A Girl Returned

By Donatella Di Pietrantonio

Translated by Ann Goldstein

Europa Editions     2019

170 pages     Literary

A Girl Returned is the totally spellbinding coming-of-age story of a 13-year-old, unnamed Italian girl, who is forced to leave the home in which she was raised and return to her birth family—a family that she has never met. She is left totally in the dark as to why this is happening; she believes that the woman who raised her is dying and that is why she has to leave.

The couple who raised her had considerable money; the family she is returned to is very poor. There are several children; three teenaged boys, a younger girl, and a baby. She cannot bring herself to call the woman “mother”, so she refers to her as “the mother.” Everyone is under lots of economic and emotional stress; the children have a great deal of work that they must do every day; and the parents treat the children with little respect and the back of the hand.

Luckily two of her new-found siblings welcome her into their lives. Vincenzo, the oldest son, and Adriana, the younger sister guide her through the transition, although Vincenzo dies unexpectedly midway through the narrative. The girl strives to gain a foothold in life, but she never stops trying to figure out what happened to her city mother, and the reason she was A Girl Returned is heartbreaking.

The girl suffers greatly from the loss of place—the loss of self. At one point she says, “I was an orphan with two living mothers. One had given me up with her milk still on my tongue; the other had given me back at the age of thirteen. I was a child of separations, false or unspoken kinships, distances. I no longer knew who I came from. In my heart, I don’t know even now.” Yet, despite the anguish, she prevails, growing strong and resilient. Her spirit is indominable.

A Girl Returned is beautifully written and artfully translated. Ann Goldstein, the translator, also translated the Neapolitan Series of books by Elena Ferrante, and this book has somewhat the same feel. More than just another Italian novel, A Girl Returned explores some of the same family dynamics as well as some of the same scenery and story pacing.

I was entranced by the review in the Washington Post. The reviewer praises the author for her storytelling skills, her humor, and the way that “she knows just when and where to slip the pieces of her jigsaw into place — all while leaving emotional gaps, psychic wounds that can never heal.”

Lest the reader worry that this book may be too heavy a summer read, please be assured that it is less than 200 pages and it moves very quickly. Sad and heart-warming all at the same time. If you loved My Brilliant Friend, you will love A Girl Returned.

Off the Grid

By Robert McCaw

Oceanview     2018

298 pages     Mystery 

Off the Grid is the first mystery I have read that is centered on the big island of Hawai’i, and on its volcano, Mauna Loa. Actually, it is probably only the second book that I have read based in Hawai’i. Here is the summary of the book: 

“A scrap of cloth fluttering in the wind leads Hilo police Chief Detective Koa Kāne to the tortured remains of an unfortunate soul, left to burn in the path of an advancing lava flow. For Koa, it’s the second gruesome homicide of the day, and he soon discovers the murders are linked. These grisly crimes on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island could rewrite history―or cost Chief Detective Koa Kāne his career. 

The dead, a reclusive couple living off the grid, turn out to be mysterious fugitives. The CIA, the Chinese government, and the Defense Intelligence Agency attempt to thwart Koa’s investigation and obscure the victims’ true identities. Undeterred by mounting political pressure, Koa pursues the truth only to find himself drawn into a web of international intrigue. 

While Koa investigates, the Big Island scrambles to prepare for the biggest and most explosive political rally in its history. Despite police resources stretched to the breaking point, Koa uncovers a government conspiracy so shocking its exposure topples senior officials far beyond Hawaii’s shores.”  

I really enjoyed the setting and the intricacy of the novel, including the Hawaiian history, and the information about volcanoes. One interesting factoid concerned a subdivision that had been built too close to Mauna Loa, and an eruption had destroyed most of the homes. In an interview, the author suggested that much of his plot derived from places he had visited and recent happenings on the big island.  

