Thanks to his strict grandmother, Elwood Curtis is the kind of young man anyone would be proud of. He's smart, honest, and dependable. He is a devoted follower of Martin Luther King, listening to a record of his speeches until he knows them by heart. After he graduates from high school he has the chance to take free classes at a nearby technical college. It’s on the trip to ... Read More...
Delayed Rays of a Star
The premise for Delayed Rays of a Star is one I love. In 1928 young photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt took a photo of three women at a party in Berlin (see below). One of them, Anna May Wong, was already famous as a Hollywood actress, but the other two, Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl had yet to achieve celebrity. Author Amanda Lee Koe takes this one photograph and spins it ... Read More...
Mistress of the Ritz
I began this week with a novel that took place partly during World War II so will keep it clean and end that way. Except, Mistress of the Ritz takes place in the thick of it—Nazi headquarters in Paris, the Hotel Ritz. Author Melanie Benjamin is back with a historical fiction based on the life of Blanche Auzello, the wife of the Ritz’s director during the war. Blanche and ... Read More...
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
Anyway, at some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is. If you read Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic, you know she offers an unusual perspective on the creative process. Namely, that, beyond the discipline of writing every day there is a spiritual component—as in characters or ... Read More...
May Midmonth Mini-Reviews
I know it’s not the exactly the middle of May, but I’m hoping you all can cut me some slack. I’m on a hamster wheel of hurry-up-and-wait regarding our move to Michigan and so have to write when I can find time to disengage my analytical brain and tap into my creative mind. I used to be able to activate both at once, but those days are long gone. Anyway, here are some bit and ... Read More...
Mothers’ Week: The Island of Sea Women
This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day so this week my reviews are focused on three books with very different perspectives on motherhood. Each offered something important in its own way and reminded me how, like so much of what women do, it is impossible to fit the role of mother into one finite slot. Off the coast of Korea’s mainland is an island called Jeju. There was ... Read More...
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