The Book Whisperer’s Latest Review

Kathleen Rooney, a founding member of Poems While You Wait, has written eight books of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. In Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, Rooney borrows from Margaret Fishback’s life to create a compelling story. Margaret Fishback was born in 1900 in Washington, D.C. She went to New York where she became the highest-paid advertising woman in the world, working for Macy’s. Rooney takes many of the facts from Fishback’s life and adds them to her fiction about the highest paid female advertising woman, Lillian Boxfish.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the novel does provide an interesting look at working women in the 1930s and into WWII. I like Rooney’s alternating stories from the present and the past to give readers a whole picture of Lillian.

Lillian also works for Macy’s and shares Fishback’s love of writing poetry. Lillian scoffs at love and marriage and longs to continue only as a highly paid advertise writer and author of popular poetry. Lillian certainly attracts any number of suitors and enjoys male company, but has no desire to fall in love, marry, have children, and certainly not move to the suburbs! New York is her home, and there she intends to stay.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk opens on New Year’s Eve, 1984. Lillian is 84 years old, 85 if she is honest, but she is not telling her real age. Born in 1899, she decides early on to say she was born in 1900 because that sounds better! Her quick wit and innate good manners keep her as a rising star at Macy’s—at least as far as a woman can go in the times. Marriage and motherhood would mean the end to her career; Lillian cannot abide thinking about losing her position. Then she makes the fateful decision based on being kind to her neighbors below her apartment to buy a soft rug that will muffle noise.

Naturally, Lillian goes to the rug department at Macy’s, several floors down from her office to find just the right rug for her apartment. There, she meets Massimiliano Gianluca Caputo, Max, head rug buyer for Macy’s. Lillian falls blindingly in love with Max at first sight, something she has mocked in her speech and poetry for years.  Max falls in love with Lillian as well despite the fact that she is six or seven years his senior, depending upon whether she tells the truth about her age.

Against all odds, Max and Lillian marry. Max wants children, plural, not just one. Lillian does get pregnant several times, but she miscarries. Finally, she does carry a child to full-term and their son Massimiliano Gianluca Caputo, Jr., is born. She calls him Johnny and also falls head over heels in love with the infant. The little family is happy even though motherhood has meant that Lillian has had to retire from her full-time job. She does do some freelance work.

Then WWII means that Max is drafted and must serve in the army. Lillian misses him terribly and writes to him frequently, often multiple letters per day. Max’s letters to her are infrequent. Upon his safe return from WWII, Max is changed, but so, too, is Lillian. The two struggle to keep their marriage going. Lillian has suspected that Max is being unfaithful; then she learns that her suspicions are real. Max asks for a divorce so he can marry Julia, a much younger woman who has been working with him. Johnny stays with Lillian, but he visits his dad and stepmother in the summers.

Readers follow Lillian as she dresses for dinner on this New Year’s Eve 1984, but the story also goes back to those glory days when Lillian was the highest paid female advertising writer in the world and when her poetry is selling because it is smart and catchy, much like her ads.

In Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, Lillian, much like Harold Fry in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, decides on the spur of the moment to take a long walk, visiting old haunts in NYC and possibly even going to Wendy’s New Year’s Eve party. Wendy is a young photographer whom Lillian has met in Central Park. The two form an unlikely friendship. Lillian, as always, dresses with care, even pulling out her full-length fur coat, a present to herself from years ago.

Readers are sure to be concerned about Lillian as she wanders the streets of New York until almost midnight on New Year’s Eve. The evening is cold, but not as cold as it might have been. And Lillian does have her fur coat. Along the way, Lillian meets a number of interesting people with whom she has conversations. Many of them are concerned for her and encourage her to get a taxi rather than continue her walk. Lillian is stubborn, however, and feels she must complete the walk now that she has begun it.

Here’s a sample of Margaret Fishback’s poetry, the real ad woman and poet upon whom Lillian Boxfish is based:

By Margaret Fishback

This is a day when I covered no ground.

