March Madness

Behind You Is The Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj, 2024

An exciting new voice, Darraj's collection of stories of three Arab American families in Baltimore make for compelling reading. I only wished that there were deeper dives into each of these character's stories.

The collection starts with Reema Baladi, a teen whose mom is catatonic after the death of her husband, Reema's husband. She finds love with a Mexican boy named Torrey.

Marcus Salameh is a family friend, who is a cop, and trying to bridge the gap between his sister Amal, who has a child out of wedlock, and father, who has cut his daughter out of his life after having an abortion.

Marcus's aunt is Nadya Ammar, who has married the wealthy Palestinian Walid Ammar. Ammar owns various properties in Baltimore and despite his weath, struggles with how spoiled and Americanized his children have become.

Rania Mahfouz struggles with her distant husband and raising an ADA child. Her husband returns from a trip home to the Palestines where he is embroiled in a #Justice4Rasha contraversy that has started spreading globally.

Rania engages the service of Samira Awadah, a stellar education attorney who is looked down upon by some in the Arab community because she is divorced. Even though her ex-husband was abusive, she still suffers from judgement (with her treatment justified by the fact that she did not become pregnant...) and is tolerated by her family because of her checkbook.

As Rania's father's health and memory disintegrates and he needs to be put in a home, Rania learns the truth of why even her mother criticizes her decision to divorce her husband.

Maysoon Baladi is Reema's little sister, who is a cleaner and ends up working with Dalia Ammar, married to the philandering Demetri, son of Walid. Dalia's three children are even more spoiled and despite their wealth, Reema's son Gabriel is the one who scores the perfect score on the AP exam.

Layla Marwan is cousins to Hiba Anway, one of Dalia's three children. Dedicated to the theater community and building sets for school plays, she struggles when her high school decides to put on Aladdin. 

She attempts to discuss her unease with the stereotypes built into Aladdin with the theater director, who dismisses her concerns.

We then follow Hiba Ammar in college, where she takes a semester off to deal with her eating disorder. She lives with her loving and humble grandparents connecting to her heritage while her parents continue to live in their materialistic ways. 

Samira and Marcus's story continue with Samira finding her voice and love with Logan; and Marcus returning to his father's village to bury his remains. In Palestine, Marcus discovers another side of the bitter man he knew growing up in Baltimore with his father.

Short-listed for the Pen-Faulkner Award, Behind You Is the Sea brings characters to life with its honesty and authenticity.

You'll Never Believe Me: A Life of Lies, Second Tries, And Things I Should Only Tell My Therapist by Kari Ferrell, 2024

Seeringly honest, Kari Farrell writes about her struggles growing up adopted from South Korea to white parents who become Mormoms and move to Utah. 

Growing up in the 80s with limited understanding and dialogue about other cultures and sexual orientation, Ferrell used humor to deflect her pain.

She then started using lies and realized that her charisma was able to get people to trust her. She started scamming friends and then men she would meet out. 

Eventually her infamy spread and she made the Salt Lake City Most Wanted List and fled to New York City after serving a brief stint in jail.

Farrell's deceit eventually caught up with her and she was outed as the Hipster Grifter. This led to her arrest again where she was incarcerated for almost a year before being released.

Criminals are charming. Despite her scams and lies, people stood by her. Her honesty and self-hatred are so raw. She starts therapy, visits Korea on a work trip and starts to piece her real self together. 

Some of the truths are painful to read and I suppose that's the appeal of the book. The work it took for Farrell to get to a good place.

February Fun

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire by Simon Baker, 2006

Planning a possible trip to Rome later this year, I realized how little I know about the Roman Empire. From the finding of Rome (whether the tale of twins Romulus and Remus raised by wolves or ancestors of Aeneas of Troy) to how Rome fractured into the Western and Eastern empire, Ancient Rome provides a thorough overview of the Empire.

The violence and little regard for human life (whether plebians or slaves) is ruled over by the ruling class of the Senates and emporeror. 

As the empire of Rome expands through military domination starting with Julius Caesar, military rule continues to drive the leadership of Rome.

I learned the history of terms like Pyrric victory, as well as learning about Hadrian's wall in the UK. 

The empire fell apart as rule was dispersed through four rulers instead of a single emporer. The emporer Diocletian created a tetrarchy to prevent too much power in one man. He set up a system where there would be two Augusti (main rulers) and two Caesares (ruler in waiting), one assigned to the East and West.  

Instead of balancing power though, the system resulted in ruthless power grabs where whole families would be assisntated to ensure uncontested power.

Eventually, the Western empire falls while the Eastern empire ruled out of Constantinople becomes the Bizantine empire.

An informative read, I was happy to finish the book. The names and characters became a bit too complex near the end, with too many people to keep track of.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, 2021

A fictionalized account of J.P. Morgan's librarian who built up the Pierpont Morgan Library and its leading collection of literary items, The Personal Librarian was a gift from a friend whom I met up with in NYC.

Belle Marion Greener is a black woman, whose light skin allows her and her family to 'pass' as white people. 

During the 1900s, being white accorded Belle and her family opportunities that would not be allowed to them if they were Black.

