Continuing the pandemic isolation, I read a lot of books in 2021--all on Kindle from our Tennessee Reads library site, which is excellent. The list below contains only those I liked and recommend, in no particular order. Note: I read these in 2021, but all came out in previous years.
*** = highly recommended
*** The Art of Hearing Heartbeats,
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Just as she finishes law school and is about to embark on her “life,” a young woman’s beloved father disappears. Her quest to find him takes her to Burma, where her father grew up and lived until he was a young man. There she encounters a kind older man who tells her the compelling story of her father’s childhood and youth—including his love for the beautiful but crippled Mi Mi. I am only giving superficial details. The richness of the narrative is difficult to describe. It is a wonderful, extremely well-written story. Trust me on this one. You will love it.
Unbroken A World War
II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption,
by Laura Hillenbrand
Searing true
story of Louie Zamperini, runner in the 1939 Olympics, who survived harrowing
experiences after the crash of the B 24 he was a bombardier in. Adrift for
weeks, continually surrounded by sharks, he and the pilot eventually drift into
Japanese territory, over 1,000 miles from where they started. For two years, he is shuttled from one
ghastly POW camp to another, where he and the other captives are treated cruelly
and inhumanely. Because he is a famous
Olympian, an officer, and someone who will not give up, he is singled out at
the last camp by a truly insane and sadistic Japanese corporal, who is given
free rein to do whatever he wishes to destroy the spirits of the captives. Luckily, the end of the war comes before Louie
is killed or dies of malnutrition and disease.
The rest of the book covers Louie’s life after the war, as well as how
the Japanese and U.S. governments attempted to pursue and punish those who
committed the heinous crimes in the POW camps.
Incredibly well researched and well written. Horrifying.
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste NG
A most
enjoyable sort of mystery. The book
basically starts with a house fire, and the story gradually reveals the
backstory on how it came to be. Takes
place in the Shaker Heights community of Cleveland, where a “perfect” family in
the “perfect” planned community becomes acquainted with a vagabond artist woman
and her daughter. Then, things start to change. Can’t say more without giving
things away. Good, quick read. Possible book club entry. I understand it has been made into a movie.
*** The Winter Fortress:
The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb,
by Neal Bascomb
Fascinating
recounting of the heroic and herculean efforts of the Norwegian resistance to
destroy a Nazi heavy water condensation facility at a dam in Norway, in order
to slow the Nazi efforts to develop an atomic bomb. The consequences of their success made it
possible for the Americans to develop the bomb before Germany, with the
long-range consequences we are all familiar with. This is an incredible page turner, and it is
all true. I recommend it highly. (Caveat:
lots of long, complicated Norwegian names, which are difficult to keep
straight, but don’t let it deter you.)
Thanks to Richard for recommending it.
***Caste: The Origins of
our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson
In this most important but wrenching book, Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist, examines the history of racism in America. This book should be required reading for all Americans. I will include the New York Times book review, since I feel that I can not explain it or its importance as well as they did. Times review of Caste
***Robert E. Lee and Me, A Southerner’s Reckoning With the Myth of the Lost Cause: By Ty Seidule
In this absorbing and fascinating autobiography, renowned history professor at West Point traces his personal odyssey to understanding the veneration of Robert E. Lee and the myth of the lost cause. It contains meticulous historical research embedded in the story of the author's life. Another must read, especially for anyone who was raised in the South. Alan read it and loved it, also.
This is a Huck and Tom story, set in the 1930’s dust bowl and depression. Four children embark on a journey to escape a horrible orphanage/Indian school in Minnesota. Their goal is to reach St. Louis and family. The main character’s name is Odysseus, so you can see that this is like the Odyssey, in that they have many adventures, good and bad, along the way. I found it interesting and historically accurate as to time and place. Apparently, he did a lot of research before writing it. However, there were too many somewhat “magical” things that bothered me. Strikes me as Deus Ex Machina, the lazy way to solve things. However, many of my friends read this and really liked it, so I may be an anomaly. (I liked Krueger’s Amazing Grace much better.)
With the Old Breed, by E. B. Sledge
Fascinating but horrific memoir of E. B. Sledge’s experiences as a Marine in the South Pacific during WW II. He fought both at Peleliu and Okinawa, suffering through the extremes of weather, enemy bombardment, as well as the awful aftermath of death, decay, and disease that surrounded them constantly. (One example: The Japanese could/did not come out of their hiding places in caves to bury their dead, so in the tropical heat, the bodies decayed where they died, causing the areas the Marines were fighting in to be swarmed with rotting bodies, bottleflies, and maggots.) Sledge gives context to the battles, also, with maps and other background info to help the reader understand what was happening. This one will give you nightmares, but it is all true.
*** A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again--Essays and Arguments by David Foster Wallace
This is a collection of essays Wallace wrote, most for Harper's Magazine. Read “Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley” (on his experiences playing high school tennis in tornado alley), “getting away from already pretty much being away from it all” (on the Illinois State Fair), and “a supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again” (on taking a cruise). These are hilarious. The rest are boring, pretentious dreck.
***Empty Mansions, by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr
Fascinating
biography of Hugette Clark, heiress to her father’s vast wealth, gotten with
copper mining and other ventures in the Gilded Age. Hugette lived to be over 100 years old,
becoming ever more reclusive as the years went on. It is hard to describe this incredibly
well-researched book. I will quote the
New York Times, which summed it up nicely, I think: “Stranger than fiction, by
a wide margin…a sad and bizarre tale.” I
recommend it. You will shake your head
and laugh at what this woman pursued in her life, but you won’t be bored.
A Street Cat named Bob: And How He Saved My Life, by James Bowen
A fun, quick
read. Recovering junkie street musician
takes in a somewhat feral cat, who ends up gradually transforming his
life. Suddenly, he has something that
depends on him and cares about him, so he needs to get his life together to do
it. He has lots of interesting
experiences busking and later selling street newspapers with a cat as
company. Note to potential buskers: Get a cat. Thanks to Dan for recommending it.
Eternal, by Lisa Scottoline
This is an
interesting historical romance novel. It
takes place in Rome, just prior to and during WW II. The protagonist is Elizabetha, who from
childhood is best friends with Marco and Sandro. Sandro is Jewish; Marco and Elizabetha are
Catholic. As the three friends mature, Italy comes under the power of
Mussolini. The rise of Fascism, the German occupation, and the treatment of the
Jewish Community of Rome is traced with incredible historic accuracy. The
fictional account of Elizabetha and her love for both men is interwoven into
the sad and brutal history of what happened in Rome.
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