Mary E. Trimble

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, is an extraordinary novel that held me captive from beginning to end. As a matter of fact, being held captive is what this book is all about.

A prestigious party is being held at the home of a Vice President somewhere in South America. The occasion is honoring the birthday of Mr.Kosokawa, a powerful businessman from Japan. The famous opera soprano, Roxane Coss, has enthralled the international guests with her singing. It’s a grand event. Until terrorists take the entire party hostage.

From the beginning, the take-over goes awry. The person being sought, the President of the country, isn’t in attendance. This causes great confusion among the three generals leading a gang of gun-wielding youths.

Nothing goes according to plan, but life goes on. From a panicked, life-threatening situation, people fall into a routine. They cooperate, form bonds, friendships, even fall in love.

This is a marvelous, entertaining book, a New York Times Bestseller and winner of the Pen/Faulkner Award. For me, it hit a profound chord. When my husband and I were with the Peace Corps in The Gambia, West Africa, we were “detained” in a single house for 8 days, along with 118 people from many different countries. This book brought back vivid memories of that attempted military takeover.

I highly recommend Bel Canto. You’ll find yourself bunking in with many interesting international house guests.

Book Review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Mary

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Perennial Classics) by [Betty Smith]

A perennial classic, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, was first published in 1943. I don’t remember how old I was when I first read the novel, nor do I remember absorbing as much of the rich, sensitive writing as I have with this second, recent reading.

The book, set in the early 1900s, rarely leaves the Brooklyn area and most of that takes place in rough tenement neighborhoods. It is tough living, especially for poor people. And Francie’s family is poor. Her mother scrubs floors in three tenement buildings to keep the family in food and rent. Her father works as a singing waiter, when he can get a job, but he has a serious drinking problem. Even so, he’s a loving father and his children adore him.

Mary Frances Nolan, or Francie, is the oldest child, followed by her brother, only a year younger. Much later another little girl is born. The story is told mostly from Francie’s point of view. Francie is always thinking, her creative mind trying to make sense of what is going on around her. The hardships and rough living conditions are accepted, mostly without complaint, but her dreams soar with her imagination, intelligence and creativity. At that time and place, graduating from sixth grade was an impressive accomplishment, but Francie has the impossible dream of going to college.

Francie’s life is metaphorically compared to a Chinese sumac, the Tree of Heaven, common to Brooklyn tenement yards. The tree is indestructible; can seemingly grow out of cement. Francie often sits on a fire escape in the shade of the tree’s umbrella-shaped leaves to blissfully read and dream.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant story of perseverance and hope amidst hardship. Even if you read this book years ago, it’s worth reading again. This second reading brought fresh insights and a deeper understanding of our country’s attitudes and values of that time period. I recommend this book for anyone twelves years and older. It is truly an American classic.

Book Review: The Girls in the Stilt House

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Mary

The Girls in the Stilt House, a novel by Kelly Mustian is a suspenseful southern novel that takes place in Mississippi during the 1920’s Prohibition.

Ada Morgan reluctantly returns to her family home—a house on stilts—after a failed relationship. For her, it’s the last resort. She’s sure that her father, a mean drunk, won’t welcome her back. She’s still young—in her teens—but she can see no other choice. Her father, a widower, isn’t home when she arrives. He’s probably tending his traps, selling his pelts, or perhaps peddling his bootleg liquor. She dreads his return.

Matilda Patterson, the teenage daughter of a black sharecropper, lives in a shack on the other side of the swamp. She comes from a loving home. Her father works hard to provide for his family and her mother is again expecting a baby with the hope that this one will live. Money comes hard but they all work to survive and hopefully to even get ahead.

Violent circumstances bring these two girls together. Loyalty to their pledge to one another is vital. Theirs is a complex, emotional existence that is dependent on secrecy. Slavery may be a thing of the past, but social inequity is still a part of life. How can this relationship possibly end well?

I thoroughly enjoyed this emotional, often tense, read. The author does a good job describing life along Mississippi’s Natchez Trace, a dirt road in the days when it was the area’s main avenue of travel. The haunting, desperate life in swamp country is well described, and the plight of these two girls captivating. I highly recommend this debut novel.