The sacrifice the family makes to live as a white family in New York City include the loss of their father Richard Theodore Greener, the first black graduate of Harvard in 1870 and a black activist who refuses to live as a white family.

Belle also sacrifices her family name Greener, a well-respected and powerful family in Washington, D.C. 

She becomes Belle da Costa Greene, a name is referencing her fabricated Portuguese heritage to explain Belle's darker skin tone and curlier hair. 

Despite the oppressive secret that Belle must maintain at work, she thrives as Morgan's personal librarian. Her knowledge and cunningness in acquiring rare works impress both Morgan and historian collectors in both American and London.

She becomes a celebrated example of a career woman, rising to the top of her industry while befriending New York City's elite social circle, including the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. 

She is also feted by the city's creative elites, including Aurthur Stieglitz. Her paths cross with Bernard Berenson, an Italian Renaissance expert who authored a book that Belle would read with her father growing up. 

Berenson is also the buyer for Isabelle Stewart Gardiner. He is also in an open marriage with his wife Mary, and despite the secrets that Berenson keeps and his questionable character, Belle is drawn to him and begins an affair with him.

There is a hint of attraction between Belle and Morgan in the novel, a rumor during the time, but not anything substantiated.  

It is an incredible story of what Belle was able to achieve in business, not only as a women when women were faced so many discriminatory behaviors, but in constant fear of being outed for who she really was.

In the story, Belle's light skin is referenced as the a reminder of the violence her ancestors endured. I am embarrassed to admit that I had never realized the origin of light skinned blacks... 

I am also embarrassed to admit that when my husband visited the Morgan Library a few years ago with his father and noted how magnificent the library was, I was unimpressed.

Now, I can't wait to visit the libary and see what Belle was able to build. 

January Reads

The Champagne Letters by Kate MacIntosh, 2024

It was nice to read something lighter after Fleishman Is In Trouble. It was also nice to read a story where a 50-year-old woman is the protagonist. 

Natalie Taylor is from Chicago and in the midst of divorcing her philandering husband. She takaes a trip to Paris on a whim to escape her current situation.

While in Paris, she stumbles across a fictional book of letters by Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who orchestrated the success of her champagne Veuvo (Widow) Clicquot after her husband's death.

Seeking parallels and lessons from Veuvo Clicquot's life from the 1800s, Natalie is inspired to brush aside the person she has become after decades in insurance risk actuary and a marriage where she realizes she was never the central figure.

With hotel worker Sophie to help her navigate the city, Natalie is swept of her feet by French wine dealer Gabriel. 

Veuvo Clicquot's transformation centers around her desire to run her Champagne company independently, and not remarry as her parents wish. She struggles to establish authority where women are accounted few opportunities. 

She must preserve her reputation and that of her household, including her daughter Clementine. With the help of her cellarman Pharaoh and trusted salesman Louis, they manage to survive the Russian invasion and grow the Clicquot brand outside of France, which has been salvaged due to war.

There are twists in the story (one that I foresaw, but not the other) and a perfect beach read type of book.

Some of the lessons, although trite, are good reminders that I flagged to share with my daugther:

"Those who are smart are the first to admit what they do not know. It is the foolish who insist they know it all."

"It is natural for you to feel overwhelmed... Do not be harsh on yourself by saying that others have much more to contend with - there is no winning by comparison. We all must fight our own batthles; knowing others' wars changes nothing."

"Strength isn't a fixed state. It is a series of choices in between moemnts of weakness. I would not choose to lie down and give up, which meant even though I had no idea howI would weather the storm ahead, I had to stand up and at least try."

"There are people in this life whom we do not wish to spend time. Words we do not want to hear. Things we do not wish to do. However, to hide from them will not make them disappear and only makes us look the weaker for the avoidance."

And flagged for myself...

"And what had the widow talked about - that someone who is our mother always wants us to be more like them than ourselves?"

Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, 2019

I had seen the mini-series based on this book, and could not not picture Jesse Eisenburg as Toby and Claire Daines as Rachel. The actors did a phenomenal job and the script was true to the book.

The book was a birthday gift from my husband as we were traveling to New York City for the Christmas season. I wasn't interested in reading it at first since I had seen the mini-series, but am glad that I read it.

New York is just so extra. With everything, not just financial. The relationship and falling apart of Toby and Rachel's marriage is so real and raw. Toby fights for a divorce when he realizes he and Rachel no longer have the same values.

Once she agrees to a divorce, he is set adrift. A hematologist, he is not respected by his wife, who owns her own agency, nor their Upper East Side friends, where the men are in Finance and the women 'work' as mothers who have nannies and house managers to manage the servants.

Toby navigates the summer as his children Hannah and Solly are dispatched to his dingy apartment as Rachel disappears. He reaches out to his former college friends Libby, a former magazine writer who lives in New Jersey with her family, and Seth, a finance bro who has remained single into his 40s.

The narrator is Libby, who is languishing in suburbia. When Toby reaches out, she gleefully hops on the train to the city, starts smoking cigarettes again and spends time with Toby and Seth. She feels like herself again, and not the boring generic mother in the Jersey suburbs.

