant phase of Charlotte’s life. I welcomed the titles referenced the map thereby allowing the reader to follow Charlotte’s journey plus understand the landscape of the period. The last section contains an Afterword, which speaks to Armstrong’s writing process, the accuracy of some details and unresolved questions about the real Charlotte Taylor. Acknowledgments express thanks.
Finally, Sources lists books, papers and archives consulted. Armstrong’s tale is rich with history: the West Indies trade, the Mi’kmaq, Loyalists, American colonists, etc. The Web Sites include Chronology of the Abolition of Slavery, The Acadian History Time Line and The Importance of Food in Eighteenth-Century Louisbourg. This section will aid those keen to acquire deeper insight into the 17th and 18th centuries and Armstrong merits commendation for its comprehensiveness.
Charlotte’s life is grim yet inspiring. She bears ten children, outlives three husbands, buries her oldest son and dies without surety of reconciliation with her father. She is unrelenting in her demands that females are treated equal to males and land registered in a woman’s name. Though upper class bred; her respect for and adoption of traditional ways melded with wit, stamina and will enable her to adapt to harsh environs. As a result of tenacity and resourcefulness, she establishes homesteads for her family and carves an identity of her own design. Though her life unfolds contrary to her initial imaginings, the reader senses her peaceful passing from old age symbolic of graceful acceptance.
Sally Armstrong is a skilled wordsmith. The imagery she crafts enlivens the past and reveals Charlotte’s persona. This excerpt from Chapter 2, The Atlantic Seaboard 1775 when she first sees the Baie de Chaleur paints a beautiful picture of a scene that captured Charlotte’s wonderment. “…Forests of fir trees drop off into fields of glistening seagrass that wave over long, sandy beaches…They (the whales) move like undersea mountains, riding up to the surface and slipping out of sight again.”
The next reference from Chapter 3, The Baie 1775where Charlotte witnesses a great blue heron has a similar effect. “A giant bird with blue-and-grey feathers, a long angular neck and spindly legs is standing like a solitary custodian gazing out over the water….The bird is grand but vulnerable, so lonely in its repose….lifts off the sand suddenly and soundlessly, its massive wingspan spreading to a width that astonishes her, its neck coiling as it takes flight.”
And thirdly, the moose calf moccasins Marie, a Mi’kmaq woman, makes Charlotte in Chapter 5, The Nepisiguit 1776 when she is about to move to the Miramichi. The act honours native artistry, testifies to a relationship that contravened social norms and emphasized our heroine’s determination to set her own course. Armstrong’s parsing is stellar. “They (the moccasins) are violet in colour, the skins dyed with the juice of blueberries, the sides ornamented with the exquisite quillwork of the People.”
Though of a steely temperament, Armstrong has developed Charlotte as a multi-dimensional character. Captain John Blake has just died and this passage of internal dialogue at the start of Chapter 9, The Southwest Miramichi 1785 allows the reader to feel her anguish and fears about her bleak dilemma. “…Dark thoughts whir like hornets. Is she cursed? A dead lover, a dead husband, and she is only thirty years old. Elizabeth is nine, John is almost eight, Polly is five and Robert three….She looks at her husband’s ashen face-no serenity there, just the marks of his pain-filled last hours-and thinks, What am I to do with you? Then, What am I to do without you?”
Armstrong also excels at depicting harrowing incidents Charlotte and her counterparts faced. Here are two excellent examples that transport the reader back to this era. Chapter 1, The Ocean 1775 when an Atlantic storm batters the Anton as it sails from England to the West Indies, and Chapter 11, The Miramichi 1791 during a three-day nor-easter that ravaged the community.
My primary reservation about this book relates to uneven pacing. Whereas Armstrong most often pens exacting writing, on occasion, she whizzes through events and periods with scant attention. A case in point is Chapter 13, The Point 1814 that spans 16 years in 12 pages. This inconsistency produces a jerky ebb and flow that disrupts an otherwise excellent read. A recommendation to enlarge the map and feature enhanced text would represent a visual improvement. I will conclude this review by applauding Sally Armstrong’s tribute to her great-great-great grandmother and affirm my belief that Charlotte Taylor is proud of her and this book. May we all take the author’s lead and celebrate our ancestors’ stories.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
January 14, 2016
What Would You Do To Discover Your Birth Parents? Book Review: Daughter Of Mine
Daughter Of Mine by Laura Fabiani
The cover of Daughter of Mine captivated my attention. Pastel buildings against an azure sky perched on a rocky coastline coupled with ruins of a crumbling stone castle cast immediate allure. Since I am the mother of an adult daughter, the title of Laura Fabiani’s novel also piqued my interest. The caption in the lower right corner, “Does a box in Italy hold all the answers?” heightened my curiosity as well. I am a second generation Canadian-Italian who has researched her ancestral roots for two decades and I’ve travelled to Italy numerous times to solve family mysteries. The book blurb on the back indicated Daughter of Mine about a young woman named Tiziana Manoretti who upon discovering her born in a Naples orphanage embarks on a journey to the town of Gaeta to find her birth mother and father. For these reasons, I wanted to read this book; when I’d finished, I was pleased that I had so decided.
The story begins with a Prologue set at the Grand Villa Irlanda in Gaeta, an ancient town on the Gulf of Naples. We meet the owner, Caterina Ariosto who possesses the mysterious box. The introductory section ends with the cryptic lines, “She could only wait as she had been doing for the last two decades for this person to come to her. And that could mean waiting forever.” We are immediately drawn into the tale.
Within the introductory chapters, Tiziana is revealed a professional woman who straddles both the traditional and modern world. A mechanical engineering technologist in a Montreal engineering firm, she is the only child of Chloe, a Canadian and Steve who’d emigrated from Italy. Theirs is a tightly knit unit and though twenty-seven, she is single and living at home. Tiziana manifests confusion and angst with respect to the secret her parent’s kept and despite it contravening their wishes, holds steadfast in going to Gaeta to search for the truth.
There are forty-seven chapters in Daughter of Mine; all of which are concisely written. The plot unfolds rapidly from multi viewpoints. The suspense arch is deftly drawn, laced with episodic humour, coincidences, surprises and twists plus clever endings to ensure we are keen about what happens next.
