Trophy House by Anne Bernays – 4/20 Books of Summer

Dannie Faber has a comfortable life as a children’s book illustrator; her children are adults and she splits her time between affluent Belmont, MA and Cape Cod, which she prefers. Her husband Tom teaches at MIT and joins her at the Cape, which is her happy place, when he can. When she isn’t working, she has local friends, including Raymie, with whom to gossip about neighbors who don’t fit in. Primary among these is a millionaire who is building an enormous, hideous house less than half a mile from the Fabers.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Title: Horse
Author: Geraldine Brooks
Publication: Viking, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 19th, 20th, and 21st century United (or not so) States

Description: Brooks tells the fascinating story of the little-known but legendary racehorse, Lexington, by imagining his enslaved groom/trainer, along with the real-life artists of the era who specialized in equine portraits, a 20th-century art dealer, and two contemporary characters who meet in DC and puzzle out the history together.

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Title: Trust
Author: Hernan Diaz
Publication: Riverhead, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: New York and Europe

Description: Benjamin and Helen Rask are a prominent Manhattan couple in the 1920s. He is an eccentric but successful Wall Street investor whose family made its money from tobacco. Helen is from a well-born Albany family and is interested in philanthropy. Neither is very comfortable with people, including each other.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Title: Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus
Publication: Doubleday, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 20th-century California

Description: Elizabeth Zott is a gifted but eccentric chemist and, unfortunately, a woman in a man’s world in the 1960s. She is belittled, exploited, and sexually assaulted when all she wants is to have the resources to do her job at Hastings Research Institute.

WWW Wednesday: November 18, 2020

It’s Wednesday, so it’s time to take a look at what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what I’m planning on reading.  This was inspired by Taking on a World of Books.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

Title: Wives and Daughters
Author:  Elizabeth Gaskell, called The Unjustly Overlooked Victorian Novelist by the New Yorker

Setting: 1830s England

Publication:  Oxford University Press, trade paper, 1987 (originally published 1864-66 in serial form)

Genre: Literature

The Goldsmith’s Treasure by August Šenoa (book review)

Title: The Goldsmith’s Treasure
Author: August Šenoa (1838 – 1881)
Translator: Neven Divjakinja
Publication: Spiritoso (Zagreb), hardcover, English edition 2015 (1871)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Zagreb, 1574-79

August Šenoa

Plot: This is a Croatian story of forbidden love between Dora Krupiceva, the Goldsmith’s daughter, a beautiful and devout young woman, and Pavao Gregorijanec, willful son of Lord Stjephko.

Five Things

I found the missing wine in the freezer! I remember now I popped it in to chill for a few minutes before my book group arrived. . . several weeks ago. It’s lucky they were satisfied with the first bottle – usually we can polish off two to three. And also lucky it did not explode.

I just made Pumpkin Pie as well as the Caramel Cashew Bars my friend Jen served at the last Betsy-Tacy party. Cross your fingers they pass muster!

I concentrated the cashews on the left in case anyone dislikes nuts

Fun book – Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating.   

Most emotional moment: Monday night when Harvard coach Tim Murphy awarded the Yale game ball to former player Ben Abercrombie who had traveled from Alabama to Boston for The Game.

My brother’s new puppy Chloe, just eight weeks old, is the cutest dog ever. I can’t wait until he and his family go on a trip so I can puppy sit and have her all to myself.


Happy Thanksgiving to all!

State of Wonder (review)

Title: State of Wonder
Author: Ann Patchett
Publication Information: HarperCollins 2011
Genre: Fiction
Plot: Dr. Marina Singh, a research scientist for Vogel, a pharmaceutical company in Minnesota, is sent to Brazil following the mysterious death there of her research partner and friend, Dr. Anders Eckman. Anders had gone to investigate the fertility work Dr. Annick Swenson has been conducting in the Amazon for their employer, as her failure to report back regularly concerned Vogel management.

Marina has several secrets, not simply an affair with Mr. Fox, the CEO of Vogel, but also a mistake she made during her long ago residency in obstetrics (when she was Dr. Swenson’s Chief Resident) that injured a child, and drove her to the comparative safety of a research lab (on Grey’s Anatomy her angst would have lasted only a few episodes). She has no desire to go to the Amazon and childhood trips to India left her with nightmarish reactions to the malaria medication required for either destination, but she is unable to resist the entreaties of Anders’ widow.

