Prairie Girl

I was born in Nebraska, and lived there until I was 21 years old. It’s always annoyed me to hear Coloradans complain about how ugly the drive on I-80 is through Nebraska. I’ve always thought two things: first, yeah, and I-76 in Colorado is so darn beautiful (picture my eyes rolling); and second, you are driving along an interstate highway which is almost never pretty.

I grew up in a medium-sized town of 10,000 people in the middle of Nebraska farmland. While I didn’t live on a farm, it is hard to not have farming be part of your life if you live in Nebraska, whether you live in Omaha or Wilber, NE. You hear farm reports on TV and radio, there are farm implement stores everywhere, if you drive on a blue highway, you are liable to get stuck behind a tractor, and weather reports are the main topic of conversation (“will it rain,” “will it ever stop raining,” “think it will stay dry long enough to get the corn in?”

Willa Cather’s Nebraska is beautiful. Her lyrical descriptions made me think about the loveliness of rolling fields of corn and wheat, and how pretty the trees are alongside the Platte River, which runs through most of the state.

For example: “July came on with that breathless, brilliant heat which makes the plains of Kansas and Nebraska the best corn country in the world. It seemed as if we could hear the corn growing in the night; under the stars one caught a faint crackling in the dewy, heavy-odoured cornfields where the feathered stalks stood so juicy and green.”

Or, “There were none of the signs of spring for which I used to watch in Virginia, …. There was only spring itself; the throb of it, the light restlessness, the vital essence of it everywhere: in the sky, in the swift clouds, in the pale sunshine, and in the warm, high wind – rising suddenly, sinking suddenly, impulsive and playful like a big puppy that pawed you and then lay down to be petted. If I had been tossed down blindfold on that red prairie, I should have known that it was spring.”

Wow.

Cather’s characters were alive and interesting. How could you help but not love Jim, so innocent and naive, and his grandmother and grandfather, so wise and so loving. Wouldn’t you want to be part of the evening gatherings at the Harling’s home, where they sang and played games? All of these folks were honest, down-to-earth Nebraska farmers, maybe not worldly, but good and kind.

And then there was, of course, Antonia. I don’t think there is a character in any other book that I love more than Antonia. I loved her as a child, having to take on so much responsibility because her parents really didn’t or wouldn’t. I loved her as a hard-working farm girl after her father died. I even continued to love her as she spread her wings a bit after coming to work in town. Who wouldn’t have wanted to dance a bit after such a difficult life?

But I think I liked her best in the last book, Cuzak’s Boys. She had so clearly found peace in her world, which would probably drive us insane. She had molded all of those children into wonderful people. And she loved her simple husband and her difficult and simple life. And throughout all of those years, she had loved Jim Burden in a way that wasn’t jealous or resentful. And furthermore, he loved her back. What a fine and beautiful friendship.

A couple of things made me sad. I was sad that it seems that Jim never married. I didn’t really get the impression from Cather that he didn’t marry because he was pining for Antonia. I think he was just so intent on his intellectual life that he didn’t find a life companion. Perhaps he was happy that way, but he so loved being around family that I couldn’t help but feel sad for him.

The other thing that made me sad was when Jim and his grandparents moved to town, and Otto and Jake didn’t go with them. Jim tells us, “Months afterward we got a card from Otto, saying that Jake had been down with mountain fever, but now they were both working in the Yankee Girl Mine, and were doing well. I wrote to them at that address, but my letter was returned to me, ‘Unclaimed.’ After that we never heard from them.”

One other thing: Cather tells us that Mr. Harling was a grain merchant and cattle-buyer. She says, “He controlled a line of grain elevators in the little towns along the railroad to the west of us, and was away from home a great deal.” I’m sure my sisters will agree that she could be talking about the stretch of Highway 30 between Grand Island and Columbus.

I can't help myself. I give it a 10 out of 10.

Dressed Up

Just about the time that I’m thinking I’m a mess, I read about Mrs. Lincoln, and recognize that next to her, I’m Dr. Phil. Wow. That woman was one hot mess. Undoubtedly today she would be treated with antidepressants and/or medication for bipolar disorder. I recognize that she did have a lot awful things happen to her in her lifetime. I can’t imagine losing one child, much less three and a husband.

I enjoyed Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker very much. I’m glad that I saw the movie Lincoln before reading this book, because it gave me some context. Actually, however, the book made me understand some things about the movie as well. If you saw the movie, you will recall that Elizabeth Keckley was with Mrs. Lincoln most of the time. I remember wondering why this black woman appeared to be Mrs. Lincoln’s BFF. Now I understand it a bit better.

