Mary E. Trimble

Tom Lake, a novel by Ann Patchett is a delightful story about family, love, and growing up. The novel toggles between 2020 Michigan and the 1980s theater company, Tom Lake.

During the 2020s Covid pandemic, Lara and Joe Nelson’s three grown daughters return to the family cherry farm to help with harvest. While picking cherries, the girls beg their mother to tell them about Peter Duke, a now famous actor that Lara both worked with on stage and had a romantic relationship while performing at Tom Lake, a live theater company.

Lara, originally from New Hampshire, finds stage success in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Also in the play is handsome Peter Duke, and the two of them become romantically involved.

Switching back to the cherry farm, Lara’s daughters beg for more of the story. Peter Duke is now a beloved film actor, and they pry details out of their mother about her and Duke’s relationship. Along the way, they learn of others of that time period: Pallace, a black dancer who becomes a good friend of Lara, and Peter Duke’s brother Sebastian. They were a foursome to be reckoned with, each with their special talents and agendas.

I loved Tom Lake. Ann Patchett is an American author who has written several successful award-winning novels. I also enjoyed Bel Canto and will look for more novels written by this prolific author.

Book Review: Better Than Gold

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Mary

Better Than Gold, a novel by Joan Rawlins Husby is the second of the “Monte Cristo Memories” series. The gripping story takes place mostly in the wilds of Alaska, 1898.

In San Francisco, Melinda McCrea makes her way to her bank through crowds of gold-seekers on their way to Alaska. She withdraws the last of her savings to pay for the next semester’s teacher training. After her stop at the bank, she’s accosted by a thief who absconds with her money, plus an unread letter from her fiancé, Quin Chenoweth.

Discouraged that she cannot return to teacher’s training, she and her ward, eight-year-old Evan, who is also her fiancé’s nephew, return to Monte Cristo, a gold-rush town in Washington state. She learns that Quin has taken a new job as a newspaper reporter and is on his way to Alaska’s dangerous Valdez Glacier to report on gold rush seekers. No doubt, he had shared this news with her in his last letter that she hadn’t had a chance to read.

Melinda has a terrifying dream that Quin is in danger. The dream is so urgent, so compelling, that she feels she has no choice but to find him and warn him of impending danger. She boards a ship bound for Alaska, but to her dismay discovers that Evan has stowed aboard. His reason? His uncle Quin had instructed him to take care of Melinda.

They arrive in Valdez, and although she has lived in many gold-rush towns, none of them as rough as this. Melinda finds work to earn enough money to continue her search for her fiancé. Finally, she and Evan set out, bound for Copper River in search of Quin.

What follows is a harrowing venture in dangerously rough terrain and even tougher people. Melinda makes friends, but also an enemy. She relies heavily on her strong Christian faith as she makes her way to find Quin in this vast wilderness.

Joan Rawlins Husby writes with knowledge about Alaska. She lived there for many years, taught school, and with her husband, raised their children in Alaska’s wilderness. Husby is a strong Christian writer with a sense of adventure. I have read other works by this author and heartedly recommend Better Than Gold.

Book Review: Go as a River

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Mary

Go as a River, a novel by Shelly Read is a beautifully written story set in Colorado, 1948 to 1971.

Victoria Nash, 17, runs a family household of troubled men. Her mother died when Victoria was 12, leaving her emotionally distant father, a mean-spirited younger brother, and a bitter, crippled uncle. The family has a successful peach orchard and when Victoria isn’t running the household, she’s working in the orchard.

Wilson Moon, a young man who is mysteriously displaced from his tribal land, is not welcomed in the nearby town of Iola, Colorado. People don’t trust the dark-skinned boy. Victoria and Wilson happened to meet in town, a meeting that will profoundly alter both their lives.

When tragedy strikes, Victoria must make life-changing decisions, choices that will affect all that she loves. She flees to the surrounding mountains where she struggles in the wilderness. As Victoria grapples with the harsh realities that surround her, fighting to regain what she has lost, she grows in strength and wisdom. She strives to flow forward against all obstacles, or as Wilson would say, “go as a river.”