We hear Rachel's view and the twists and parallels with Toby's version and Libby's experiences make for thoughtful commentary on family, gender roles, expectations on women, and marriages.

The commentary is true regardless of where people live, but magnified because of New York City.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, 2008

I had tried reading this novel earlier, but could not get into it. After reading Kristin Hannah's The Women though, I picked this book up again. 

Hannan writes emotions so well, and the story of Tully and Kate's friendship from teenagers to middle age reflects the dynamics of friendships as lives diverge.

Tully and Kate are children of the 70s and 80s - it was enjoyable to relate to the details of these decades: From the big hair of the 80s to the talk show mania and makeovers of the 2000s. 

Tully is the charismatic force of nature, who works non-stop and wills her way to the top of her career as a news broadcaster. 

Kate can get frustrated and feel drab next to Tully, but she is content to be a stay-at-home mom and wife.

The relationship between Kate and her teenage daughter Marah is fraught, compounded by Marah's idolization of Tully, who supports Marah's desires to go to a concert with upper classmen on a school night, something her parents forbid.

I can relate to the struggle between mother-daughter as I sometimes experience the same thing. The importance of boundaries but devastation of seeing your daughter crushed.

A great beach read, Firefly Lane showcases Hannah's ability to write flawed relatable characters whom are so relatable.

Good Company by Cynthia D'Apprix Sweeney, 2021

I love the characters that Sweeney write. Their emotions, honesty and vulnerability are so complex. After reading The Nest last year, I have become a Sweeney fan.

Good Company describes the New York City theater world, centering around Flora Mancini and her husband Julian, who is co-owner of a theater company. They have a daughter Ruby, with the theater company as Julian's other baby.

After years of struggling to raise their daughter in a one bedroom apartment, cobbling together income from Flora's voiceover work (haven given up theater acting after having Ruby) and Julian's (minimal) theater revenue, the couple decide to take a leap of faith and move to Los Angeles where Julian is offered a television role.

In LA, they join best friends Margot, also a theater actor turned television actor, and her husband David, a physician. With Margot's successful run as a doctor in a hit show, Flora feels the financial disparity when the couples travel together.

When Flora discovers Julian's previous lost wedding ring in the garage, secrets come out and Flora realizes her marriage to Julian may not be as perfect as others believe it to be.

With chapters from Ruby's point of view as she graduates high school and travels to Spain with her boyfriend Ivan's family, Good Company is an enjoyable read.

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks, 2020

My daughter tore through From the Desk of Zoe Washington, tearing up at the end of the book. She insisted that I read the book since it was soooo good, so here we are...!

Targeted towards late elementary/middle school readers, From the Desk of Zoe Washington is an enjoyable 'mature' story that breaks down complex issues into lessons without being condescending.

Friendship and peer pressure issues that Zoe and her neighbor Trevor experience are nicely written; as are 12-year-old Zoe's frustrations when she is not treated like an adult by either her parents or family friend who hires her to work at her bakery.

The deeper issues of racism and unfairly incarcerated black men are also handled well. Zoe connects with her father Marcus, who is in prison, and starts to think more about racism and why organizations like the Innocence Project exist. 

The story also takes place around Boston with scenes in neighborhoods like Beacon Hill, Davis Square and Harvard. The references are accurate and fun to read. A baker like Zoe, my daughter also related to Zoe's passion for baking. 

It is also heart warming to see the diversity in lead characters in children's books. That despite being Black or Asian or Hispanic, kids deal with the same issues at the core (navigating friendships, wanting independence, etc.) while also having a unique identity.

Since this is a middle school book, I will count this as half a book read...

 

Love Medicine: New and Expanded Version by Louise Erdrich, 1984

A great way to start off the New Year, Love Medicine is beautifully written. Erdrich just writes beautiful sentences and enthralling characters. The prose is haunting yet uplifting.

Taking place through multiple generations of families on a Chippewa reservation, we meet characters including June Kashpaw, whose Morrisey father deserted the family and was raised by her uncle Eli. 

She has a son King with her husband Gordie Kashpaw.

Marie Lazarre, from a family of ill-repute, was left with and raised by the nuns of Sacred Heart Convent, including the heartless Sister Leopolda. 

She marries Nector Kashpaw, from a reputable family, and ends up taking in children who are left with her, including Lipsha Morrissey.

Lulu Nanapush is the daughter of Margaret Kashpaw, Rushes Bear, who is the matriarch of the Kashpaw family and mother to brothers Nector and Eli. 

Her first love is Nector, but he is captivated by and marries Marie. Lulu marries Henry Lamartine, brother to Beverly, who participates in an Indian relocation program and lives in Minneapolis.

Lulu's sons include Lyman Lamartine and Henry Junior, who is no longer the same after returning from Vietnam.

Gerry Nanapush has also left the reservation, ending in Chicago and then prison.

Fierce love, loss, alcoholism and spiritualism run through these generations of people searching for a way to carve out a life when everything has been taken away from them by the US Government.

December

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, 2016

I totally judged a book by its cover, and I'm glad I did! 