The author establishes authenticity in various ways and I felt as if I’d visited Italy in Daughter of Mine. For example, the interjection of words such as pronto, aspetta and bambina helps create a sense of place. References to food including frittata con funghi, cornetto, spaghetti con aglio e olio and panino adds substantiation. The character names, Massimo, Flavia and Gian-Carlo are easy to remember yet effective. Saints are revered in Italian culture and a reference to Sant’Erasmo, Gaeta’s patron, was noteworthy. I particularly favoured the phrase, bella di papa; Stefano’s sweet term of endearment for his daughter, Tiziana.
Laura Fabiani’s descriptions also merit comment. The Orfanotrofio Santa Maria Della Fede, the Gaeta orphanage where Tiziana was born on March 12, 1980 is vividly drawn in Chapter 13. I site the example, “The tiles of the courtyard were a colourful mixture of mustards, terracotta, and blues, forming a mosaic of the sun at the center.” Her depiction of Gaeta in Chapter 15 is splendid as are the details of Rome in Chapter 28.
Male-female relationships are complicated and the cited quote referencing the changing dynamic between Tiziana and her long term friend, Christopher testifies to the author’s grasp of this issue and adroitness at summarizing it. “…it’s been my experience that one or the other will always tend to view the friendship as more than what it is.”
Adoption is complex and in addition to articulating Tiziana’s sentiments, Laura Fabiani explored the topic from myriad perspectives. This included: the birth and adoptive parents; the nuns of the Dominican order complicit in the adoption; the sibling and child of the birth mother; the birth father; legal authorities, Tiziana’s friends, etc. As a result, we gain insight into the intricate emotions underlying such a decision and our understanding deepens.
The following three examples (quotes partial and out of sequence) reflect the author’s mastery of the subject and, once again, talent of expression.
In Chapter 13, Tiziana says, “…I just want to know who my birth parents are….Is that wrong?” Suor Annunziata, a Dominican nun from the orphanage replies, “No. my child, it isn’t. But it doesn’t always mean, it’s the best thing to do.”
In Chapter 38, Tiziana says, “I was angry with my parents for not telling me sooner, for keeping it a secret.” Gilda responds, “It’s a universal need to know one’s roots. And it may be difficult for some parents to understand this for a reason you may be unaware of….” “The term father and other here applies to your parents whether they gave birth to you or not,” Gilda said gently.
In Chapter 44, Tiziana’s reaction to the letters, which inform her of the truth is poignantly captured in this sentence. “Words of pain and words of betrayal. Words of love and words of hope.”
Daughter Of Mine concludes with a brief Epilogue that links to the Prologue and answers any residual questions. It is evident Tiziana transformed by the experience and on the cusp of a new chapter in her revised life. Though the conclusion bittersweet, the reader is satisfied. I look forward to Laura Fabiani’s future novels.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
The cover of Daughter of Mine captivated my attention. Pastel buildings against an azure sky perched on a rocky coastline coupled with ruins of a crumbling stone castle cast immediate allure. Since I am the mother of an adult daughter, the title of Laura Fabiani’s novel also piqued my interest. The caption in the lower right corner, “Does a box in Italy hold all the answers?” heightened my curiosity as well. I am a second generation Canadian-Italian who has researched her ancestral roots for two decades and I’ve travelled to Italy numerous times to solve family mysteries. The book blurb on the back indicated Daughter of Mine about a young woman named Tiziana Manoretti who upon discovering her born in a Naples orphanage embarks on a journey to the town of Gaeta to find her birth mother and father. For these reasons, I wanted to read this book; when I’d finished, I was pleased that I had so decided.
The story begins with a Prologue set at the Grand Villa Irlanda in Gaeta, an ancient town on the Gulf of Naples. We meet the owner, Caterina Ariosto who possesses the mysterious box. The introductory section ends with the cryptic lines, “She could only wait as she had been doing for the last two decades for this person to come to her. And that could mean waiting forever.” We are immediately drawn into the tale.
Within the introductory chapters, Tiziana is revealed a professional woman who straddles both the traditional and modern world. A mechanical engineering technologist in a Montreal engineering firm, she is the only child of Chloe, a Canadian and Steve who’d emigrated from Italy. Theirs is a tightly knit unit and though twenty-seven, she is single and living at home. Tiziana manifests confusion and angst with respect to the secret her parent’s kept and despite it contravening their wishes, holds steadfast in going to Gaeta to search for the truth.
There are forty-seven chapters in Daughter of Mine; all of which are concisely written. The plot unfolds rapidly from multi viewpoints. The suspense arch is deftly drawn, laced with episodic humour, coincidences, surprises and twists plus clever endings to ensure we are keen about what happens next.
The author establishes authenticity in various ways and I felt as if I’d visited Italy in Daughter of Mine. For example, the interjection of words such as pronto, aspetta and bambina helps create a sense of place. References to food including frittata con funghi, cornetto, spaghetti con aglio e olio and panino adds substantiation. The character names, Massimo, Flavia and Gian-Carlo are easy to remember yet effective. Saints are revered in Italian culture and a reference to Sant’Erasmo, Gaeta’s patron, was noteworthy. I particularly favoured the phrase, bella di papa; Stefano’s sweet term of endearment for his daughter, Tiziana.
Laura Fabiani’s descriptions also merit comment. The Orfanotrofio Santa Maria Della Fede, the Gaeta orphanage where Tiziana was born on March 12, 1980 is vividly drawn in Chapter 13. I site the example, “The tiles of the courtyard were a colourful mixture of mustards, terracotta, and blues, forming a mosaic of the sun at the center.” Her depiction of Gaeta in Chapter 15 is splendid as are the details of Rome in Chapter 28.
Male-female relationships are complicated and the cited quote referencing the changing dynamic between Tiziana and her long term friend, Christopher testifies to the author’s grasp of this issue and adroitness at summarizing it. “…it’s been my experience that one or the other will always tend to view the friendship as more than what it is.”
Adoption is complex and in addition to articulating Tiziana’s sentiments, Laura Fabiani explored the topic from myriad perspectives. This included: the birth and adoptive parents; the nuns of the Dominican order complicit in the adoption; the sibling and child of the birth mother; the birth father; legal authorities, Tiziana’s friends, etc. As a result, we gain insight into the intricate emotions underlying such a decision and our understanding deepens.