Just pushed and shuffled my papers around,

Nudged at letters and winced at bills,

Sorting them out into different hills,

Hunted fretfully for a ruler,

Worried the overworked water cooler,

Sharpened pencils and filled my pen,

Then shuffled my papers around again.

 

The Book Whisperer Recommends….

Stories from various points of view of from different periods of time intrigue me. The Orphan Train by Christine Baker Kline, for example, weaves together a story from the past and the present to bring people together. Another favorite story from recent reading is The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak intertwines a modern-day story featuring Ella Rubenstein and thirteenth century Rumi. In a short conversation, we could name many other books that effectively use a similar strategy. And that strategy pulls A Fall of Marigolds together.

A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner ties two stories together through a beautiful old scarf. In present day, Taryn delays meeting her husband on Sep 11, 2001 because she picks up an old scarf from a client who wishes Taryn to match the fabric as closely as possible. The scarf dates from 1911 and belonged originally to Lily, an immigrant from England on her way to the US and a new life, when she dies of scarlet fever on the ship. Her husband Andrew, a Welshman, plans to meet his brother already in New York City so they can work together as tailors. Andrew, too, is stricken with scarlet fever. Because of his exposure to scarlet fever, Andrew must remain at the hospital on Ellis Island until he is cleared. There, Clara Wood becomes one of the nurses caring for him. Taryn’s story picks up in 2011, ten years after the attacks of 9/11 make her a widow. On that fateful day in 2001, Taryn is on her way to meet her husband to tell him they are expecting a baby. In the aftermath of the terrible attack, Taryn loses the scarf and blames herself for her husband’s death because she reasons he would not have been in harm’s way had she not asked him to meet her.

Taryn works for Heirloom Yard, a store specializing in quilt fabrics and patterns and in helping people match old fabrics. Mrs. Stauer asks Taryn to pick up the scarf in order to find matching fabric if possible. Because she stops at Mrs. Stauer’s on her way to meet her husband, Taryn is delayed. Then the twin towers fall and her husband dies in the attack. Clara sees the scarf the first time when Andrew Gwynn enters the hospital to be quarantined. Clara notices it is a woman’s scarf, so that intrigues her. She goes on to describe the scarf this way: “The copper-colored scarf around the man’s neck… was the one spot of color in the montage of brown and gray jackets…. The scarf looked as soft as lamb’s wool.” Clara will soon learn the scarf is Lily’s, Andrew’s wife who has died on the ship, so the scarf is precious to him.

Andrew becomes agitated and concerned about his book of patterns and fears it will be lost. He asks Clara to secure the pattern book for him. Against all the rules, Clara persuades a young man in the baggage area to allow her to look in the two trunks that belonged to Andrew and Lily. Assuming the smaller trunk is Andrew’s, Clara opens it first only to discover her mistake. Impulsively, though, she removes a book of poetry by Keats from the luggage thinking she will give it to Andrew as a remembrance of Lily since her trunk will be incinerated because of her disease. Then she opens Andrew’s trunk and finds his precious pattern book which she takes to her room in the nurses’ dormitory for safe-keeping.

The story alternates between 2011 with Taryn and 1911 with Clara. Clara suffers from loss because she worked for a doctor’s office in the same building where the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire occurred on March 25, 1911.  She escapes from the fire, but she sees many people die that day including a Edward, a young accountant who worked for the Triangle Co. Clara and Edward have exchanged pleasantries as they enter the building and Edward has invited Clara to see the factory at the end of the day, ironically the day of the fire.

What happens to those characters from 1911 and the ones from 2011? The scarf ties them together, but what occurs between them because of the scarf? Susan Meissner provides readers with a good story from both periods. Susan Maguire of Library Journal says of A Fall of Marigolds that the book is a “good choice for Christian-fiction readers, for book groups, or for readers looking for a book of hope without schmaltz.” I concur.

The Book Whisperer Reviews a Winner!