This wasn’t primarily the story of Mary Todd Lincoln, however. This was the story of Elizabeth Keckley, a strong, intelligent, talented woman who happened to be a former slave. It was interesting to me to see the Civil War though her eyes. It was also interesting to see how the slaves and former slaves looked at Abraham Lincoln. He was, not surprisingly, their rescuer and hero.

As usual when I read a historical novel, I had Wikipedia at my ready. While the book clearly has Keckley writing her memoirs at least in part to set the world straight about Mary Todd Lincoln, that might not necessarily be true. It is true, however, that the Lincolns never forgave Keckley for writing the memoir. And I must admit, I was somewhat uncomfortable knowing that she wrote what she did. It does seem to me that someone in a place of trust like a companion or ladies maid has an obligation to not write a tell-all at the end of it all.

How did you feel about her writing this memoir?

Chiaverini’s book gave me a fairly clear perspective about the life of a slave. I can’t imagine how it felt to be someone’s property, and to be at your master’s beck and call in every way. Keckley didn’t seem to hold a lot of bitterness, and loved her resulting son very much.

I guess I hadn’t realized that free blacks weren’t allowed in the military until the war was nearly over. Don’t know why that surprised me, but it did.

How do you feel about Mary Todd Lincoln? Did you find her to be completely narcissistic, completely kooky, or a combination of many things? Did you like Elizabeth Keckley?

I would rate this book a 7 out of 10.

Nellie v. Elizabeth: the race is on

In this day and age where it would take a couple of days at the most to make it around the world, depending largely on airplane connections, the story of these two remarkable women's round-the world journeys in 70-some days was really an eye-opener for me. I had never heard of either Nellie Bly or Elizabeth Bislad, nor had a heard of their journey, so it was with great interest that I followed them around the world in opposite directions. I learned a lot. Having a background in journalism, I knew something about the role that newspapers played i the lives of the people of the United States during the 1800s, especially in the larger cities. That's why there were so many more newspapers then than now. But it still was somewhat astoishing that the New York World could generate the 3excitement that they did with this race. For example the guess-how-many-days contest! I loved that you had these two women, both who grew up in somewhat lower- to- middle class backgrounds, making history in the way they did. I loved that their race engaged people throughout the country, which was much larger (figuratively speaking) then than now. I enjoyed reading about their love of writing and the English language. I was thrilled at Nellie’s reporting background, particularly the story she wrote about life in insane asylums back in those days. How exciting to be able to report that kind of news and make that kind of a difference. Some of the most remarkable things I learned or was reminded of: -The role that trains played in the growth of America. Prior to train travel, it would have been inconceivable to make a trip around the world that quickly. You couldn’t have gotten across country in much less time. -How damned much of the world was part of the British Empire! Holy moley! They all bowed to the king. -Class differences, particularly as they related to ship travel. Wow, if you were in steerage (which my grandparents were), you were truly a second-class citizen. While your wealthier co-passengers were dining on lobster, you were eating gruel. -The whole Asian culture. It was interesting to learn about rickshaws and some of the foods they ate. And how about that whole torture stuff? Grisly business. I’m interested to know if you were rooting for either of the women throughout the book. I was. I couldn’t help but root for Elizabeth. I think it’s because I was mad at Nellie for forgoing her role as a journalist while participating in the race. She should have brought the problem of the people in steerage to the world. But I did like the fact that the newspaper vowed to not “cheat” and to let things play out as they would (even though they sort of did at the end). And I loved the fact that Nellie made the journey carrying only a little bag. I’m interested to know what you learned reading this book, and how it impacted you.

What Should I Read?

In addition to the books that we read as a group, we undoubtedly occasionally pick up a book that we think is worth recommending to our fellow readers. By way of a comment, let us know if you are reading (or have read) a book that you think is worth our consideration. We won't discuss this book, but it is a good chance to become acquainted with different books.

Poor Anne.....

I read The Kingmaker’s Daughter  with my Nook in one hand and my Ipad in my other so that I could have a quick and direct line to Wikipedia. I have never spent so much time looking up the history of people to see if what I was reading was true.

I found The Kingmaker’s Daughter” to be a compelling and very readable book about a relatively unknown character in British history. We have all heard of Richard III, if only from the Shakespeare play, but little is apparently actually known about Anne and her sister Isabel. Because of this, it must have been fun for author Philippa Gregory to fill in the blanks.

I think that Gregory portrayed Anne as a young and impressionable girl who was starved for love and willing to do whatever her father told her to do because she thought it would be best for her country, and because she so wanted him to love her. I never felt as though she had a strong desire to be queen to fulfill her own ambitions, but only to do what was best for her country.