The following three examples (quotes partial and out of sequence) reflect the author’s mastery of the subject and, once again, talent of expression.
In Chapter 13, Tiziana says, “…I just want to know who my birth parents are….Is that wrong?” Suor Annunziata, a Dominican nun from the orphanage replies, “No. my child, it isn’t. But it doesn’t always mean, it’s the best thing to do.”
In Chapter 38, Tiziana says, “I was angry with my parents for not telling me sooner, for keeping it a secret.” Gilda responds, “It’s a universal need to know one’s roots. And it may be difficult for some parents to understand this for a reason you may be unaware of….” “The term father and other here applies to your parents whether they gave birth to you or not,” Gilda said gently.
In Chapter 44, Tiziana’s reaction to the letters, which inform her of the truth is poignantly captured in this sentence. “Words of pain and words of betrayal. Words of love and words of hope.”
Daughter Of Mine concludes with a brief Epilogue that links to the Prologue and answers any residual questions. It is evident Tiziana transformed by the experience and on the cusp of a new chapter in her revised life. Though the conclusion bittersweet, the reader is satisfied. I look forward to Laura Fabiani’s future novels.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
January 7, 2016
Is Your Gift A Weapon, Too? Book Review: The Silent Wife
Is Your Gift A Weapon, Too?
Book Review: The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
My initial step in deciding whether or not to spend time with an author and the book he/she has written is to study the front cover. I was intrigued by the image depicted on The Silent Wife; a shadowy female silhouette floating on a storm-gray haze over which the title is superimposed. The font is bold-white, sharp-angled and razor-thin; the initials H, I, and F dagger-pointed and tipped in blood-red. It’s about murder; I considered. Was the woman the murderer or the person murdered? And what did a “silent wife” have to do with this?
Next, I familiarize myself with organizational structure. The Silent Wife is divided into a two-hundred sixty-nine paged Part One: Her and Him, and a fifty-three paged Part Two: Her. What happened to Him, I asked? As a result, I was eager to read A.S.A. Harrison’s novel.
Set in Chicago, opening early September and covering a period less than three months, the chapters alternate between the perspectives of two characters; Her (Jodi Brett) and Him (Todd Jeremy Gilbert). The unmarried childless forty-something pair has lived together for twenty-years; Jodi is a part-time Alderian psychologist and Todd, a developer. They have an opulent condominium with a pet Golden Retriever, Freud; Todd’s substitute progeny, Jodi says. My question about the murderer’s identity was answered on the first page of Chapter One when Jodi states“…given that a few short months are all it will take to make a killer out of her.”
Harrison’s point of view shows us Jodi’s and Todd’s different reactions to events, details their characters plus advances the plot with twists and turns. We peek at their personal histories via flashbacks and glimpse the saga of their relationship from romance to stability then disillusionment and decay.
Jodi and Todd are revealed as complex and tormented. There are interviews from an earlier period of Jodi’s life with her Adlerian therapist, Gerard Hartmann plus a letter from Todd’s lawyer, Harold C. Le Groot. Snappy dialogue plays second to narration; the minimal attribution during the Todd-Natasha exchanges deftly illuminating their growing discord.
As the story unfolds, the author unveils how dysfunctional family dynamics shaped Jodi and Todd and left unresolved, laid the foundation for the conflicts central to this book. Though convinced they’d escaped their childhood demons, this was not the case.
Jodi’s crutch was silence manifested in myriad forms: denial, detachment, routine and pretense. Her childhood situation with her older and younger brothers, Darrell and Ryan is intimated throughout the book and the abuse she’d suffered when six years old substantiated at the end. Unable to confront her parents with the truth, her decision to withhold it from her therapist, Gerard Hartmann further testified her damaged psyche.
Todd was a chronic womanizer who battled depression; fears of emulating his despicable father haunted him. Dean Kovacs, his childhood friend, current business associate and father of his pregnant girlfriend, Natasha played a pivotal role. Representing Todd’s past, present and future, Kovacs helped us grasp how the tragic boy became the wretched man.
The author presents both Jodi and Todd as neither absolute villain nor maligned innocent and holds them contributors to the disintegration of their relationship. Part One culminates with a horrific act and Part Two commences on an ominous note. Dean Kovacs’ fate caused me residual uncertainty as to whether or not he’d been served justice.
The bleak ending of The Silent Wife was consistent with its desolate undercurrent and woefully summed by one of its last lines. “Anyway, the story is really about the two men, the boyhood friends, one dead and one as good as dead.” Both cheerless and riveting, the novel proved a provocative read.
With respect to concluding notes, the precision of Harrison’s language merits commenting. Instead of “carpet,” she selected “kilim,” a Persian rug, to describe Jodi’s office as indication of her predilection for finery. Other examples include her Fendi leather handbag, Valentino skirt and robust amarone wine at dinner. By having Todd reference Natasha as a “jackal” and “viper”, the deterioration of their relationship is obvious. Todd’s deceitfulness is heightened with “cached numbers” for women to contact when Natasha unavailable.
Many of Harrison’s sentences caught my breath. For example, Todd’s “…love mixed with other things…” when trying to make sense of feelings for his father gave way to his belief, “…..life is a mixed bag.” As he and Jodi were having dinner post his condominium departure, he utters “The elephants in the room are alive and well” to sum their superficial conversation. And Jodi’s chilling remarks at Todd’s funeral; “Even the sermon is familiar….Once dead were all alike....” Jodi’s declaration in Part Two, “She didn’t know then that life has a way of backing you into a corner. You make your choices when you’re far too young to understand their implications, and with each choice you make the field of possibility narrows.”
What of the title, The Silent Wife? In Part One, Todd affirms Jodi’s silence is her great gift” and “also her weapon.” In Part Two, Jodi declares “Her default mode when bullied or badgered is silence.” Silence enabled Jodi to survive and though she never forgave herself for the violation of her childhood, it allowed her to “…forget what she didn’t want to know...” Silence was a weapon of self-protection and according to the final paragraph, “…Jodi had no problem with the blurring of facts….some things are best left unexamined.”