The Nest is about the Plumb family siblings who must deal with the fallout of their (emotionally) distant mother having spent their trust fund, dubbed the 'Nest' by the siblings, on eldest brother Leo's rehab and covering up an accident.

The setting is New York City, another reason I chose to read the book as I was heading to NYC for a family vacation.

Riveting and flawed characters, The Nest centers around the siblings are struggling and tired of living in the shadow of their charismatic and flashy brother Leo. There are also a cast of memorable characters in each of the sibling's orbit.

Instead of detracting from the story and becoming too confusing, each character becomes someone that you root for.

Leo has hit a crisis point, out of rehab and in the middle of a divorce from his wife Victoria, who has spent his fortune from the sale of an online literary magazine he founded. He will soon be penniless after the divorce, and ends up back in the arms with literary agent Stephanie (in Brooklyn to boot), who he has always had an on again and off again affair for years.

Leo's sibling Bea was a hot writer and part of the Glitterary Girls, a name dubbed for a set of talented young female writer and closest to Leo, with whom she worked for on his literary magazine. Unfortunately, Bea was never able to deliver on her book contract and has since been toiling away at Paper Fibres print magazine, run by Paul Underwood.

Jack is the younger brother, always in Leo's shadow and nicknamed Leo Lite as a child. He runs a not-successful antique shop and is hiding debt from his partner Walker. He is relying on his part of the the Nest to escape from the growing debt that is due.

Melody is the youngest child living a bland suburban life in a community that is too wealthy and judgmental for her and her modest technician husband Walter. She is relying on the Nest to pay for her twin daughter's college tuition.

Cast of characters include Francie Plumb, the Plumb matriarch who could never cope with so many children, much less remembering their birthdays. George Plumb is the attorney cousin who has protected the Nest and the family.

Matilda Rodriguez is the victim of Leo's frivolous actions and vices, while Coporal Vinnie Massuro is a fellow amputee who forces Matilda to accept her new reality resulting from the loss of her foot. 

Nora and Louisa are Melody's twin daughters, who are forced to go to SAT prep class in the city, where they befriend the sophisticated and worldly Simone. Walter is her sensible husband, who like Jack's partner Walker, realize that Leo is not someone to rely on or look up to, as the Plumb siblings do.

Nathan Chowdhary is Leo's partner in founding SpeakEasy Magazine, leading to SpeakEasyMedia, the company Leo sold to make his fortune. Chowdhary was against the sale and would go on to find other successful businesses while Leo spent his fortune traveling and dabbling in different interests of his wife Victoria's. 

Tommy O'Toole is an ex-firefighter at the Twin Towers during 9/11, where he lost his wife, who also worked in the building. He lives on the first floor of Stephanie's Brooklyn brownstone and is stuck mourning the loss of his wife. He crosses path with Jack, who recognizes the significance of the memento that O'Toole has kept from the Twin Towers falling and sees a way to escape his debt now that the Nest has been depleted.

A satisfying ending where the characters each show growth, even if it does not mean the traditional happy ending, The Nest is a enjoyable read with compelling characters. I have already reserved Sweeney's next novel from the library to add to my reading queue.

The Women by Kristen Hannah, 2024

After countless recommendations from online book sites & friends, The Women did not disappoint. This is storytelling at its best, transporting me into the heart of the Vietnam War.

Frances 'Frankie' McGrath decides to enlist in the Vietnam War as a nurse, in memory of her brother, who has been killed in action. 

She meets fellow nurses Ethel and Barb, whom she forms life-long bonds as they witness first-hand the trauma of the war treating American soldiers and South Vietnamese villagers with body parts missing and intestines spilling out.

I could feel the heat, mud and desperation of Vietnam. Through the trauma, the soldiers and medical staff do their best to celebrate to stay sane. McGrath is soon promoted to OR nurse, where she works with surgeon Jamie Callahan.

There is an immediate attraction between McGrath and Callahan, but Callahan is married with a daughter. She meets Rye Walsh, a friend of her brother's from the Naval Academy who inspired McGrath to enlist as a nurse when he tells her that 'women can be heroes'.

Once Walsh has confirmed that he is not engaged, he and McGrath start a passionate affair. He flies in to support her after she witnesses a mother and child charred from Agent Orange.

McGrath completes her tour and goes home. Dressed in her military uniform, people spit at her, call her a baby killer and boo her. Her parents refuse to talk about her time in Vietnam, telling friends that she spent a semester in Florence.

She holds onto hope for Walsh's return in a few months after he completes his tour. Unfortunately, his plane is shot down and he is killed in action. McGrath spirals and attempts to integrate into society and accepts a job as a nurse.

Despite being a trauma nurse in the war, McGrath is relegated to changing bed pans, and when she does perform a procedural that saves a man's life, she is fired as being a wild card. 

Her parents and the women she served with, Ethel and Barb, support and bolster her, but McGrath cannot cope with her recurring nightmares and inability to talk about Vietnam. When she attempts to join a support group for veterans, she is told that there were no women in Vietnam, and made to leave.