Book Review: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Mary

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom is a poignant novel of a great guitarist who touches lives in almost magical ways. The story begins in Spain, 1936.

Frankie Presto, orphaned at birth, is raised by the man who rescues him, then later by a blind musician who, in addition to teaching Frankie the guitar, teaches him about life. When Frankie is nine, his life changes drastically when he is sent to America in the bottom of a ship. The only thing he is able to take with him is an old guitar and six precious strings.

The Voice of Music narrates the story, interspersed by such great musicians as Wynton Marsalis, Duke Ellington, Bruce Springsteen, Hank Williams, Tony Bennett, and many more. Even Elvis makes an appearance. Frankie becomes a world-renowned musician, playing from classical to jazz to rock and roll. His magnificent talent touches numerous lives along the way.

The story covers many years, beginning with World War II to present day. Its enriching wisdom makes this book a classic with thoughts such as: “Music is in the connection of human souls speaking a language that needs no words.”

I’ve read and reviewed other excellent books by Mitch Albom, but this book is in a class by itself. Musicians, especially guitarists, will love this book. Actually, anyone who loves music will cherish this story. I highly recommend The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto.

Book Review: The Girl from Charnelle

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Mary

The Girl from Charnelle by K. L. Cook grabbed my attention from beginning to end. The novel begins in the Panhandle town of Charnelle, Texas, 1958. We read the story from Laura Tate’s perspective.

Laura was only 14 when her mother left the family and Laura was thrust into the role of “woman of the house,” cooking, keeping house and caring for her three brothers while her father struggled with the reality of being a single parent.

A couple of years later, at a 1960 New Year’s Eve community party, John Letiz, a married man twice Laura’s age, makes a pass at her. She’s flattered, but shocked. For one thing, John Letiz is a friend and work colleague of her father’s. For another, Laura babysits for the Letizes’ two little boys. But John is an attractive man and, it seems, persistent.

Laura and John embark on an affair. John warns her that no one, absolutely no one, should know. It’s dangerous. He could go to jail. Although she’s thrilled when he picks her up at their out-of-the way meeting place, she finds it demeaning when she has to crouch down on the floor of the front seat so they are not seen together. Charnelle is a small town. People know one another and they talk. The two meet on a scheduled basis and Laura feels their love becoming more intense. She dreams of having John all to herself, of not having to hide their love. She becomes weary of sneaking around. Her girlfriends talk about their dates and she yearns to tell them about John. In the meantime, she accepts baby-sitting jobs with the Letizes and plays her various roles simultaneously as daughter, sister, baby sitter, student, and lover.

But as we know, these encounters do not end well.

The Girl from Charnelle is an amazing read with realistic thoughts, actions and encounters. Later, I was surprised to learn that the author, K. L. Cook, is a man. His insight to a young girl’s thoughts and emotions is impressive. This novel kept me alternately filled with dread and spellbound, page after page. I highly recommend this book not only for adults, but to teens who might benefit from understanding the reality and far-reaching consequences of illicit affairs.

Book Review: Brave Girl, Quiet Girl

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Mary

Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde is yet another powerful novel by a highly competent, prolific writer. Hyde’s writing allows the reader to get into the heads of her characters. I could see the world from the eyes of the various personalities, could feel their pain, their anxiety, and their fragile grip on hope.

The story takes place in present day Los Angeles. Brooke uses every excuse she can to get away from her over-bearing mother. Brooke, thirty-nine, divorced with a two-year-old daughter, Etta, is financially forced to live with her mother. Although Brooke begrudgingly acknowledges gratitude that her mother lets her stay there, the woman is so negative and overbearing that Brooke must get out of the house. Because her own car is old and untrustworthy, she borrows her mother’s elegant Mercedes to take her daughter, Etta, to a movie.

After the movie they return to the car and Brooke dutifully straps little Etta into her up-to-code car seat in the backseat of the car. Brooke has just settled behind the steering wheel when a carjacker rips open the door, drags her out of the car, climbs in, and drives off. Brooke watches, terrified and helpless, as the car speeds down the street, with Etta still in her car seat.