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Book Review: The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
My initial step in deciding whether or not to spend time with an author and the book he/she has written is to study the front cover. I was intrigued by the image depicted on The Silent Wife; a shadowy female silhouette floating on a storm-gray haze over which the title is superimposed. The font is bold-white, sharp-angled and razor-thin; the initials H, I, and F dagger-pointed and tipped in blood-red. It’s about murder; I considered. Was the woman the murderer or the person murdered? And what did a “silent wife” have to do with this?
Next, I familiarize myself with organizational structure. The Silent Wife is divided into a two-hundred sixty-nine paged Part One: Her and Him, and a fifty-three paged Part Two: Her. What happened to Him, I asked? As a result, I was eager to read A.S.A. Harrison’s novel.
Set in Chicago, opening early September and covering a period less than three months, the chapters alternate between the perspectives of two characters; Her (Jodi Brett) and Him (Todd Jeremy Gilbert). The unmarried childless forty-something pair has lived together for twenty-years; Jodi is a part-time Alderian psychologist and Todd, a developer. They have an opulent condominium with a pet Golden Retriever, Freud; Todd’s substitute progeny, Jodi says. My question about the murderer’s identity was answered on the first page of Chapter One when Jodi states“…given that a few short months are all it will take to make a killer out of her.”
Harrison’s point of view shows us Jodi’s and Todd’s different reactions to events, details their characters plus advances the plot with twists and turns. We peek at their personal histories via flashbacks and glimpse the saga of their relationship from romance to stability then disillusionment and decay.
Jodi and Todd are revealed as complex and tormented. There are interviews from an earlier period of Jodi’s life with her Adlerian therapist, Gerard Hartmann plus a letter from Todd’s lawyer, Harold C. Le Groot. Snappy dialogue plays second to narration; the minimal attribution during the Todd-Natasha exchanges deftly illuminating their growing discord.
As the story unfolds, the author unveils how dysfunctional family dynamics shaped Jodi and Todd and left unresolved, laid the foundation for the conflicts central to this book. Though convinced they’d escaped their childhood demons, this was not the case.
Jodi’s crutch was silence manifested in myriad forms: denial, detachment, routine and pretense. Her childhood situation with her older and younger brothers, Darrell and Ryan is intimated throughout the book and the abuse she’d suffered when six years old substantiated at the end. Unable to confront her parents with the truth, her decision to withhold it from her therapist, Gerard Hartmann further testified her damaged psyche.
Todd was a chronic womanizer who battled depression; fears of emulating his despicable father haunted him. Dean Kovacs, his childhood friend, current business associate and father of his pregnant girlfriend, Natasha played a pivotal role. Representing Todd’s past, present and future, Kovacs helped us grasp how the tragic boy became the wretched man.
The author presents both Jodi and Todd as neither absolute villain nor maligned innocent and holds them contributors to the disintegration of their relationship. Part One culminates with a horrific act and Part Two commences on an ominous note. Dean Kovacs’ fate caused me residual uncertainty as to whether or not he’d been served justice.
The bleak ending of The Silent Wife was consistent with its desolate undercurrent and woefully summed by one of its last lines. “Anyway, the story is really about the two men, the boyhood friends, one dead and one as good as dead.” Both cheerless and riveting, the novel proved a provocative read.
With respect to concluding notes, the precision of Harrison’s language merits commenting. Instead of “carpet,” she selected “kilim,” a Persian rug, to describe Jodi’s office as indication of her predilection for finery. Other examples include her Fendi leather handbag, Valentino skirt and robust amarone wine at dinner. By having Todd reference Natasha as a “jackal” and “viper”, the deterioration of their relationship is obvious. Todd’s deceitfulness is heightened with “cached numbers” for women to contact when Natasha unavailable.
Many of Harrison’s sentences caught my breath. For example, Todd’s “…love mixed with other things…” when trying to make sense of feelings for his father gave way to his belief, “…..life is a mixed bag.” As he and Jodi were having dinner post his condominium departure, he utters “The elephants in the room are alive and well” to sum their superficial conversation. And Jodi’s chilling remarks at Todd’s funeral; “Even the sermon is familiar….Once dead were all alike....” Jodi’s declaration in Part Two, “She didn’t know then that life has a way of backing you into a corner. You make your choices when you’re far too young to understand their implications, and with each choice you make the field of possibility narrows.”
What of the title, The Silent Wife? In Part One, Todd affirms Jodi’s silence is her great gift” and “also her weapon.” In Part Two, Jodi declares “Her default mode when bullied or badgered is silence.” Silence enabled Jodi to survive and though she never forgave herself for the violation of her childhood, it allowed her to “…forget what she didn’t want to know...” Silence was a weapon of self-protection and according to the final paragraph, “…Jodi had no problem with the blurring of facts….some things are best left unexamined.”
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
November 2, 2015
What Is Your Sway? Book Review: The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens
What Is Your Sway? Book Review: The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens
There is sway in my review of this book. From a structural viewpoint, I rated it a 5; for plot, a 3.5; and artistry of language, a 5. I’ve assigned it an overall rating of 4.
Lori Lansens begins her novel with a compelling letter from Daniel’s father to his teenage son who is about to leave for college. He wants to share a horrific life-changing event that happened about 20 years ago; much of what he never revealed to his wife.
On his eighteenth birthday, the now-adult Wolf, decided to go to Angel’s Peak in the mountains overlooking Palm Springs and commit suicide. It was the one year anniversary of his friend Byrd’s accident. For reasons as of yet unexplained, we learn Wolf spent five days in the mountains during a brutally cold November with three strangers and, at the end of the ordeal, “not everyone survived.”
We learn Wolf’s mother died when he was little and his dad, whom he calls, Frankie, was in prison for vehicular homicide.
The family motto is “There will be sway” and we come to understand the meaning related to the rocking motion passengers experience in the tramcar as it approaches and passes the five towers on its ascent to the mountains.
At the conclusion of the letter, the reader is enthralled to continue and unravel the mysteries Lansens introduces in her opening. The remainder of the book is organized into chapters: Before, The First Day, The Second Day, The Third Day, The Fourth Day, The Fifth Day, and After.
As we know Wolf is in the mountains for five days and one person does not survive, suspense builds with each page.
Lansens reveals the stories of each character and threads them together. Her description of the mountain wilderness is excellent to the point I felt the cold wind pimple my arms and sensed there were vultures over my head! She explores issues such as sibling relationships, friendship, parent-child dynamics, spousal love, disappointment, lost dreams and grief.