After so many false hopes, McGrath finally finds her path after hitting rock bottom. Her parents may not understand her service and who she has become, but they support her. She meets someone and becomes pregnant, but loses her baby.

Walsh, who was assumed to be KIA, returns to the US to a hero's welcome after being tortured at the Hanoi Hilton. Despite being broken so many times, McGrath survives and finally finds peace.

Good Material by Dolly Alderton, 2023

A heartfelt and (sometimes too) honest look at heartbreak, Good Material is an entertaining read about a comedian, Andy, who has just been dumped from his girlfriend Jen of four years.

In his mid-thirties, Andy's friends have young families and a lad's night out is not the same, with many looking to go home before 'last orders'.

The break-up is complicated by the fact that Andy met Jen through his best friend Avi, who is married to Jane, Jen's best friend.

Alderton does a good job capturing the seemingly endless emotional abyss of a break-up. 

At one point, I was exhausted by Andy's continued fixation on the break-up, something acknowledged by Andy himself in the book, where he realizes there are 'tokens' he has to talk about the break-up before annoying his friends.

A fun read about British culture, Good Material is quite entertaining with one of the better endings I have read in a long time when we hear Jen's point of view. 

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich, 2024

I just love Louise Erdrich. She is such a captivating writer. I started reading her to get a better understanding of Indians and Native American culture, but she writes people (not just Indians) so well.

Although The Mighty Red started slow, it became a page turner mid-way through and I could not put the book down.

The Mighty Red takes place in a town in the Red River Valley in North Dakota where a young couple, Kismet Pao and Gary Geist, are to be married. They are seniors in high school. 

Kismet's parents are Crystal and Martin, a night-time truck driver and actor respectively, cobbling together an existence. The Geist family own a sugar beet farm and are among the wealthier and privileged in Tabor, ND.

Gary leads a charmed and frivolous life as captain of the football team until an accident happens when he is with his football teammates.

Gary is not the same after, and decides that formerly goth and object of his ridicule Kismet is the one who can center and save him. Although Kismet is entangled with Hugh, who is bright and decides to enroll in an online program to work at the oil fields to make money and win Kismet.

Hugh's parents are Bev and Ichor, bookstore owner and country control weed officer respectively. As part of Bev's store, she hosts book club to encourage the purchase of her wares, as well as providing a good excuse for the women of the small time to convene.

A deep dive into the sugar beet and farming industry, and the repercussions of insecticides are weaved into the story as Kismet and Gary navigate their relationship, while Crystal needs to deal with the sudden disappearance of her husband. 

Similar to Chris LaTay's Becoming Little Shell providing a sense of Montana, The Mighty Red does the same for small town North Dakota.

Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa, 2024

Continuing my curiosity in learning more about Indian history and experience in America, I picked up Whiskey Tender and was delighted to learn that Taffa was the Director of the Creative Writing Program MFA at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.

I regret not visiting the Institute when I was in Santa Fe in November, but do recall sitting on the doorsteps waiting for a restaurant reservation across the street. Since then, I've also learned that Tommy Orange teaches at the Institute, which deepens my regret. It will be a destination for the next time that I am in Santa Fe.

Taffa's memoir centers around growing up in the 70s, when her Quechan (Yuma) father signs up for the government program to train Indians in a trade (welding for her father) to find work in a city; in essence, removing them from their tribe and reservation. Yet another way America systemic works to weaken Indian tribes by removing young working men.

Taffa's father is hesitant to move away from his family and off the reservation, but after his mother made him promise to leave the reservation for a better life, he does.

The memoir centers around Taffa's struggle growing up in Farmington, New Mexico, where most of the inhabitants are white. There are some fellow Indian students, but with her Chicana mother, Taffa is light skinned and not thought of as Indian by either of her white or Indian classmates.

I relate to Taffa's struggle with identity as an Asian American growing up in the '80s. Assimilation was the driving force then, where individuality was frowned upon. Although I am fully Asian, it was still a struggle trying to find my way in an insensitive environment where any other ethnicity except Caucasian was considered weird and freakish.

With the focus on the future, Taffa's father does not talk much about his childhood and growing up on the reservation, similar to how my parents never talked much about China. I imagine there was a lot of trauma as well as an aching for their homelands.

Despite the family's move off the reservations, too much drinking and poor decisions haunt the Taffa family, but Taffa and her family do have more opportunities than if they had stayed on the reservation.

The memoir ends with Taffa graduating from High School and deciding to fully explore her Indian heritage and not going to college, a choice her parents did not support.

Thanks to social media and Taffa's Instagram account, she is thriving as Director of the MFA program with her children thriving, including one recently graduating from an Ivy League law school. This is what my Chinese-American parents worked so hard for - for their children and many generations after to have a better life through education. Her pictures include a picture of her proud father, Edmund Jackson.

November

Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home by Chris La Tray, 2024

Ever since my trip to New Mexico where I visited the Taos Pueblo, I have been fascinated by the history and present day story of our Native Americans. There is so much oppression, cruelty and killing that I am not aware of. 

Not just the initial spreading of small pox through blankets while the American Native Americans helped the settlers survive harsh winters, but the continued genocide and stealing of the lands of the Indians because of greed.