Koa, the Chief Detective in charge of the murder investigations that begin the book, is a very interesting character. He is extremely intense but deeply flawed with a hidden murder that keeps him very unsettled and distrustful. He suffers from PTSD, and he is constantly being reminded of his military service in Somalia and its horrors. He is deeply in love with a Ranger at Volcanoes National Park, but also worried that if she knew that he had killed a man, she might not love him.  

One reason I like mysteries is because they often take place in interesting settings. This is certainly one of the major strengths of the book. I was fascinated by the volcano and the people who lived in its environs. I’ve only been a tourist in the Hawaiian Islands, so all this was new information to me. I also really liked the complexity of the case. The title comes from the way some of the characters live—secluded and totally “off the grid.” 

One hang-up I encountered reading Off the Grid is the amount of back-story that the reader had to wade through to get to the plot. It is clunky to get through. There should be better ways to introduce Koa and his co-workers, etc., without having to get through all their life histories. I had a hard time with so many details. This is unfortunate, because the book begins with a bang—two dead bodies in one day!  

Dedicated mystery readers will particularly like Off the Grid. Readers in Hawai’i will like reading about their home turf. 

Compliments of Chicagohoodz: Chicago Street Gang Art and Culture

by Jinx/Mr. C
Feral House     2019
376 pages     Nonfiction

My grandson and his girlfriend just about freaked out when I showed them the copy of Compliments of Chicagohoodz that I had received from the publisher. As products of the Chicago Public Schools, they knew kids who had grown up in the Chicago gangs, and they both had stories to tell. First, I had them look at the book, and then they told their stories.

Compliements of Chicagohoodz tells the story of the Chicago street gangs, their art, and their culture from the 1950s until the early 1990s. The book is the product of the 25-year history project of James O'Connor who collected pictures and conducted interviews, photographed street art, and sorting memorabilla of the P Stones, the Vice Lords, the Gangster Disciples, the Latin Kings, as well as a host of other gangs around the city.

Somethinig neither young adult nor I knew about was the creation and distribution of gang business, or compliment, cards. The practice of creating and distributing street gang business (“compliment”) cards was popular in Chicago for over fifty years. These displayed the organization and branch, its active and fallen members, and rivalries. Compliments of Chicagohoodz tells the stories behind the names, bringing the reader closer to the individuals who created, owned, and added their personal touches to the card as it passed from hand to hand. Over 675 cards are shown with accompanying explanations.

After reading the book, my grandson remarked that he was surprised to note that Chicago gangs in the past were so Medieval in scope and behavior. He said that reading the book was much like watching Game of Thrones: the rivalries, the conflicts, the posturing.

One of the stories my grandson told me was about his high school friend, Joseph. Joseph joined the Latin Kings as a 14-year-old, even though he was attending one of the select high schools in the city. He was hanging aroud with a friend one evening, when the kid pulled out a gun and started shooting at some kids from a rival gang. Joseph ran; my grandson didn't see him for a couple of years. It turned out that his parents put him in a car and drove him to a sister's house in Iowa City, Iowa the very night of the shooting.

I believe that while the audience for Compliments of Chicagohoodz is fairly limited, it certainly will be welcomed by anyone who grew up in Chicago. One reviewer summed it up: "Thick as a bible and going to blow minds." It certainly blew Max and Brianna's minds. The book is going home with them.

The book's Facebook page.

Fleishman is in Trouble

by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Random House     2019
384 pages     Literary

Fleishman is in Trouble is a novel about a marriage that has failed. What were the reasons? What was the cause? Why? The book is an exploration of the concept, "And the two shall become one." This debut novel is a tough look at all marriage, particularly marriages in the 21st century. It is also a meditation about the value of marriage, as well as its fragility.

Toby Fleishman is a doctor in Manhattan; his ex-wife, Rachel, the owner of a successful talent agency. Apparently in the social milleau in which they travel, being a doctor is not enough and Rachel is the chief breadwinner. When the couple are divorced, Rachel must pay the alimony and Toby is totally lost. To add to the dilemma, Rachel has disappeared, leaving Toby totally in charge of his two confused children. Most of the narrative is about Toby, his anger and his angst. We also explore his search for a new sexual partner.