Her phraseology is superb and the following exemplifies how a string of words describes the conflicts within a particular relationship. The sixty-something Nola says to her daughter, Bridget and Bridget’s daughter, Vonn that “…one of you is gas and the other flame.”
The time shifts from present to flashbacks and hints at the future. I must concede, however, that I was somewhat sceptical that the characters with their individual situations could survive in the mountains. A touch of the melodramatic contributed to my disbelief and, unfortunately, discredited the integrity of the tale. (Please note that I have omitted specific details for fear of “spoiling” the novel for those who have yet to read it.) This represented my major complaint with The Mountain Story.
By the time the novel ends, Lansens answers the questions raised in the letter and the reader senses a circle completed.
It becomes clear why “There will be sway” is the family motto. The adage resonates with the upheaval we all confront in life and, as a result, connects us intimately to the story.
We also learn the details underscoring Daniel’s birth; a surprise for many, I wage. I felt the story, however, was pulled together in haste and compared to the slow building mid-section; the final part was thin and too hurried. I also had issue with Bryd at the conclusion and felt his fate detracted from the quality of the novel.
I appreciated the names Lansens selected for her characters and felt they deepened our ties to them. For example, Byrd’s real name was “Byron” but given the nature of his accident, the subliminal reference to flight was clever. Also, Vonn referred to her mother by her first name, Bridget as did Wolf with his father, Frankie. This similarity hints at common ground and a future relationship. And finally, Wolf’s surname, “Truly” intimates why he decided to tell his son about this experience, expresses his values and the relationship he wants to have with his child.
And as a final note, Lansens has wonderful artistry with language and there were many quotes that caused me to reflect on both the novel and life in general. This quote is from The Fifth Day:
“Regrets. Sure, you think about regrets, but it’s not regret for the things you’ve done that occupy you as much as it is a longing for the things you’ll never have the chance to do.”
I do not regret reading The Mountain Story and despite some reservations, recommend it as a goodread.
Marianne Perry
There is sway in my review of this book. From a structural viewpoint, I rated it a 5; for plot, a 3.5; and artistry of language, a 5. I’ve assigned it an overall rating of 4.
Lori Lansens begins her novel with a compelling letter from Daniel’s father to his teenage son who is about to leave for college. He wants to share a horrific life-changing event that happened about 20 years ago; much of what he never revealed to his wife.
On his eighteenth birthday, the now-adult Wolf, decided to go to Angel’s Peak in the mountains overlooking Palm Springs and commit suicide. It was the one year anniversary of his friend Byrd’s accident. For reasons as of yet unexplained, we learn Wolf spent five days in the mountains during a brutally cold November with three strangers and, at the end of the ordeal, “not everyone survived.”
We learn Wolf’s mother died when he was little and his dad, whom he calls, Frankie, was in prison for vehicular homicide.
The family motto is “There will be sway” and we come to understand the meaning related to the rocking motion passengers experience in the tramcar as it approaches and passes the five towers on its ascent to the mountains.
At the conclusion of the letter, the reader is enthralled to continue and unravel the mysteries Lansens introduces in her opening. The remainder of the book is organized into chapters: Before, The First Day, The Second Day, The Third Day, The Fourth Day, The Fifth Day, and After.
As we know Wolf is in the mountains for five days and one person does not survive, suspense builds with each page.
Lansens reveals the stories of each character and threads them together. Her description of the mountain wilderness is excellent to the point I felt the cold wind pimple my arms and sensed there were vultures over my head! She explores issues such as sibling relationships, friendship, parent-child dynamics, spousal love, disappointment, lost dreams and grief.
Her phraseology is superb and the following exemplifies how a string of words describes the conflicts within a particular relationship. The sixty-something Nola says to her daughter, Bridget and Bridget’s daughter, Vonn that “…one of you is gas and the other flame.”
The time shifts from present to flashbacks and hints at the future. I must concede, however, that I was somewhat sceptical that the characters with their individual situations could survive in the mountains. A touch of the melodramatic contributed to my disbelief and, unfortunately, discredited the integrity of the tale. (Please note that I have omitted specific details for fear of “spoiling” the novel for those who have yet to read it.) This represented my major complaint with The Mountain Story.
By the time the novel ends, Lansens answers the questions raised in the letter and the reader senses a circle completed.
It becomes clear why “There will be sway” is the family motto. The adage resonates with the upheaval we all confront in life and, as a result, connects us intimately to the story.
We also learn the details underscoring Daniel’s birth; a surprise for many, I wage. I felt the story, however, was pulled together in haste and compared to the slow building mid-section; the final part was thin and too hurried. I also had issue with Bryd at the conclusion and felt his fate detracted from the quality of the novel.
I appreciated the names Lansens selected for her characters and felt they deepened our ties to them. For example, Byrd’s real name was “Byron” but given the nature of his accident, the subliminal reference to flight was clever. Also, Vonn referred to her mother by her first name, Bridget as did Wolf with his father, Frankie. This similarity hints at common ground and a future relationship. And finally, Wolf’s surname, “Truly” intimates why he decided to tell his son about this experience, expresses his values and the relationship he wants to have with his child.
And as a final note, Lansens has wonderful artistry with language and there were many quotes that caused me to reflect on both the novel and life in general. This quote is from The Fifth Day:
“Regrets. Sure, you think about regrets, but it’s not regret for the things you’ve done that occupy you as much as it is a longing for the things you’ll never have the chance to do.”
I do not regret reading The Mountain Story and despite some reservations, recommend it as a goodread.
Marianne Perry
October 22, 2015
When you are afraid, everything zooms into sharp focus. Die Again by Tess Gerritsen.
Book Review: Die Again by Tess Gerritsen
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read a book in this series about the crime solving team of Boston Detective, Jane Rizzoli and Medical Examiner, Dr. Maura Isles. For this reason, I appreciated the backstory threaded throughout the novel as it helped me regain familiarity.
The plot centers around unsolved murders on a Botswana safari six years ago and those recently committed in Boston and elsewhere. I must admit it was the African setting that prompted my reading as I’ve travelled to an east African safari in Tanzania and Kenya. On this note, Gerritsen’s descriptions are spot-on and her depiction of wildlife and the environs, excellent. The Leopard intrigued me while there and I witnessed the amazing animal carry a gazelle up a tree then sprawl on a large branch. He is the supreme hunger and Gerritsen did him honour!