 

Louise Penny was born in Toronto. A journalist and radio host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Penny specialized in hard news and current affairs. She reminds readers that effective interviewers should listen rather than speak over the person being interviewed. She believes the same trait serves writers well: Listen closely and carefully.

Louise Penny’s books receive acclaim from a number of sources. Her police procedural novels featuring Armand Gamache are always highly anticipated and well-received. Armand Gamache and his beloved wife Reine-Marie live in the picturesque village of Three Pines, a village so small it does not appear on the maps anywhere. Their dog Henri also is a prominent character in the stories. The village is peopled by others who figure in the stories. Olivier and his partner Gabri run the bistro where the villagers often gather. Ruth Zardo, the crusty poet, and her duck Rosa are also members of the community. She is feisty and lives by her own rules. Rosa goes everywhere with Ruth, including into the bistro. Clara Morrow is a famous painter, hiding away in Three Pines and continuing to paint there. Myrna Landers, a former psychologist in private practice has retired to Three Pines and operates a small bookstore. Jean-Guy Beauvoir is a trusted police officer and also married to Armand and Reine-Marie’s daughter.

In A Great Reckoning, Armand Gamache agrees to take over as commander of the Surete, the academy for training police officers. The academy is known to be corrupt and is turning out corrupt new cadets who are infecting the police departments. Armand is kind and thoughtful; he is also intelligent and can recognize the good and evil in people. He surprises everyone by keeping Serge Leduc, the Duke, on as a professor at the Surete. Armand’s reasoning is that he will be able to expose Leduc fully for what he is: an evil, corrupt man who corrupts others. Another surprise occurs when Armand chooses to bring Michel Brebeuf, a disgraced former policeman, into the Surete as a professor. Only at the end of the story, do we readers discover the full reason behind Armand’s decision to keep Leduc and add Brebeuf to the academy’s professors.

Over the course of the story, we learn that Michel Brebeuf and Armand Gamache have grown up together and were the best of friends, especially after Gamache’s parents died in an auto accident. They parted ways because Brebeuf became corrupt while Gamache remains true to his convictions of being an honest policeman.

Reine_Marie and Ruth spend time going through a box of old papers found within the walls of the bistro when Olivier and Gabri remodel the bistro, a former private residence. Ruth discovers a beautifully drawn old map; it depicts Three Pines, but also includes unusual symbols such as a pyramid, a snowman pointing, and a cow caught on a rock ledge. The map is clearly a work of art. The map is intriguing and beautiful, but everyone who sees it finds it difficult to understand. Armand makes four copies and gives them to four cadets, two seniors and two freshmen: Huifen Cloutier, Jacques Laurin, Nathaniel Smythe, and Amelia Choquet. Armand tells them to figure out what the map means.

The map will figure in the story throughout in various ways, just as the theme of corruption continues to crop up in the story.

Nathaniel Smythe finds Professor Serge Luduc dead of a gunshot wound to the head in the professor’s apartment at the Surete. Luduc persuaded the four cadets, Cloutier, Laurin, Smythe, and Choquet, to serve him, telling them they should be honored that he is taking them under his wing. Armand has tried to root out this kind of servitude, but he is unaware that Leduc has undermined his orders. In fact, Leduc is poisoning the cadets against Armand by filling them with lies.

Of course, the story then focuses on solving the murder of Leduc. Inspector Isabelle Lacoste comes in to oversee the investigation. Gamache also requests RCMP officer Gelinas to be a watchdog over the investigation, an outside observer. Again, only at the end do readers understand Armand’s choosing Gelinas as the watchdog.

The meaning of the map continues to be a source of frustration and a clue in Luduc’s murder. Penny’s characters are realistic and flawed human beings. Penny writes, “my books are about terror. That brooding terror curled deep down inside us. But more than that, more than murder, more than all the rancid emotions and actions, my books are about goodness. And kindness. About choices. About friendship and belonging. And love. Enduring love.”

Ending with Penny’s words is fitting. Read the books for the satisfaction of reading a good mystery and to remind yourself about enduring love.