The story is told by Libby, a college friend of Toby's. Libby has been a journalist, but she is now a stay-at-mom of small children. After we know more about the author, we realize that Libby is a stand- in for the author. Although she seldom inserts herself in the narrative, she is astute in her portrayal of what has happened to Toby's marriage. Although Toby is sure that the fault is all Rachel's, Libby helps us understand that there is fault on all sides. We understand from her narrative that her own marriage is on pretty firm ground. She also tells the story of their old friend Seth, who after years of philandering, has set himself on a different marriage course. We watch that marriage unfold as well.

The reviewer in the Guardian says, "But Fleishman Is in Trouble is so much smarter than a Great American Novel wannabe written by another clever man." Like that reviewer, I found it incredibly profound and nuanced on the subject of marriage. To add to my enlightenment, I was with a lot of family and extended family members, all of whom had marriages to watch and evaluate. One of the concepts that Brodesser-Akner floats is that marriage has moved beyond equal partners to two individuals who have chosen to be together. There is little of the "he completes me" or "she really compliments him" that we saw in the past. At one point, Toby, in the thick of dating and having sex with women he has met on the Internet, has the thought: "Only briefly did he think to wonder if he was doing a bad job of thinking of the women he dated as people."

I have thought about the book daily since I finished reading it two weeks ago. I looked back over all the underlining I did, all the wonderful phrasing, and the great insights, and I still marvel at its profundity. This week I am watching a grandson and his girlfriend in their blossoming relationship, and I bask in the wonder of relationships--the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Taffy Brodesser-Akner is a celebrity interviewer for the New York Times Magazine. I am guessing that her years of viewing relationships from the outside have weighed heavily on her insights on marriage. I highly recommend Fleishman is in Trouble--one of my favorites of the year.

Lions of the Sky

By Paco Chierici

Braveship     2018

274 pages     Thriller

The Shortlist

Paco Chierici is an airline pilot and a former Navy fighter pilot. His first novel, Lions in the Sky, plays upon his experiences. He is able to include many real-life touches that add a great deal of authenticity to this story of pilots facing threats posed in the South China Sea.

Here is the summary from the back cover:

“In the world of fighter pilots, the most alpha of the alpha, competition is everything and the stakes are impossibly high. A Top Gun for the new millennium, LIONS OF THE SKY propels us into a realm in which friendship, loyalty, and skill are tested, battles won and lost in an instant, and lives irrevocably changed in the time it takes to plug in your afterburners.”

Although I knew nothing about the vernacular of  fighter pilots, their training, and their missions, it is obvious that Chierici knows what he is talking about, and the characters resonated. This book will be perfect for the men (and women) on your list who like action thrillers. Give it a try.

Here is Chierici’s website. 

Rouge: A Novel of Beauty and Rivalry

By Richard Kirshenbaum

St. Martins     2019

320 pages    Historical Fiction

This is a fun romp through the early days of the cosmetics industry, loosely based on the rivalry of Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden. Kirkus calls it “a vivid portrait of glamorous, feisty women contending for the crown of cosmetics queen.” I had just seen the musical War Paint, about the lives of Rubenstein and Arden, when the advanced copy of Rouge came to me, so I had a great time comparing plot lines. Loved War Paint; loved Rouge.

Here is the description from the publisher.

“Rouge is a sexy, glamorous journey into the rivalry of the pioneers of powder, mascara and rouge. It gives readers a rare front row seat into the world of high society and business through the rivalry of two beauty industry icons (think Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden).