La Tray's story centers around Montana, where he grew up and the Metis people (French Canadian and Indian) lived. French Canadian men who were in the West went to make their fortunes and some took Indian wives, creating the blended Metis people. 

La Tray's memoir tells of his exploration of his heritage, something he knew little about given his father's refusal to acknowledge his heritage. I understand his father's struggle - it was difficult embracing my Chinese-American identity while growing up given how Asian Americans were ridiculed in movies like Sixteen Candles.

When his father passes away, La Tray decides to explore his heritage, something he has always been proud of.

A mix of his personal discovery and history of the Little Shell Tribe, including it becoming the 547th tribe (I had no idea there were that many Indian tribes) to be recognized by the United States government in 2019,

With recognition, came government support (e.g. health services managed by government bureaus, COVID-19 relieve) as well as pride and relief. After decades of fighting for recognition and swallowing many injustices, the Little Shell Tribe could finally start rebuilding and providing services for its tribe members after decades of being driven to poverty by the actions of fellow Americans.

After reading in-depth researched books such as New York: The Novel and Isabella: Warrior Queen, La Tray's novel was lighter in history than I had come to take for granted. It provides insight into modern day Indians though, the intent of the memoir.

It also provides insight into Montana, a state that I have never really thought of before, and am keen to visit now.

New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd, 2009

A compelling historical fiction tome, New York follows generations of the van Dyck (Dutch), Master (English), Hudson (African), O' Donnell (Irish), Keller (German), and Caruso (Italian) families.

From a Dutch outpost led by Governor Stuyvesant to the World Towers falling in 2001, the novel is a sweeping saga punctuated by historic events such as the Civil War Draft Riots of 1863 and the Great Blizzard of 1888.

I learned so much about history and having the history of how New York City was shaped makes for a clearer understanding of the city. The description of the greed in the 1990s and 2000s only scrapes the surface of what the city and its finance breathers have become.

With characters from every country and ethnicity (including Jewish, Puerto Rican & Chinese in the later years), New York is a stunningly researched.

I had previously read New York, but much of it did not stick with me. Having recently been to the city and really appreciating it, this time around, the book came alive. I have also read Rutherfurd's London and Paris, and plan to re-read them again before I visit those countries again.

One Goal: A Coach, A Team, And the Game That Brought A Divided Town Together by Amy Bass, 2018

I found this book while looking for books about soccer for my daughter. It tells the story of Lewiston, Maine in the 2010s, where the depressed town was handling an influx of Somalian refugees. 

The refugees were dealing (and probably continue to deal with) the racism of that the previous generations of French-Canadians ancestors dealt with when they first moved to Lewiston.

Similar to how my parents ended up in Boston, it takes one to build a community. Fleeing from refugee camps in Kenya, Somalians settled throughout the U.S. but soon heard through friends and family of a place in Maine where there were people who like them who could support them.

Although cold (one Somalian thought snow was salt when he saw it on the ground), Somalians preferred staying in Maine where they had a community rather than being isolated in other part of the U.S.

For the boys who grew up (some born) in refugee camps, soccer was the one escape. Even in Lewiston, the boys play soccer non-stop. Soon, the Lewiston High School boys soccer team became a top team in the state of Maine.

The book chronicles the team's state championship run, with deep back stories about the the conflict in Somalia, how they settled in Lewiston and the revitalizing impact they have had on the town. 

Being majority white, not all of Maine was not welcoming to Somalians. The community had to deal with overt racism, even the young boys experiencing taunting from opponents and crowds during soccer games.

We also meet legendary soccer coach Mike McGraw, who brought the team together, and players such as Abdi Shariff-Hassan (who would go onto to play Division I soccer), Moe Khalid, Maulid Abdow (master of the front handspring flip through in), and Austin Wing (whose parents were the ultimate Boosters supporting the team).

This is a heartwarming story how McGraw created a team that embraced and incorporated Somalian culture. Missing practice to help parents became an acceptable reason, practices were modified in attempts to take into account Ramadan fasting, and the team cheer of 'Pamoja Ndugu' (Swahili for Together Brotherhood) became the war cry.

Although sports can divide, it is magical in how it can bring people together. It is also magical how much the human spirit can endure. The Somalians are driven from their homes - physically, emotionally and culturally - by a brutal civil war to end up in a cardboard or carp home in the dessert where there is no running water or electricity. 

They come to a freezing cold climate where nothing is familiar and where slurs are yelled at them and reported about them in the media. Yet, they carry on and thrive. 

I'm embarrassed to admit that I could not find Somalia on a map, or could picture the Horn of Africa, before reading this book...  I have studied the map though and plan to working on improving my geographic ignorance...

October: Fall Into Reading

Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Charles III by Tracy Borman, 2021 

I had purchased this book about two years ago from the Tower of London Gift Shop. Familiar with monarchs like Henvy VII, Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I and II, George II, etc. but did not know how they all fit together. 

In other words, I did not understand the big picture of the monarchy and how they came to be.

I had no idea that the English Royal Family were from Germany, Scotland, Wales - almost every place except England! 