Poor Anne had very little going for her in the way of relationships. In her ever changing world, she was uncertain who to trust and who to fear. And frankly, throughout the book, I wasn’t always certain who was the good guy and who was the bad guy as it seemed to keep changing.

So, then I would again reach for my Ipad and try to find what historians said, and frankly, it seems as though Gregory took a lot of liberty in how she portrayed everyone. I don’t think this is a bad thing at all. As a fiction writer, Gregory undoubtedly went for drama and excitement. I just had to keep reminding myself that what I was reading was not necessarily the truth.

Poor Anne had what seems to be a totally one-sided relationship with her father, a terribly confusing relationship with her sister, and virtually no relationship with her mother (who I found to be despicable).  History supports the idea that her father was an ambitious man who would do anything he could to be in power.

I never quite knew how to feel about Isabel. She too was a pawn in her father’s ambitious plans, and the scene in which she gives birth to the baby at sea is horrifying. She seemed to be the only one (at least prior to marrying Richard) who gave a hoot about Anne, though it often seemed to only be when it was in her best interest. I wonder how the book would have read had Isabel been the narrator. I don’t think she had the same feeling for her father as did Anne. I think Isabel was much more realistic.

By the way, history tells us that Edward the King was actually a very good ruler overall. And while Elizabeth is presented as a fairly vile witch-like character, history doesn’t necessarily support that portrayal. But the number of children is accurate. My, didn’t she just seem to crank them out?

I found Richard to be a very interesting character. In this book, he is portrayed as a decent man who loved Anne. Other portrayals are obviously different (e.g. Shakespeare’s Richard III). I kept waiting for him to become evil. Even his relationship with the princess was presented (at least by Richard to Anne) as necessary in order to save England. Well, Anne bought it anyway. I am interested to know how the rest of you felt about Richard, and whether you bought his love for her (at least in this novel).

It was sad that Anne couldn’t have more children.

I really liked this book. I read all of Gregory’s stories about Henry VIII and all of his wives, and then got a bit burnt out. But I think I want to read the Cousins series. Apparently Gregory deals at least a little bit with the mysterious boys in the tower in the next novel. In my journal, I gave this book an 8.

What did you all think?

New Attitude

Ethereal Reader Book Club began in October 2009 from an idea hatched by my sister Jen and me. We are both voracious readers, were dissatisfied with our existing book clubs, and needed an outlet to talk about books we read.

We started out as a small group that consisted mainly of my sisters, with some other family members thrown in. Over time, we have added a few new members. The idea always was that participation was voluntary and there was no pressure. If a member wanted to participate fully by voting on books, reading the chosen book, and posting comments about the book, then that was awesome. However, if a member only wanted to read some of the books, and maybe didn’t want to participate at all via comments, or only wanted to find out the names of some new and interesting books, or only wanted to participate some of the time, that was all okay.

In the beginning, we had a pretty good discussion about books. We would comment back and forth, at least to a certain degree, which is what my sister and I had envisioned. Over time, however, participation changed. Fewer people read the books, and fewer still participated. And the discussion became more like book reports.

And we all remember what it felt like in high school when you had to write a book report. So it’s no wonder that participation dwindled.

As we talked to members to see why they couldn’t or wouldn’t participate, we found out that some people felt they just didn’t have time to read a book in the time we allotted. Others felt that the books we chose were too dark and they didn’t want to waste valuable reading time with a dark book. Still others just hated the part about commenting.

So, being very open-minded (but also stubborn enough to not throw in the towel) , we decided to go back to the drawing board and see if we could shake things up a bit. After all, there is still a core group of about five that participate fully, and we would like to continue to talk books with them (and add to that group if possible).

Action plan:

We have come up with a list of six books that we are going to read over the next 12 months. The list, which admittedly was compiled by a small group, consists of a variety of books:  a nonfiction, a couple of novels, a mystery, a couple of classics. Yes, taking away the voting part makes this a dictatorship/book club, but we were getting fewer and fewer voters, and last time my sisters and I chose the book as no one else voted. Our thought is that this way participants can look ahead and decide which of the books interests them. Since one of the chief complaints was that members didn’t have enough time to read as they were busy with family activities, work, etc., we feel knowing the books and the dates 12 months in advance will allow everyone time to read the books they actually want to read.

Knowing the books ahead of time will also allow us to tell our friends who may want to participate in the discussion for just a certain book. I really believe the more people that participate in Ethereal Reader, the better the discussion.

And, as for discussion, we would really like to encourage a return to not just commenting, but reacting to others’ comments. In fact, after the initial review, don’t feel like you need to write a dissertation about the book (unless you feel so inclined). Our plan was always that participants would react to the initial review, adding thoughts of their own. We would like to make this as interactive as is possible in this format.