The Book Whisperer Reviews a YA Novel

Jennifer Mathieu’s third novel for young adults is Afterward, a compelling story of two boys stolen by a predator and then returned to their families by police. The story follows the friendship between Ethan, the older boy who is found, and Caroline, the older sister of Dylan, the second boy. Mitigating factors in the abductions include the fact that Ethan has been gone for four years, from age eleven to fifteen. Dylan, taken only a few days before being discovered by police, is low-functioning autistic, so the kidnapping becomes difficult to overcome even once he is home and safe. He, too, is eleven when kidnapped.

Both boys are from Dove Lake, Texas, so the kidnapping of two eleven-year-old boys four years apart from the same town creates an even greater stir. Mathieu treats the story with care, not delving into the sordid details of what happens to the boys when kidnapped, but showing them in recovery, painful and slow, but optimistic too.

Because Dylan is autistic and does not speak much, he cannot tell his parents or the police anything about the abduction. Andrew and Mindy are his parents; they cannot afford therapy for their son or the family. On the other hand, Ethan Jorgenson’s parents Megan and Phillip are wealthy and engage Dr. Greenberg to counsel Ethan and Dr. Sugar as the family therapist. The irony of a therapist named Sugar is not lost on Ethan because his father is a dentist.

Caroline feels guilty and responsible for her brother’s kidnapping because she always watches over him. In a brief lapse, she sends him out of her room and loses track of the time. Her feelings of guilt do not abate once he returns because he is more agitated than ever and harder to calm following the kidnapping. He keeps repeating, “Damn, that’s was a piece of cake.” The family cannot understand why he keeps repeating the statement. He has not been one to curse before and he does not understand metaphors and similes.

Finally, Caroline decides that Ethan is the answer to her questions about Dylan, so she makes a bold move and bikes over to his home. She finds him in the garage playing drums on a new drum set his parents have given him for his birthday. The two talk about music. Ethan is playing a song by Greenday when Caroline arrives. She tells him about her favorite band White Stripes and that she plays guitar. Their meeting is abruptly cut short by Ethan’s mother who interrupts because she knows who Caroline is, Dylan’s sister, and she fears Caroline will upset Ethan.

Caroline returns and Ethan and she begin playing music together in the garage. Ethan continues his twice-weekly visits with Dr. Greenberg, slowly opening up about his fears caused by the abduction. Dr. Greenberg has a gold retriever who attends the sessions with Ethan. Slowly, Ethan warms up to the dog and that allows him to speak more openly about his fears that stem from the kidnapping. At one point, Dr. Greenberg tells Ethan, “I’m not going to try and reduce the weight of your burden, but I’m going to help you grow strong enough to carry it.”

Ethan’s parents, especially his mother, continue to hover over him, but slowly they relax and allow Caroline to continue playing music with Ethan in the garage. Mathieu wisely does not inject romance into the mix between Caroline and Ethan. The two develop a bond that ultimately helps both families. While Ethan’s parents grow closer together, united in their care and concern for their only child, Dylan and Caroline’s parents grow further apart, finally separating.

I like keeping up with young adult books and will read another of Mathieu’s. Her other books include The Truth About Alice, Devoted, and Moxie. Read more about Mathieu at her Web site:  www.jennifermathieu.com.

The Book Whisperer Finds a Good Mystery

 

I often rely on NPR for good book recommendations. My last review of The Daughters by Adrienne Celt came via NPR and glowing reviews of the book. That one turned out to be a dud for me and the majority of my book club. On the other hand, Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner also got high praise from NPR whose reviewer named it one of the best mysteries of 2016. Those two choices prove that a review may be unreliable about one book and spot on about another.

Still, Susie Steiner’s Missing, Presumed got off to a slow start for me because the prose did not read smoothly, or I was distracted. About twenty pages into Missing, Presumed, however, the story picked up dramatically. Once, I got into the rhythm of the story, I did not want to put the book down and read it over two evenings.

