Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow was my book club’s selection for February. The book is remarkable on several levels. While I knew there had been isolationist forces at work in the run-up to World War II, and that there had been some pro-Nazi sentiment in the US also, I didn’t know the extent of it. The book also provides more detail about how the Germans took lessons from the American treatment of Blacks in developing their genocidal policies toward Jews. The book is an amazing look in great detail at some of the efforts to root out people, including elected officials, who were not only Nazi sympathizers but were actual Nazi agents. Horrifying. And it’s impossible to miss the parallels with the current right-wing extremism that the title points to.
What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better by Jody Hobbs Hesler is a fine collection of short stories. Many are set in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Hesler lives, but that mostly doesn’t matter, except that I recognize a few street names and locations. Characters in these stories are placed in difficult circumstances that tend to get worse before they get better. In one story, a husband who is separated from his wife is under pressure at work and so hesitates to answer his phone when he recognizes the number on his caller ID. When he does answer, it turns out to be his daughter calling about an emergency, which launches the man into action despite the work. Dealing with the emergency reveals a lot about his character, and the story isn’t solely dependent on his marital situation, which is simply one factor in the equation.
The Searcher by Tana French is, essentially, a mystery set in the Irish countryside. For reasons that are never made clear, Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop, has bought a small farm in Ireland. He becomes acquainted with a feisty local kid who asks for his help in finding the kid’s older brother who has disappeared. Reluctantly, Cal begins the search, during which he discovers more about his new home than he bargained for. The only character I liked in this book (“likeability” not being particularly important in the greater scheme of things) is that kid. Cal is a pompous ass and so are most of the other characters, especially Cal’s neighbor Mart. French is a popular Irish writer, so I’m glad to have read one of her books.
That Pinson Girl by Gerry Wilson. Here’s the blurb I gave this novel: Devastating and beautifully written, Gerry Wilson’s Spirit Light is at once a heart-rending tragedy and a testament to the indomitable human spirit. In her heroine Leona, Wilson has drawn an unforgettable character buoyed by her determination to survive and to care for her child, even when confronted with violence, racial tensions, the horrors of a distant war, mounting losses from the influenza epidemic, and the lingering repercussions of murder. This historical tale about a hard-scrabble Southern farming family grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go.
Maddie’s Ghost by Carol Fisher Saller is a mystery for young readers. I’m not a young reader, but Carol is an old friend of mine, so I wanted to take a look. I enjoyed it! The protagonist of the story is young Lainie, short for Madelaine, the granddaughter of the eponymous ghost. She delves into a family mystery surrounding her grandmother because a local TV reporter, who says she is doing a story about Millennium babies—Lainie was born at midnight just as the new Millennium was arriving—also asks about the grandmother. Lainie makes some claims she can’t back up, so she searches the family’s old house for evidence and also enlists the help of her best friend and, to spice the story up a bit, the boy she has a crush on. It’s a book I think young readers would really enjoy.