Chapter Twenty-One in particular was well-written. It explores the issue of fear from Millie’s POV. As the sole survivor of the safari murders, she adopts the Leopard’s habit and sleeps in trees at night to survive during a two week period in the wild. She also slathers herself with mud for protection and we see her change from human to animal prey. The quote cited is from this chapter.
Gerritsen also explores themes related to family dynamics that deepen our understanding of the characters and cause us to reflect on pertinent social issues. Rizzoli is concerned with her parent’s marital problems and Isles, whose estranged mother is a convicted murder, must deal with how to respond to a terminal diagnosis.
Die Again is a suspenseful novel and the presence of a domestic cat adds humour plus reveals character and advances plot. The chapters are short and end on a note of “what’s next.” The point of view switches from first -person, Millie to third-person, Jane or Maura.
The story builds slowly and deftly links the Boston crimes to those in Botswana. I was disappointed, however, with the final five to six chapters and felt the explanation thin and the solution, flat. The highlight of this novel was Africa; nevertheless, I will seek out another book in this series.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read a book in this series about the crime solving team of Boston Detective, Jane Rizzoli and Medical Examiner, Dr. Maura Isles. For this reason, I appreciated the backstory threaded throughout the novel as it helped me regain familiarity.
The plot centers around unsolved murders on a Botswana safari six years ago and those recently committed in Boston and elsewhere. I must admit it was the African setting that prompted my reading as I’ve travelled to an east African safari in Tanzania and Kenya. On this note, Gerritsen’s descriptions are spot-on and her depiction of wildlife and the environs, excellent. The Leopard intrigued me while there and I witnessed the amazing animal carry a gazelle up a tree then sprawl on a large branch. He is the supreme hunger and Gerritsen did him honour!
Chapter Twenty-One in particular was well-written. It explores the issue of fear from Millie’s POV. As the sole survivor of the safari murders, she adopts the Leopard’s habit and sleeps in trees at night to survive during a two week period in the wild. She also slathers herself with mud for protection and we see her change from human to animal prey. The quote cited is from this chapter.
Gerritsen also explores themes related to family dynamics that deepen our understanding of the characters and cause us to reflect on pertinent social issues. Rizzoli is concerned with her parent’s marital problems and Isles, whose estranged mother is a convicted murder, must deal with how to respond to a terminal diagnosis.
Die Again is a suspenseful novel and the presence of a domestic cat adds humour plus reveals character and advances plot. The chapters are short and end on a note of “what’s next.” The point of view switches from first -person, Millie to third-person, Jane or Maura.
The story builds slowly and deftly links the Boston crimes to those in Botswana. I was disappointed, however, with the final five to six chapters and felt the explanation thin and the solution, flat. The highlight of this novel was Africa; nevertheless, I will seek out another book in this series.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
October 2, 2015
Make Health A Priority! Book Review: The Secret Language of Doctors.
The Secret Language of Doctors by Brian Goldman
I read this book because it was selected by fellow book club members. Goldman raised a number of issues related to the medical profession plus introduced me to an extensive vocabulary spoken in Canadian and US hospitals.
Dyscopia, for example, refers to patients having difficulty coping. Code White is a missing patient and FTD, failure to die. These terms are part of medical argot; a vocabulary peculair to a particular group.
He also explores why medical slang was developed and the reasons it endures citing doctor bonding, quick communication of information and diffusion of stressful situations.
Some of the terms seemed disrespectful to patients, however, with referring to the obese as "harpooning the whale" an example.
The following quote from Chapter Fifteen represents a major concern Goldman noted with the medical profession today, which I brought to our club's attention. "If you're old, demented, frail, mentally ill, overly anxious about your health, morbidly obese, addicted, in police custoday or if you just call on us too often, we're not keen on having you as a patient. And that is a growing problem for doctors. That's because the "undesirables" I just listed have rapidly become the typical inhabitants of hospitals."
Goldman's comment that current medical education provides only cursory training in geriatrics was troublesome given the aging population of our countries.
A worthwhile read and definite motivation for taking good care of our health.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
I read this book because it was selected by fellow book club members. Goldman raised a number of issues related to the medical profession plus introduced me to an extensive vocabulary spoken in Canadian and US hospitals.
Dyscopia, for example, refers to patients having difficulty coping. Code White is a missing patient and FTD, failure to die. These terms are part of medical argot; a vocabulary peculair to a particular group.
He also explores why medical slang was developed and the reasons it endures citing doctor bonding, quick communication of information and diffusion of stressful situations.
Some of the terms seemed disrespectful to patients, however, with referring to the obese as "harpooning the whale" an example.
The following quote from Chapter Fifteen represents a major concern Goldman noted with the medical profession today, which I brought to our club's attention. "If you're old, demented, frail, mentally ill, overly anxious about your health, morbidly obese, addicted, in police custoday or if you just call on us too often, we're not keen on having you as a patient. And that is a growing problem for doctors. That's because the "undesirables" I just listed have rapidly become the typical inhabitants of hospitals."
Goldman's comment that current medical education provides only cursory training in geriatrics was troublesome given the aging population of our countries.
A worthwhile read and definite motivation for taking good care of our health.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
August 31, 2015
What is your camel trip?
I read Tracks a little while ago. Purchased it in Uluru this past winter at a camel farm while exploring Australia's Northern Territory. When lending it to a friend, I noted a few lines I'd highlighted and thought I'd share them.
Tracks is a personal account of Robyn Davidson's 1977 solitary Australian adventure from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean. As the front cover blurb states, "One woman's journey across 1,700 of Australian outback."
The following quotes appear on the last page before the postscript.
"The two important things that I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the decision...Camel trips, as I suspected all along, and as I was about to have confirmed, do not end or begin, they merely change form."
The author's words reflect what she discovered about herself on this adventure and, I believe, are applicable to all. What is your camel trip?
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
Tracks is a personal account of Robyn Davidson's 1977 solitary Australian adventure from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean. As the front cover blurb states, "One woman's journey across 1,700 of Australian outback."
The following quotes appear on the last page before the postscript.