DS Manon Bradshaw, a single woman of 39, opens the story with yet another disastrous date with a man she meets on an Internet dating site. Living alone and consumed by her job as a police detective, Bradshaw keeps seeking a companion, someone with whom she can share her life. The attempts at dating continue to have tragic endings rather than the happily ever after ending she seeks. Her mood at work remains to morose, and her sergeant Davy well recognizes the signs of Bradshaw’s anger, disappointment, and anxiety. Usually, each morning, Davy has Manon’s requisite cup of coffee ready to hand her; he hopes to dispel at least some of her bad mood. Despite her tendency to be out of sorts, Davy respects Manon and her ability as a detective. Too, he is a compassionate sort, giving much of his free time as a mentor to children and teens caught up in the foster care system.

DI Harriet Harper, Manon’s direct supervisor, is another character in the story who has her own demons; like Davy, though, she regularly visits an elderly woman in a care home. She met Elsie in investigating a case of elder abuse in a care home. Harriet learns Elsie has no family, so once the care home operator is sent to jail and Elsie transferred to a safe care home, Harriet continues to visit and to watch over Elsie.

Seeing both Davy and Harriet as protectors of the week and helpless makes me think Manon will eventually head in that direction too and become somewhat less centered on herself in caring for someone else. In the backstory, readers learn that Manon’s mother died when Manon and her younger sister Ellie were teens. Their mother was the glue that held the family together. Manon goes off to college and her father remarries. Manon feels the new stepmother has taken her father away, both literally and figuratively since they move to Scotland. Ellie eventually becomes friends with the stepmother, leaving Manon feeling betrayed, so the two become estranged.

Now, to the missing part of the story! Edith Hind, a beautiful young graduate student has gone missing right before Christmas. Edith is not just any beautiful graduate student, however, Her father is Sir Ian Hind, physician to the royal family. Her mother Miriam is Lady Hind. When Will Carter, Edith’s live-in boyfriend, calls the police to report Edith missing, the story really takes off. Upon searching the house, police find Edith’s winter coat, phone, driver’s license, passport, and keys in the house along with a broken wine glass and a small amount of blood. The house is in disarray as if a scuffle has taken place. Police also find drops of blood on the stairs leading to the bedroom.

Of course, all that evidence leads everyone to believe Edith has been taken, possibly in a robbery gone terribly wrong. (I do find that phase “a robbery gone terribly wrong” to be an interesting one and wonder when the robbery goes right.) The story of Edith’s disappearance makes front page news because of her father and his connections to the royal family and the prime minister. Police are on high alert and under pressure to find Edith quickly.

Unfortunately, the clues lead the police down many paths, but not one that helps them find Edith. Finally, other cases take priority and Edith’s disappearance while still being investigated is no longer at the top of the list. Those other cases consume time and energy, but the pressure is still on the police to find Edith as well.

Two other characters enter the fray. First is Tony Wright, an ex-con, recently out of prison. What connection does he have to Edith? They certainly come from two different worlds that one would not expect to collide. Then Manon discovers Edith has visited Wright in prison while working on a research project before she decides to go to graduate school to study English rather than sociology. Has Tony Wright visited Edith’s home on that cold December night? Another name also pops up when a body is found floating in a river: Taylor Dent. Does Taylor have a connection to Wright and Edith or to only one of them? The questions are mounting. Again, Taylor is a small-time drug dealer, so what connection could he have to Edith whose friends and family say she would never take drugs. No evidence of Edith’s ever taking drugs surfaces either, so what is the connection among Taylor, Tony, and Edith? Police are pursuing all of the angles, but continue to come up empty-handed.

Readers will be shocked by the twists and turns of the story, all of them believable.

Susie Steiner wrote for the Guardian and has now written three novels. The first novel is Homecoming, published in 2013. It is a coming of age novel. Missing, Presumed is the second book, published in 2016. The third book is in progress and as yet untitled, but it will star DS Manon Bradshaw again. I look forward to seeing Bradshaw in action again.