The setting of Victoria’s original home, near the town of Iola, is based on fact. The town and surrounding areas, located in Gunnison County, Colorado were flooded and destroyed in the l960s creation of the Blue Mesa Reservoir, an actuality that affects Victoria’s future.

Go as a River is a gripping story, told with wonderful, vivid detail of raw wilderness. I also appreciated the domestic scenes, making due with what was at hand, painting a realistic picture of the demands of the land to meet the needs of a livelihood. Readers who love the outdoors, and who know the struggles of eking a living from the earth, will especially value this beautifully written novel.

Book Review: Never Burn Your Moving Boxes

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Mary

Never Burn Your Moving Boxes: A True Tale of a Real-Life Cowboy Wife, a memoir by Jolyn Young, is a fun, fast-paced contemporary story of a young woman who had dreams of living a ranching lifestyle.

Jolyn’s dream came true when she was hired on at a Nevada ranch to work with horses and cattle on wide open rangeland. Along came a tall strong cowboy, Jim, who could do it all–ride a bronc and rope steers, often competing in rodeos. He was the real thing. They worked side by side, hard physical work, Jolyn learning the cowboy trade from a pro. Working together led to romance, marriage and within months, a baby.

Now a family, the Youngs moved with the seasons throughout the Southwest. Ranch housing was usually a run-down single-wide trailer, or a decrepit house in need of serious repair. Each time they moved, their new living arrangement needed scrubbing after the previous occupants neglect. Now with a little daughter and soon a son, Jolyn dealt with long distances to town, to medical care and supplies. Jim was often gone for weeks at a time when he worked the far reaches of rangeland, leaving Jolyn on her own to deal with domestic decisions and problems. As she would say, her lifestyle was now “Less colt wrangling and more kid wrangling as the years go by.” In the meantime Jolyn began writing magazine articles about her authentic country lifestyle, articles that have been well-received and added much needed funds to their budget.

I loved this memoir of marriage and motherhood on some of the most remote ranches in the American West. It’s a fun, honest, and not always pleasant view of the ranching lifestyle. I learned a new word, too: cavvy— a group of ranch horses. I admire the author’s ability to openly share her joys, sorrows, and the tough decisions she’s had to make along the way. I especially appreciate her humor and bravery in facing and accepting the downside of her nomadic lifestyle. Readers interested in ranching, particularly living in remote, wide open spaces, will enjoy this book.

Book Review: Walk Me Home

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Mary

Walk Me Home, a contemporary novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde, is a poignant story of two sisters in search of family.

Carly, 16 and her little sister Jen, 11, can no longer live at home. Their mother’s string of boyfriends is just more than they can bear. Her previous boyfriend, Teddy, was good to them, but she kicked him out of the house. The current boyfriend is mean, even to their mother. When they learn their mother and her boyfriend are killed in an automobile accident, the girls leave before authorities can put them in foster care.

When they learn that Teddy, the closest thing they have to family, is now some place in Northern California they set out on a journey across the American Southwest. They start out riding their bicycles, then walking, eventually hitchhiking, then again walking. It’s tough going, their shoes wear out, they’re hungry, thirsty, and it’s unbearably hot.

The girls, desperate for food, come upon a run-down farm on a Native American reservation and attempt to steal eggs from a chicken shed. However, in order to get inside the shed they have to damage the fence surrounding it. The owner, an old cantankerous, nearly blind woman catches them, and the only way out is to work off their debt or be reported to the police. After a few days Carly is determined to travel on in search of Teddy, but Jen, content to stay where she is, stays behind. Alone, Carly walks, hitchhikes and even hops a train, in search of Teddy.

Walk Me Home is a story of determination and resilience. The girls suffer many hardships and heartaches, but the concern and kindness of others is at the core of this story. Trust is sometimes hard to find, and even harder to recognize. I have read several novels by Catherine Ryan Hyde and this is yet another excellent story.

Book Review: Beneath the Same Stars

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Mary

Beneath the Same Stars: A Novel of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War by Phyllis Cole-Dai is a remarkable novel based on true facts. The story takes place in southwestern Minnesota.

The Dakota Sioux, desperate for food, have been betrayed by the whites. They’ve been promised food and provisions if they would stay on a reservation. But relief isn’t forthcoming, creating suffering, distrust and bitterness.