Here is the list of books, along with the dates of reading and discussion:

The Kingmaker’s Daughter, by Philippa Gregory

                Read from April 1 through May 25; discussion May 25 through June 1

Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World, by Matthew Goodman

                Read from June 2 to July 27; discussion July 27 to August 3

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, by Jennifer Chiaverini

                Read from August 4 to September 28; discussion September 28 to October 5

My Antonia, by Willa Cather

                Read from October 6 through November 16 (shorter reading time because it is a shorter book); discussion November 16 to November 23

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

                Read from November 24 through December 28, discussion December 28 to January 4

Damage Control, by J.A. Jance

                Read from January 5 through February 22; discussion February 23 to March 1

I will send a reminder email as we start each book. I will be interested in hearing how you all feel about knowing the books in advance. And, as usual, if you have any ideas on how to make our discussions better, or anything else, let me know. Also, if you have any trouble making your comments, let me know that as well and we can coach you. Worse case scenario, I can post your comment for you.

One last thought, some time ago Margaret had suggested that we have a section where we talk about other books we are reading/have read. I, being a technology simpleton, don’t know how to do that as part of the blog, other than putting it in the comment section. I will continue to work on figuring that out. In the meantime, please let all of us know when you are excited about a book. 

Book Review (or why the guests were uninvited...

Wow. I’m not even sure what to say about this book. I vascillated between hating it and being extremely amused by it. I can’t say I ever loved it.

I generally am very clear on how I feel about the characters in a book. Sometimes I am disgruntled to find that I don’t like a character that I think the author wants me to like. Except for Emerald, and perhaps Patience and Ernest, and of course Smudge, I heartily disliked the characters most of the time, but liked them on and off. But my suspicion is that this is exactly what the author wants me to feel.

Though the social mores of the main characters were disturbing (i.e. ignoring the train survivors in lieu of preparing for the party), I could understand (if not forgive) because of my love of Downton Abbey. The classes were the classes in post-Victoria n England, and these characters could not be any different, even though they were actually quite penniless.

I found the author’s writing style quite charming and quirky. The plot was bizarre, but funny – almost like a play. In fact, I could see making this into a play. The story of Smudge and the pony was hilarious. In fact, the intermingling of everything that was happening as the night ensued was really funny, and I could have actually whole-heartedly loved this book if it hadn’t been for the whole ghost thing that seemed to come out of nowhere and then be dismissed fairly off-handedly.

Charles was utterly despicable, but apparently quite charming and charismatic. I was initially morally affronted during the parlor game in which guests were to name something unique about one of the others, and I began squirming when it seemed to turn mean. How could they do this, I wondered. All of the sudden, a memory came crawling into my mind – something not even my two sisters know about and will be horrified to read.

When I was in junior high school, I went to the birthday party of one of my school friends, whose mother had a hair salon in their basement. Not surprisingly, BOYS crashed the party. Nothing good comes of an unsupervised gathering of junior high girls and boys. At some point, the boys decided it would be hilarious to write something on one of the girls’ foreheads using nail polish. Yours truly was the one selected. Now, most assuredly, some little voice in my head told me this was not a good idea; nevertheless, in an unending pursuit of popularity, I agreed to it. I was blindfolded, and one of the boys proceeded to use nail polish to write on my forehead. Upon removing the blindfold, I discovered the boy had hilariously written F*** on my face. Now whether nail polish remover was unavailable or we just didn’t think about it, the way we removed the polish was by using a brillo pad to scrape off the top layer of my skin, leaving a bright red mark across the top of my face.

The reason this memory came back is that it reminded me just how easily human nature allows us to do something that is profoundly wrong just to be accepted by others. That is what I saw happening during that parlor game. The guests all knew it was wrong, and yet they kept playing and, in fact, became quite mean. Interesting.

Once it was disclosed that Charles was a ghost, I realized that the others were ghosts as well, so the ending didn’t really come as a surprise.

I would definitely NOT recommend this book to others, though, as I said, I found the author’s writing to be quite funny, and the story to be really clever at times. Still, it says a lot that the best thing I can say about this book is that it was blessedly short.

Happy 2013

As a result of some serious family events that took place at the end of 2012, Ethereal Reader sort of fell by the wayside. I had hoped that we could do as we did last year and read and report on a Christmas novel (or two) of your choice. Didn't happen.

But 2013 is a new year, and a new start for Ethereal Reader. Here are your three choices for our next book discussion:

The Uninvited Guests, by Sadie Jones
Fallen Skies, by Philippa Gregory
The Shell Seekers, by Rosamund Pilcher

You have until this Monday, January 14, to vote by emailing me at kzmclain@comcast.net.