A well-researched and engaging history of the British monarchy from the 1000s to today, Crown & Sceptre provided that understanding that is only glean when one has a chance to take a step back.

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight, 2016

Shoe Dog reinforces that success is not due to how intelligent someone is, but by how hard they work. Working hard can only be reinforced by a passion - whether that passion is to make money or something more altruistic. 

For Knight, his passion was running. And, not losing. 

Knight's autobiography starts off with an around-the-world trip after graduating from Stanford Business School, contemplating what he wants to be and to do next. 

A high school track athlete, Knight was passionate about running and kept returning to a concept that germinated when he was in Business School. 

The Japanese made a great running shoe called the Tiger and Knight wanted to sell the shoes in America.

In the 60s, running was not as prevalent as it is now. Track was popular in the Olympics, but not considered a 'true' sport beyond the Olympic level. Casual runners or people running for exercise did not exist.

Knight was able to build NIKE into the powerhouse that he is by partnering with his former high school running coach from Oregon, Bill Bowerman. Bowerman was obsessed with running and would even prototype his own running shoes, knowing what runners needed.

Jeff Johnson, Knight's first hire for the initially named Blue Ribbon shoe company, also had a great passion for shoes and runners. He maintained close contact with customers and built relationships to grow a loyal following.

Knight struggled for many years, working a full-time job to support himself and his company. He faced challenges with banks, which were risk-adverse in the 60s and 70s. 

Even with millions in sales each year, the company struggled to repay loans at month-end. Because of this, Knight almost lost his company because banks did not want to do business with him.

The story focuses on the early years of building NIKE instead of the height of its popularity, when it dominated the sporting good market and had sponsorships with famous athletes including Michael Jordon and Tiger Woods.

The details and somewhat random events leading up to what is NIKE today is fascinating. The ubiquitous swoosh logo was developed by an art freelancer from Portland State, where Knight taught as one of his jobs while working on growing Blue Ribbon. Knight paid the freelancer $35 for the logo.

The name of the company came from Johnson, and Knight was not sure of the name but chose it at the last minute. Starting a new company to manufacture its own shoes was forced when Onitsuka Corp, maker of Tiger, decided to pursue other American distributors to sell their shoes.

Surrounding himself with a passionate team, Knight called his leadership team Buttface. The circle of men never took themselves too seriously. They despised the 'corporate' culture, building a strong culture rooted in Oregon.

Knight sacrificed many hours growing his show company. When he was younger, his apartment was essentially a warehouse for shoes. He had to make last minute trips to Japan to resolve issues, deal with bankers threatening to no longer lend him money, thus forcing him to shutter his business.

He managed the challenges while working full-time jobs initially teaching at Portland State (where he met his wife Penny, one of his students) and an accountant at firms including Price Waterhouse. Even when he quit his full time job to dedicate his time to his company, he was not present a present father.

What Knight did though, would not have been likely if it were not for the connections his father had, who pointed Knight to Onitsuka Corp. Not to take anything away from the hard work and risks, but Knight's success would have been unlikely if he was not a white male.

September

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, 2006 

The Man Booker Prize winner, I purchased The Inheritance of Loss at a newly opened woman-owned bookstore featuring works by female immigrants. 

Hauntingly written, the book is about Sai, a young girl who grew up in a nunnery for orphans and sent to live with her grandfather Judge Jemubhai Patel after her parents perish in a car accident in Russia and are no longer able to pay for her keep.

Her grandfather is a former judge who lives in an isolated hillside in Darjeeling along with his cook. The cook is resigned to his life of servitude but proud and hopeful for his son Biju, who has managed to emigrate to American, working illegally in kitchens in New York City.

Sai is tutored by a neighbor Noni, sister to Lola, residents of Mon Ami, and Gyan, who becomes swept up in the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) movement.

Tragedy and sorrow are prevalent for all the characters. We learn about the Judge's difficult childhood and his cruelty towards his wife and loyal chef. Insecure and bitter, the Judge only manages to show love and affection for his dog Mutt.

Sai remains carefree despite loneliness filling her life and dealing with the betrayal of her boyfriend Gyan. Gyan is torn between the hopes his impoverished family has put onto his shoulders and his friends pushing for violence and rebellion.

Biju lives the loneliest life in New York City, where everything is foreign. He can barely support himself yet receives constant requests for his father to help with others from the village who manage to emigrate to New York. 

He meets other immigrants, including the Muslim Saeed Saeed, and realizes he does not hate the man as he has been taught to do. Biju has the most heart-breaking story as he becomes concerned about his father and decides to escape the grind of poverty and being an illegal immigrant in New York City by returning to India.

There is also much humor, like Noni's contempt for Mrs. Sen, whose daughter resides in the US, vs London, where Noni's daughter resides.

The writing is beautiful. Like so many Indian authors, the language, emotions and descriptions are transcendent 

Caucasia by Danzy Senna, 1977

Caucasia is a wonderfully written book about two sisters born to a black father Deck and white mother Sandy. The parents met while the father was a PhD student at Harvard and the mother a daughter of a wealthy family in Cambridge.