"The two important things that I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the decision...Camel trips, as I suspected all along, and as I was about to have confirmed, do not end or begin, they merely change form."
The author's words reflect what she discovered about herself on this adventure and, I believe, are applicable to all. What is your camel trip?
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
June 3, 2015
Sibling Relationships: Brothers
Match the brothers with their achievement.
1). Romulus and Remus
2). Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
3). Joseph & Jacques Etienne
4). George & Ira Gershwin
5). Wilbur & Orville Wright
a). French inventors of ballooning
b). American builders & flyers of first airplane
c). American musicians & songwriters
d). one killed the other & founded Italian city
e). German storytellers of European folktales
Brothers have made significant contributions throughout history. There is an answer key at the end of this blog.
WHAT CONNECTS YOU TO YOUR SIBLINGS?
Sibling relationships represent a complicated family dynamic. Brothers and sisters are not always compatible and they may have a stronger attachment to one parent; nevertheless, most learn to co-exist within the family unit.
Sometimes, however, this proves beyond reach and all these siblings have in common is blood. The Inheritance examines the brother relationship through Anna and Santo Marino’s sons: Caesare, Benito and Lorenzo. The novel is set in Calabria, southern Italy from 1897 to 1913 but the issues explored remain relevant today.
INSEPARABLE FROM THE START
In Chapter One, Santo has returned from another business trip. His sons, Caesare (9) and Benito (8) accompanied him but Lorenzo (3) stayed at home with Anna. Caesare and Benito share athleticism and a yen for adventure since birth. Lorenzo is timid and his brothers come to ridicule his preference for scholarly activities. Like their father, Caesare and Benito are skilled swimmers and horsemen. Lorenzo’s fear of these pursuits, however, represents another trait they deride. Caesare and Benito’s loyalty to each other and devotion to their father is clear from the start as is their uneasy relationship with Lorenzo.
Did you have a strong connection to a particular sibling?
AFFAIRS OF THE HEART ARE COMPLICATED
Santo and Anna want a close relationship with their children; albeit for different reasons. Santo intends to involve his sons in his business; a responsibility Caesare and Benito embrace. The brothers love their mother but their natural compatibility with their father and his increasing hold on their activities minimize their time together. Anna’s attachment to Caesare and Benito reflects a mother’s love. Their growing indifference disturbs her yet her efforts to change things are futile. Lorenzo’s natural affiliation is with his mother as he shares her artistic talent and a physical resemblance. Santo is determined to meld him to be like his older brothers; an objective Caesare and Benito support, Lorenzo resists and Anna vows to scuttle.
Were you most like your mother or father?
WHY CAN’T RELATIONSHIPS BE EASY?
An altercation occurs when Lorenzo is ten whereby Caesare (16) viciously ridicules his fear of horses. Benito (15) intercedes, reprimands him for bullying their brother then chastises Lorenzo for berating Caesare’s inferior intellectual abilities. The incident gives insight into Benito and Lorenzo’s character that blurs the alliance and separation of earlier chapters. Relationships are complicated and this is an example of the miasma of emotions that exist among the brothers.
What roles did the siblings in your family play? Was one cast as the peacemaker between the two constantly at odds?
A FAMILY DIVIDED
The brewing schism within the Marino family becomes apparent within the introductory chapters of The Inheritance. The brother’s different personalities, conflicting loyalties and opposing allegiances define their family dynamic and foreshadow future conflicts.
Would you have picked your siblings for friends? I’d welcome your comments.
Answer Key: 1-d; 2-e; 3-a; 4-c; 5-b.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
1). Romulus and Remus
2). Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
3). Joseph & Jacques Etienne
4). George & Ira Gershwin
5). Wilbur & Orville Wright
a). French inventors of ballooning
b). American builders & flyers of first airplane
c). American musicians & songwriters
d). one killed the other & founded Italian city
e). German storytellers of European folktales
Brothers have made significant contributions throughout history. There is an answer key at the end of this blog.
WHAT CONNECTS YOU TO YOUR SIBLINGS?
Sibling relationships represent a complicated family dynamic. Brothers and sisters are not always compatible and they may have a stronger attachment to one parent; nevertheless, most learn to co-exist within the family unit.
Sometimes, however, this proves beyond reach and all these siblings have in common is blood. The Inheritance examines the brother relationship through Anna and Santo Marino’s sons: Caesare, Benito and Lorenzo. The novel is set in Calabria, southern Italy from 1897 to 1913 but the issues explored remain relevant today.
INSEPARABLE FROM THE START
In Chapter One, Santo has returned from another business trip. His sons, Caesare (9) and Benito (8) accompanied him but Lorenzo (3) stayed at home with Anna. Caesare and Benito share athleticism and a yen for adventure since birth. Lorenzo is timid and his brothers come to ridicule his preference for scholarly activities. Like their father, Caesare and Benito are skilled swimmers and horsemen. Lorenzo’s fear of these pursuits, however, represents another trait they deride. Caesare and Benito’s loyalty to each other and devotion to their father is clear from the start as is their uneasy relationship with Lorenzo.
Did you have a strong connection to a particular sibling?
AFFAIRS OF THE HEART ARE COMPLICATED
Santo and Anna want a close relationship with their children; albeit for different reasons. Santo intends to involve his sons in his business; a responsibility Caesare and Benito embrace. The brothers love their mother but their natural compatibility with their father and his increasing hold on their activities minimize their time together. Anna’s attachment to Caesare and Benito reflects a mother’s love. Their growing indifference disturbs her yet her efforts to change things are futile. Lorenzo’s natural affiliation is with his mother as he shares her artistic talent and a physical resemblance. Santo is determined to meld him to be like his older brothers; an objective Caesare and Benito support, Lorenzo resists and Anna vows to scuttle.
Were you most like your mother or father?
WHY CAN’T RELATIONSHIPS BE EASY?
An altercation occurs when Lorenzo is ten whereby Caesare (16) viciously ridicules his fear of horses. Benito (15) intercedes, reprimands him for bullying their brother then chastises Lorenzo for berating Caesare’s inferior intellectual abilities. The incident gives insight into Benito and Lorenzo’s character that blurs the alliance and separation of earlier chapters. Relationships are complicated and this is an example of the miasma of emotions that exist among the brothers.