John and Sarah Wakefield have come to the reservation where John will work as a physician. On occasion Sarah has assisted her husband in medical treatment of the sick and wounded. Not all is bliss in the Wakefield household, however. John gets angry, even abusive, when Sarah points out the unkept promises of the American government toward the Indians. When an uprising is feared, John sends Sarah and their two young children to what he considers a safe place. However, their wagon is waylaid by two Dakota Sioux, and they are taken captive.

Ćaske, a Dakota Sioux warrior, stops a wagon carrying a woman and her two children. He takes them as captors to his village. As it happens, Sarah and Ćaske recognize each other from when she and her husband treated him for a head wound. He takes them to his mother’s tipi where Sarah and the children are treated well, although they are resented by some in the village. Sarah has learned some of the native language through working with her husband, and Ćaske knows a little English. Together they are able to communicate. An affection between them grows, but how can it possibly endure? When it becomes apparent that war is at hand, Ćaske urges Sarah to return to her people, but she is loathe to leave.

Beneath the Same Stars is a gripping story of two people struggling between worlds. Sarah Wakefield was a true character who was caught up in the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862, a conflict between the Dakota nation and American traders, settlers and troops in southwestern Minnesota. The conflict lasted only six weeks but resulted in more American casualties than any other Indian war. The author’s vivid descriptions of the Dakota village and its people are fascinating, as are her insights of the Dakota Sioux regarding how the white man lives and their dishonor in not keeping their word. The novel turns historical figures into realistic, living characters. I very much appreciated the author’s insights into the plight of Native Americans.

Book Review: The Color of Air

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Mary

The Color of Air by Gail Tsukima is a historical novel describing an impending volcanic eruption on Hawaii’s big island in 1935.

The story centers around four main characters, mostly second-generation Japanese, and flashes back in time to their youth. Most of the main characters’ parents were lured from Japan to work the sugar cane fields. They were given promises of wealth, but in fact were treated like slaves while owners of the sugar plantations became rich. Nevertheless, the people formed a close-knit community and cared for one another, centering their lives in Hilo.

The main character, Koji, mourns the death of Mariko, the woman he loved but who married another man. Mariko’s husband neglected her and their child, Daniel, and eventually abandoned the family. When Daniel, now a physician, returns to Hilo, he and Koji resume their close friendship and Daniel learns the true story about his father and the suffering he caused the family.

The author vividly describes Hawaii and its beauty–the smell of the ocean, the rushing sound of breaking waves, the fragrance of mangoes as they ripen on the tree. But she also describes the stench of the active volcano, Mauna Loa, which has erupted and is spewing hot lava across the land, bringing fear to its residents of losing their homes. She also describes the sugarcane industry, its back-breaking labor, the stench of the burning fields, and the unfair treatment of the laborers.

I enjoyed this story of Hawaii in its early days. I lived in Hawaii 1955-1957, before it was a state, and knew and worked with many second-generation Japanese on Oahu. We witnessed and smelled the burning of sugar cane fields, which they do just before harvest to reduce the volume of waste material for transport and processing. It didn’t occur to me at the time how difficult that was for the workers to inhale the smoke while enduring the hardship of harvest. I love Hawaii, its beauty and mystery, but now have an even deeper appreciation of its people.

Book Review: Leaving Cheyenne

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Mary

Leaving Cheyenne by Larry McMurtry (1936 – 2021) is the second of the “Thalia: A Texas Trilogy” series. The novel takes place in north Texas during the period 1920 to 1965.

Gideon Fry is a rancher who has his heart set on marrying pretty Molly Taylor. His father works him so hard he doesn’t get to see her as often as he would like. Gideon’s afraid his best friend, Johnny McCloud, the Fry’s ranch hand, is going to win her over before Gideon has a chance.

Johnny McCloud, a fun-loving, carefree ranch hand doesn’t take anything very seriously, but he does have fun with Molly Taylor, especially when her father isn’t around. Johnny isn’t really the marrying kind, which suits Molly just fine.