On the other side of town, Molly, only sixteen, is living on the streets in a bad section of Los Angeles. She’s been homeless ever since her mother kicked her out of their Utah home. Unbelievably, on her way to the wooden crate she calls “home,” she finds a baby, on the sidewalk, still in her car seat, abandoned. Molly looks around for the mother, but finds no one looking for this sweet child. Shielding the little girl from possible, if not likely danger, she tries to find help, to notify police. Her cell phone stopped working months ago. Danger lurks everywhere. This baby could be a gold-mine for people with evil intentions.

Brave Girl, Quiet Girl is a gripping story, with huge dollops of compassion across generations and financial circumstances. I highly recommend this compelling and emotional novel.

Book Review: Miners’ Moon

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Mary

Miners’ Moon, the fourth novel of “A Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mystery” series by Julie Weston, is a suspenseful thriller that takes place in northern Idaho during Prohibition.

Nellie Burns, a crime photographer, and Sheriff Charlie Astenguigoiri travel from central to northern Idaho on an assignment to investigate bootlegging activities. While there, a mine explosion draws them into a second investigation. They send home for their friend, a retired miner, Ross (Rosy) Kipling, to help them solve the mine explosion. Rosy brings Nellie’s black lab, Moonshine—named after the silvery light of the moon, not illegally made distilled alcohol.

Charlie tramps the hills and valleys of the back country searching for illegal stills, often found in abandoned mines. In the meantime, Nellie questions survivors of the mine explosion. Was the explosion sabotage or a just a terrible accident in which six men died and many more injured? She takes pictures of the survivors and of scenes that might help solve the mystery. Her dog, at her side whenever possible, plays an important life-saving role in Nellie’s quest for the truth. In the meantime, Rosy pretends to seek work as a miner and descends the principal mine to learn what caused the explosion. Eventually, all three descend the depths of the mine, with potentially disastrous results.

Miners’ Moon is rich in mining details—its methods and terminology. It’s a dirty, smelly, unhealthy occupation, with miners at the mercy of the company. The forming of unions is discouraged, sometimes violently so. The novel also is informative about Prohibition and its ramifications, which often involved complicity of local officials. The interaction between the characters is fun and brings hope that Nellie and Charlie may finally have more than a business relationship.

I very much enjoyed Miners’ Moon and found this latest book of the series as captivating as its prequels. The suspenseful story kept me intrigued from beginning to end.

Book Review: Blessing in Disguise

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Mary

Blessing in Disguise, a fun, suspenseful novel by Lauraine Snelling, is the sixth and last book of the “Red River of the North” series. I’ve loved them all, but Blessing in Disguise is my favorite. The story toggles between Blessing, North Dakota and Ipswich, South Dakota, 1889.

In Valdres, Norway, Augusta Bjorklund is heart-broken when she learns her intended bridegroom has married someone else. Their plan was that he would make his way to America, then send for her. Now she learns that her elderly widowed mother who has immigrated to Blessing, North Dakota, needs her. Her heart isn’t convinced it’s what she wants to do, but she feels obligated. Unfortunately, she didn’t take advice from others to first learn English. She’ll have plenty of time to learn English once she’s in America.

Rancher Kane Moyer is ready to marry. He has established a successful ranch and built a house fit for a new bride. He plans to go to the nearest town, Ispwich, some distance from his ranch, to pick up his Norwegian mail-order bride. Unfortunately, a letter written to him by his intended saying she will be detained for one month hasn’t reached him yet.

Once in America, Augusta makes her way to St. Paul, Minnesota, but not understanding the ticket agent’s directions, boards the wrong train and ends up in Ispwich, South Dakota.

By the time Kane makes his way to Ispwich with his horse-drawn wagon, the train has already arrived and there she is, waiting. She’s actually prettier than he imagined, but she doesn’t speak a word of English, and he speaks no Norweigian. She apparently had someone else write her letters to him. They resort to miming. She says something about Blessing, and he agrees that it’s a blessing they have finally met.

In the meantime, Augusta’s family is alarmed that she hasn’t arrived in Blessing. Her brother goes in search of her.