What roles did the siblings in your family play? Was one cast as the peacemaker between the two constantly at odds?
A FAMILY DIVIDED
The brewing schism within the Marino family becomes apparent within the introductory chapters of The Inheritance. The brother’s different personalities, conflicting loyalties and opposing allegiances define their family dynamic and foreshadow future conflicts.
Would you have picked your siblings for friends? I’d welcome your comments.
Answer Key: 1-d; 2-e; 3-a; 4-c; 5-b.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
April 28, 2015
Book Review: Evidence Life After Deathy by William Peter Blatty.
Finding Peter: A True Story Of The Hand Of Providence And Evidence Of Life After Death by William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty authored The Exorcist, a 1971 novel about the demonic possession of a girl. His son, Peter, died November 7, 2006 aged nineteen of a rare heart disorder and he wrote this book to win our belief loved ones can communicate from the afterlife and a force called “providence” operates in the world. (Note: the dictionary defines “providence” as an event or circumstance ascribable to divine interpretation or care exercised by God over the universe.)
Blatty was born January 7, 1928 in New York City. His parents emigrated from Lebanon in 1921 and separated when he was three.
Part One explores his childhood, Jesuit education, study at Georgetown University and highlights the antics of his eccentric Roman Catholic mother.
Part Two focuses on his career including a recount as an editor in Beirut with the United States Information Agency plus his work as an actor, comic author and musical screenplay writer. It also describes his writing process with respect to The Exorcist and details the presence of providence in the novel becoming a best-seller. The merging of seven coincidences he cites certainly caused me to reflect on the play of luck in anyone’s success.
Part Three outlines fourteen incidents of providence. Examples of a levitating telephone receiver when negotiating film rights for The Exorcist, the crashing of a wall clock in his beach house and the receipt of a 50th birthday greeting from a deceased brother are amongst those witnessed.
Part Four profiles Blatty’s wife, Julie but its center is Peter. An index is included at the end of the book.
I have mixed feelings with regards Finding Peter. Parts One to Three introduced us to Blatty but the material needed editing and I sensed much of it “filler” intended to produce sufficient page count before beginning Part Four. I found his tendency to ramble and use run-on sentences impeded the flow of his writing. Blatty’s examples in Part Three evoked deliberation but fewer would have adequately showcased his experiences with providence.
In Part Four, Blatty presents his son, Peter, as a child with spiritual insight manifesting at age three. His mother maintained a “contemporaneous diary of statements” speaking to this quality. Peter suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to addiction issues he seems to have conquered. An athletic amiable young man, Blatty’s family photographs assist the reader gain familiarity; nevertheless, more anecdotal information would have painted a clearer picture of Peter. In contrast with earlier parts of the book, I deemed this section abbreviated and rushed. Blatty’s love for his family and Peter, however, was evident as was his egregious grief from his son’s sudden passing.
The book builds towards pages 178 to 204 where Blatty illustrates messages from Peter he and Julie received over a period of eight years. The episodes specific to the retrieval of Peter’s medal and the greenery spouting on Noah’s tree in Maryland on Blatty’s January birthday are remarkable. As an aside, Blatty has donated “every penny of royalties earned by this book to scholarships established in Peter’s name at his former Maryland high school.”
Blatty is convinced there is life after death and whether or not he proves loved ones can communicate with us should be the prerogative of the reader. I am uncomfortable passing such judgement. For those keen to weigh this issue as well as the possibility of providence, I would recommend Finding Peter.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
William Peter Blatty authored The Exorcist, a 1971 novel about the demonic possession of a girl. His son, Peter, died November 7, 2006 aged nineteen of a rare heart disorder and he wrote this book to win our belief loved ones can communicate from the afterlife and a force called “providence” operates in the world. (Note: the dictionary defines “providence” as an event or circumstance ascribable to divine interpretation or care exercised by God over the universe.)
Blatty was born January 7, 1928 in New York City. His parents emigrated from Lebanon in 1921 and separated when he was three.
Part One explores his childhood, Jesuit education, study at Georgetown University and highlights the antics of his eccentric Roman Catholic mother.
Part Two focuses on his career including a recount as an editor in Beirut with the United States Information Agency plus his work as an actor, comic author and musical screenplay writer. It also describes his writing process with respect to The Exorcist and details the presence of providence in the novel becoming a best-seller. The merging of seven coincidences he cites certainly caused me to reflect on the play of luck in anyone’s success.
Part Three outlines fourteen incidents of providence. Examples of a levitating telephone receiver when negotiating film rights for The Exorcist, the crashing of a wall clock in his beach house and the receipt of a 50th birthday greeting from a deceased brother are amongst those witnessed.
Part Four profiles Blatty’s wife, Julie but its center is Peter. An index is included at the end of the book.
I have mixed feelings with regards Finding Peter. Parts One to Three introduced us to Blatty but the material needed editing and I sensed much of it “filler” intended to produce sufficient page count before beginning Part Four. I found his tendency to ramble and use run-on sentences impeded the flow of his writing. Blatty’s examples in Part Three evoked deliberation but fewer would have adequately showcased his experiences with providence.
In Part Four, Blatty presents his son, Peter, as a child with spiritual insight manifesting at age three. His mother maintained a “contemporaneous diary of statements” speaking to this quality. Peter suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to addiction issues he seems to have conquered. An athletic amiable young man, Blatty’s family photographs assist the reader gain familiarity; nevertheless, more anecdotal information would have painted a clearer picture of Peter. In contrast with earlier parts of the book, I deemed this section abbreviated and rushed. Blatty’s love for his family and Peter, however, was evident as was his egregious grief from his son’s sudden passing.
The book builds towards pages 178 to 204 where Blatty illustrates messages from Peter he and Julie received over a period of eight years. The episodes specific to the retrieval of Peter’s medal and the greenery spouting on Noah’s tree in Maryland on Blatty’s January birthday are remarkable. As an aside, Blatty has donated “every penny of royalties earned by this book to scholarships established in Peter’s name at his former Maryland high school.”
Blatty is convinced there is life after death and whether or not he proves loved ones can communicate with us should be the prerogative of the reader. I am uncomfortable passing such judgement. For those keen to weigh this issue as well as the possibility of providence, I would recommend Finding Peter.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