Molly Taylor lives on a farm with her mean widowed father. She’s a free spirit and sees no point in getting married, but she does love the attention of both Gideon and Johnny. As the years pass the three struggle with a love triangle, yet are loyal to one another.

Leaving Cheyenne reminded me of Larry McMurtry’s later novel, Lonesome Dove; not the story line, but the bantering between the two cowboys. The teasing between Gideon and Johnny is humorous and good natured. The novel is earthy, but realistic. Each of the three main characters narrate a segment of the book, allowing the reader to see their various viewpoints and bittersweet relationships. The novel does a wonderful job of following the time period, describing the Texas countryside and the attitudes of rural people as they struggle to make a living. Leaving Cheyenne was adapted for film as Lovin’ Molly. I enjoyed this book and admire Larry McMurtry’s masterful ability to tell a good story.

Book Review: Human Voices

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Mary

Human Voices, a novel by Penelope Fitzgerald (1916 – 2000), takes place in London, England during the early stages of World War II. A very interesting Introduction, written by Mark Damazer, beautifully sets the scene of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) as it was during the early 1940s.

Anne Asra, the daughter of a widowed piano tuner, lands a job at the prestigious BBC working for Sam Brooks, the head of Recorded Programs. Anne is dedicated and honest, sometimes brutally so. For instance, at one point her boss asks her what she thinks of him. Her answer: “There’s two ways to be selfish: You can think too much about yourself, or you can think too little about others. You’re selfish both ways.” Yet she falls in love with him, a seemingly hopeless love.

I found this book fascinating. The BBC played a vital role during the wars years in its effort to keep people informed, but also entertained in the midst of chaos. There were nightly blackouts and the thunder of exploding enemy bombs going on all around them, yet they carried on. Most of the book takes place inside BBC’s walls. Sometimes when it was deemed unsafe to return home after work, it was necessary for employees to spend the night. The BBC’s concert hall was converted for this purpose which set the stage for interesting after-hours activity. What went on inside the BBC walls was sometimes hilarious, though typical of the British, understated.

The author of Human Voices, Penelope Fitzgerald worked at the BBC during the wars years, making the story authentic, believable, and above all, funny.

I have great respect for the BBC. When we served with the Peace Corps in The Gambia, Africa, we relied on them for our world news. We were fortunate enough to buy a combination AM/FM/Shortwave radio from an outgoing volunteer. It was particularly interesting to hear American news from a British viewpoint. In fact, it was on the BBC that we first heard about the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption taking place in our own home state of Washington.

I very much enjoyed Human Voices. It’s a fun read but also emphasizes the dedication to truth and information the BBC has always stood for.

Book Review: Renewed Hope

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Mary

Renewed Hope, a novel by Carmen Peone, is the third book of the “Seven Tine Ranch Romance” series. The contemporary story mostly takes place in Montana.

Sophie Cayes has exceptional talent as a wildlife artist, specializing in wild animals in their natural setting. Her budding future is shattered when her abusive ex-husband threatens to sue for full custody of their four year-old son, Basin. Sophie learns of a guest ranch that keeps a room open for women in need. She and her son leave their home on the Flathead Reservation in Northwest Montana and drive to the Seven Tine Guest Ranch on the Colville Reservation in Eastern Washington, hoping to find a solution to her greatest fear, losing custody of her son.

Chad Davis loves his job at the Seven Tine Guest Ranch. His specialty is starting colts, but of course he performs other ranch chores as well. One of those chores involves helping out when guests arrive. Later, at dinner, Chad is asked to show little Basin around while his mother talks to another woman. When the unthinkable happens—Basin goes missing—Chad feels responsible to do everything in his power to return the little boy to his mother.

Chad, Sophie and a tribal policeman head back to Montana, feeling certain that Basin’s father must have followed Sophie to the ranch and had taken the little boy. Just when you think things can’t get worse, they do. A gut-wrenching race is on to find her son before her ex-husband and his new wife illegally flee with Basin.

Renewed Hope is about faith in the face of raw fear. Unfortunately, abuse of women is common among indigenous people. That abuse is often directed toward children, making this situation even more desperate. The novel is suspenseful, yet realistic. Carmen Peone has written a worthy sequel to the first two books in the “Seven Tine Ranch Romance” series.