Sisters Birdie and Cole Lee are close, sharing the secret language Elemeno (named after the girls' favorite letters) that they whisper to each other in the bed they share while listening to their parents fight. 

Cole has her father's darker skin and curly hair while Birdie has her mom's pale skin and straight hair. The appearances are significant as girls are enrolled in school after years of home teaching. 

There is forced desegregation in Roxbury and Boston, but the protests are violent and the schools remain segregated. The girls attend the predominately black school Nkrumah where Cole is quickly accepted while Birdie is seen as an outsider.

The parents argue over their philosophy and approaches to racism. Sandy is more militant, hosting activists in their home while Deck is more cerebral and does not believe in aggressive tactics. 

Sandy eventually needs to flee from the police due to her activism and she and Deck decide that Birdie will go with her while Cole goes with Deck and his new Brazilian girlfriend Carmen to Brazil.

The next few years follow Birdie as she and her mother flee from place to place, using false identities. Birdie becomes Jesse Goldman, not only white but also Jewish. 

The pair eventually settle in New Hampshire as Jesse enters high school and deals with the challenges of her true identity, surrounded by the casual racism in the white New Hampshire town she is now in.

Beautifully written and capturing the environment of Boston and New Hampshire during the 80s. Caucasia is an incredible coming of age story that explores Birdie's struggle with her identity and relationship with her mom.

The Snap by Elizabeth Staple, 2024

After almost a thousand pages of Spanish Queen history, I was ready for some fiction. I saw this book in the library and liked that it was about football.

Staple worked in media relations for teams including the New York Giants and my home team, the New England Patriots.

The story is very readable (i.e. a plot that moves things along) and provides insight into working for a football organization. The protagonist is Poppy Benjamin, who starts off as an intern in the male-dominated and testosterone-fueled environment of the NFL.

Poppy is part of WAGS (Women Against Groping Sh*theads), a group of high powered women in sports. The group is a safe place to vent and commiserate with other women in a male dominated field, where women are advised not to wear 'fitted' clothing and are treated as objects to be dominated.

The legendary coach Red Guillory of the Syracuse Bobcats NFL team has died, and the police start a murder investigation. At the same time, the WAGS receive mysterious threatening notes.

The novel moves back and forth between present day, where Poppy is the Director of Media Relations and part of the team leadership support General Manager Asbel, and fifteen years ago, when Poppy was an intern.

As an intern, Poppy was harassed by the men in the office - hip-checking here in the hallway, making inappropriate comments. She befriends the other young people in the office: James, Abby and Mo. 

The commentary of going out and drinking after a stressful week and the dynamics between young co-workers reminds me of my experiences and the feeling one has when they are first out of college and made me smile.

There are many characters in the novel (in addition to the WAGS, there is the cocky quarterback, star running back whom Poppy befriends, reporters whom she works with, her parents and two brothers, etc.) as well as story lines that are there to build tension, but become distracting and superflous.

Overall, there was more of a plot than I thought and the twists were unexpected. There is also great honesty in the story, about how assault is treated fifteen years ago and how much really has changed. The decisions that Poppy have made are not black and white and although she is where she wants to be, there are many things she also questions in her life.

Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile by Julia Fox, 2011

The immersive biography Isabella: The Warrior Queen inspired me to read about two of Isabella's children, Katherine and Juana. Not as engaging and a bit slow at times, this book made me appreciate the writing of Isabella: the Warrior Queen.

I have read many biographies about Henry VIII's six wives and am familiar with Katharine of Aragon, but reading about her in the context as Queen Isabella's daughter bought a new perspective and understanding of Katharine.

Known as Juana La Loca, I was not familiar with this Spanish Queen. Married to Philip the Handsome of Burgundy, Juana was in an abusive relationship where she was undermined and plotted against. 

Her husband isolated her and spread the rumors of her madness, something her father Ferdinand continued to do so after Philip's death so that he could rule Spain.

Even more so than today, a responsibility of a royal couple was to produce children to ensure the peaceful continuation of ruling a nation. Katharine and Henry had a daughter Mary, but were unable to produce a much-desired son; leaving the opening for Henry to pursue his infamous affair with Anne Boleyn.

Juana and Philip did produce many healthy heirs: two sons and four daughters. Her oldest son Charles would become the Holy Roman Emperor while her grandson would marry Mary, Katherine's daughter.

The contrasting sisters provides insight on leadership. Katharine was firm and stood up for her birthright to rule while Juana did not fight for her chance. When the Communeros of Spain rebelled and offered Juana a chance to rule Spain over her son Charles, she dodged the opportunity, buying time for Charles's troops to come quell the rebellion.

Many reports indicate that Juana was not mad as her husband and father wanted others to believe. Perhaps the years of being isolated and manipulated broke her will to rule. Katherine experienced a loving relationship and had a chance to grow into a leader before Henry cast her away. 

This provided the foundation for Katharine to fight back against injustices, while Juana suffered them locked away in Tordesillas.

Leadership does not just take the skills to do so, but also the will and fortitude, where will and fortitude are the more important factors.