Blessing in Disguise is full of details of life in the early days of North and South Dakota. Having read the previous five books of the series, many of the characters were like old friends. I enjoyed learning about the way industrious Norwegians managed to build their homes and businesses from raw materials, such as sod and later timber that they cut down themselves. The people of Blessing centered their lives around their faith, were loyal to their community, and persevered when going got tough. Blessing in Disguise is a reminder of how our nation was founded and the many sacrifices our early pioneers made.

Book Review: The Midwife of Hope River

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Mary

The Midwife of Hope River: A Novel of an American Midwife by Patricia Harman is one of those books that I dreaded reaching the end—I loved it so much. The story’s moving and uplifting theme transported me to a different place, to a new level of awareness.

Widowed Midwife Patience Murphy, 36, struggles against poverty in Appalachia during the late 1920s and early 1930s, where the Great Depression has brought even more misery to an impoverished area. To Patience, delivering babies is her calling. It makes no difference if the parents are black or white. Her job is to help deliver new life, to try her best to make the event a blessing, a celebration. She has no tolerance for those doctors who won’t treat blacks, who will neither call on them at home nor allow them in the “white” hospitals. There are separations in most areas of West Virginia lives, but to the midwife, there is no difference. A new life is sacred.

Daniel Hester, a taciturn Hope River veterinarian, and Patience cross paths from time to time, usually out of necessity. Hester has a passion for animals, especially horses, but doesn’t seem to need a human in his life.

Patience is no angel, she has a past and there’s always the lurking fear of it catching up to her. She also struggles financially. Sometimes she doesn’t get paid at all for her delivery assistance; sometimes it’s a loaf of bread or a few pounds of potatoes. But there’s never a question as to whether or not she’ll help.

A lasting relationship between Daniel and Patience seems unlikely, but sometimes life takes an interesting twist.

The author’s real-life experience as a midwife brings authenticity to the story. Written in diary form, the book’s rich characters and vivid descriptions of what true poverty looks like result in a story to remember. I highly recommend The Midwife of Hope River.

The Kingdom of Tonga: A South Pacific Paradise

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Mary

Although every port-of-call was special to us, the hands-down favorite was the Kingdom of Tonga. Tonga is a Polynesian sovereign state, which means it governs itself. It is an archipelago of 169 islands, 36 of which are inhabited. Four major groups of islands form the Kingdom: Tongatapu, Ha’apai, Vava’u, and Niua groups. Tonatapu is the main island and its capitol is Nuku’alofa. We spent about six weeks in Tonga, all in the Vava’u group.

The only Pacific Island nation never colonized by a foreign power, the Kingdom of Tonga is known as “The Friendly Islands.” Tongans are strongly Christian, the people helpful and friendly.

Upon arrival we anchored Impunity near the small town of Neiafu and rowed our dingy ashore. Tongans constantly swept their wooden sidewalks and packed earthen streets–we were impressed with how clean everything was.

Surprisingly, pigs wandered around at will. I wasn’t sure where they did their business, but we didn’t see any pig-doo along the streets. We saw pigs of all different colors and sizes, on church steps, sidewalks, streets, in yards. They were apparently a part of the community.

Pigs had their useful purpose. The Tongans didn’t mow lawns; pigs kept them neat and trim. They ate much of the soft garbage, like fallen fruit. And, of course, pigs provided meat. We learned that domestic pigs played an important role in social obligations mainly for gifts and exchange at feasts, weddings and funerals.

During our stay in Tonga we moved Impunity around to anchor near different islands. The water was clear and beautiful–ideal for snorkeling.

Off one of the uninhabited islands where we regularly anchored, we often rowed ashore to feed a couple of piglets. Because of their coloration, we called one of the piglets Stars and the other Stripes. The mother stayed clear of us, hovering in nearby bushes, ready to protect her babies. I would have loved to hold them, but was afraid I would alarm their mother. We enjoyed the little pigs and saved our kitchen scraps for them.

The Kingdom of Tonga was a paradise and those little pigs added immensely to our enjoyment.

Note: The above was taken in part from my memoir, Sailing with Impunity: Adventure in the South Pacific