What I liked: The book was extremely readable and the characters fairly memorable, particularly Easter, a small deaf boy who becomes close to Marina. The Bovenders, a feckless couple, living at Vogel’s expense in Dr. Swenson’s apartment in Manaus while she is in the jungle are vivid and convincing. Patchett does a great job of conveying the nightmarish quality of the jungle; the reader experiences the oppresiveness and it doesn't matter how much is real and how much due to Marina's fevers. Dr. Swenson is single-minded in her pursuit of science (regarding Anders’ death as an inconvenience) and pushes Marina to discard her research-lab passivity and practice medicine after 13 years. By saving a life or two, she is able to come to terms with the long ago tragedy. Although Marina’s instinctive reaction when confronted by her old professor is to revert into a passive role, she displays strength and determination (but rarely wins an argument with Dr. Swenson). Their relationship is central to the story.

What I disliked: I found the plot somewhat tedious, the setting unappealing, and was so grossed out by the non-stop description of insects I wanted to stop reading. I understood why Marina was driven to find Dr. Swenson and investigate Anders’ death and recognize she felt impelled to stay so she could rehabilitate herself in the eyes of her former professor. However, she had very little personality and after a while I did not really care what happened to her. I never understood what she saw in Mr. Fox either (her trip cures her of that attachment). In Bel Canto, the author’s best known work, there was a lyrical sense of music throughout the novel that united several appealing characters. Here, there is no lyricism other than the (alleged) hypnotic appeal of the jungle. Marina goes to the opera in Manaus (Orfeo ed Euridice – themes of loss and death and of Marina following Anders blindly), perhaps a tease to readers expecting more, but she is too unnerved by Dr. Swenson’s unexpected appearance to appreciate or enjoy the music.

Perhaps the jungle setting was just too real for me – I did not see the beauty, only the misery. Eva Ibbotson makes the Amazon seem appealing and I recommend Journey to the River Sea and A Company of Swans to those who like a romanticized image of the Amazon. Sadly, I suspect Patchett’s version is closer to the truth. I gather the book is in part a tribute to or inspired by Heart of Darkness which I never read.

Source: There were over 500 people ahead of me on the reserve list in the Minuteman System; luckily, the Waltham Library had a copy in its “Speed Read” section. I did consider buying the book to support the author’s recent plan to buy/operate a bookstore in Nashville but shelf space is at a premium in my new home.

Heaven to Betsy discussion

Boston area Betsy-Tacy fans gathered in Waltham tonight to discuss Heaven to Betsy.

More than Words had created a great display of the new Betsy-Tacy reissues!

Below, Stephanie, Lisa and Kathleen discuss cover treatment.

***************************** Above, Constance, Julie, Lisa and Kate display their Betsy-Tacy tee shirts.

Next, Lucy and Kate learn how to play Consequences.

Here are our three favorites:

1. Fuzzy Tom met sweet Tib at the Big Hill on Saturday at noon. He said, "My time is my own!" She said, "Betsy-Tacy rules!" He sang at the top of his lungs. She ordered lots of pizza. And the world said, "She's a flibbertigibbit." And the consequence was: she ran for president.

2. Outgoing Tony met famous Julia at Yellowstone on Saturday morning. He said, "Can you spare a dime?" She said: "I want the brass bowl for Christmas!" He lent her a book. She dropped the brass bowl on the floor. And the world said, "See! This is what happens when you don't listen to me!" And the consequence was: Nobody got any fudge!

3. Chagrined Robert met smart Anastasia at Fenway Park on Tuesday. He said: "I don't like baseball." She said, "What time does the party start?" He flapped his arms. She put on a purple feather boa. And the world said: they are role models for our children. And the consequence was: Betsy moved away from Mankato.

Several attendees were reading Betsy-Tacy for the first time, one was sure she had read the books growing up in California, others were rediscovering a childhood favorite, and some (like me and my mother) had never stopped reading the beloved tomes. Thanks to all who attended and to More than Words for hosting!