This fast-paced novel examines the lives, loves, and sacrifices of the visionaries who invented the modern cosmetics industry: Josiah Herzenstein, born in a Polish Jewish Shtlel, the entrepreneur who transforms herself into a global style icon and the richest woman in the world, Josephine Herz; Constance Gardiner, her rival, the ultimate society woman who invents the door-to-door business and its female workforce but whose deepest secret threatens everything; CeeCee Lopez, the bi-racial beauty and founder of the first African American woman’s hair relaxer business, who overcomes prejudice and heartbreak to become her community’s first female millionaire. 

The cast of characters is rounded out by Mickey Heron, a dashing, sexy ladies' man whose cosmetics business is founded in a Hollywood brothel. All are bound in a struggle to be number one, doing anything to get there…including murder.”

Rouge begins in the early part of the 20^th century and closes near the end of the century. The characters are richly developed and the rivalry daunting. One interesting true fact about the cosmetics industry was that Victorian women did not wear makeup, and the inventors of the industry had to fight the stereotype that only hookers wore makeup. But under the guidance of these forthright (and also conniving) women, soon every woman in America was wearing makeup,and the novel’s two protagonists had become rich beyond measure.

Kirshenbaum is an advertising executive/author. His specialty is writing about the one percent that live in his neighborhood. Kirshenbaum must have had a great time recreating wealthy Manhattan through the eyes of Josephine, Constance, CeeCee and the others as they built their beauty empires. The reader finds herself thrust into the very heart of the city, its shops, and its nightlife. As one reviewer said, “it’s glitz, greed, and glamor.”  

Rouge is released tomorrow. Get a glass of wine, grab a lawn chair, settle down by the pool and enjoy.

Where the Crawdads Sing

By Delia Owens

Putnam     2018

384 pages     Literary

Despite some implausibility, which my book club friends were happy to point out at book club last night, I absolutely loved Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Primarily, I was entranced by the descriptions of the marshlands of the Outer Banks and how Kya Clark learned to live by herself and become an expert in the life of the marsh.

When Kya was a small child, her mother walked away from the shack in the North Carolina marsh where the family lives, unable to endure her abusive husband any longer. All the children leave as well, leaving Kya alone with her drunken father. When her father leaves for good, Kya must fend for herself. As she grows, she becomes a sort of mystical character to the residents of the small nearby village. Called “the marsh girl”, she successfully is able to fend off attempts to get her to go to school, get sent to an orphanage, or in any way become part of the community.

As much as Kya hides from society, she misses human contact. Tate, a brilliant young man of the village, becomes her primary contact with other humans. He loves the marsh as much as she does, and over several years, he teaches her to read and write and study the environment. Additionally, a black couple who run the convenience store and gas station become the people who seem to watch out for her the most and protect her.

The story-line weaves back and forth between Kya’s growing up in the 50s and early 60s and the death of a young man in the village. Chase has been Kya’s off- and-on lover, and after his apparent murder, Kya is accused of causing his death. The trial is absolutely breath-taking. I found myself having to pace my reading and my breathing. The climax of the book is equally heart-stopping.

The parts of the book where Kya learns to forage, to live off of nature, and observe everything around her are so beautifully and skillfully written that I became completely enmeshed in the imagery. I found myself underlining many passages beginning with the first paragraph. “The morning burned so August-hot, the marsh’s moist breath hung the oaks and pines with fog. The palmetto patches stood unusually quiet except for the low, slow flap of the heron’s wings lifting from the lagoon.” Or in an especially vivid description of the village, the author writes, “Mostly the village seemed tired of arguing with the elements, and simply sagged.” Can’t you just see it!

There are reasons why Where the Crawdads Sing has been at the top of the NY Times bestseller list for thirty weeks. Delia Owens spent many years as a nature researcher in Africa, so she can relate to the isolation of the wilderness, whether it be the Savannah or the marsh. In a very interesting interview, she mentions that she picked North Carolina as the setting for the novel because its temperate climate would allow for foraging all year. Owens has written several nonfiction books about Africa, but this is her first foray into fiction. Reese Witherspoon has picked up the rights. We’ll see what can be done to make it into a movie.