Book Reviews

The 1950s were a dark time for the American cook, although she may not have realized it at the time. World War II introduced new food technologies such as freezing methods, preservation and dehydrating, all in the name of the war effort. After the war ended, food manufacturers needed to convince the American consumer to continue on with the new traditions from frozen TV dinners to the meat product called Spam. Cookbooks followed suit with such popular titles as “œCookbook for Frozen Foods” and The Can Opener Cookbook”. Convenience and elaborate presentation were all the rage, as well as some unusual pairings as this photo from my grandmother’s 1970 “œJoy of Jell-O” cookbook depicts. 

Somewhere along the line, American tastes and skills started to change and expand. Many give richly deserved credit to Julia Child for changing the culinary landscape but author Luke Barr says more people are deserving of the credit. He also theorizes the change occurred in Provence, France in 1970 when Julia Child, Child’s writing partner Simone Beck, American cookbook author James Beard, and food writers MFK Fisher (Barr’s great aunt) and Richard Olney vacationed in the South of France during the same time period. Through a series of correspondence and the food icons journals, Barr has written a dramatic retelling of when these instrumental people gathered together over their holidays and discussed the “œfuture of food in America, the meaning of taste and the limits of snobbery”.

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When 12-year-old Samuel Chambers mother dies, he struggles with his thoughts and beliefs regarding death. He swears that he will do anything to bring his mother back and soon becomes caught in a struggle between good and evil over the ancient Tree of Life. During his journey and struggle, he begins to probe his thoughts on death ““ could death be a gift? What waits beyond the experience of death?

This book is well written and causes the reader to pause and reflect on their own thoughts on death and whether it is a finite end or just an intersection in our lives. Do we really believe there is a life after death, and can we embrace the goodness of the journey to the other side?

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Summary: Our current system of caring for the elderly and sick could be better.

Mortality is something that no one really likes to consider. However, Atul Gawande, a general surgeon and author of a number of books thinks we need to spend a lot more time thinking about it. (Notice the subtle, but brilliant blade of grass on the cover.)

Being Mortal is about our end of life health and care system. Because Gawande’s father is an immigrant from India, he opens the book talking about the difference between the older systems of family care (and what is still practiced in many parts of the world including India) and our Western independence focused system of care. While Gawande thinks there are many things to be said for being around family and multi-generational living, the reality is not always good. Those that do not have children have no system, the children’ may need to give up opportunities if it requires moving away, and regardless, the elderly themselves would often prefer to be on their own.

Prior to Social Security and Medicare, most elderly were in poverty and approximately 2/3 of the residents of poor houses (think Dickens) were elderly. Those poor houses were still operating in the US until being slowly shut down in the mid-20th century.

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Summary: What comes around…?

When a murder mystery series is based around a small town there has to be some questions about how/why murders will disproportionately happen in this particular town.

A Fatal Grace is only the second book in a now ten book series, but Louise Penny has taken a wise path, it is not one of the insiders, but an outsider that is murdered. And connecting it to the previous murder by having her move into the house of a previous murderer/murdered victim also is a nice twist.

My main complaint about the second book (and even more so in the third book) is that it takes forever to get into the book. I keep saying I am interested in the people and the setting, but my complaint here is that Penny is taking too long to get to the murder. So there is probably something else at the root is what is not quite doing it for me.

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Summary: George Smiley is not in charge of the circus. After ferreting out a mole, Smiley can not be sure he can trust anyone.

John le Carré is an author I really like, but can be frustrating at times.  I love the slow burn of his books.  They are unhurried, take place over a long time, feel like real spy work and not just heroics.

But the Honorable Schoolboy also takes forever to move along and finally get anywhere.  There are a ton of characters, many of which have at least one undercover name.  I keep thinking I will read (instead of listening to the audiobook) one of these, but I keep listening because I find them audiobooks on sale and the kindle books never seem to go on sale.

There is a real change in this book from previous le Carré books.  The narration suddenly gets is own voice occasionally.  I am not opposed to the ‘omnipotent narrator’ as a story telling method.  But it is new and feels a bit odd at times.  The reader is being told the story from the future.  The narrator knows what is going to happen and knows there is going to be regret in the end.

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Summary: A town too small to show up on most maps has a woman shot dead by an arrow.

After talking about my love of the Bruno Chief of Polic series, Sheila Brennan suggested I try the Inspector Gamache books. I was vaguely aware of the series (it had come up as an Amazon recommendation) and somehow I got the impression that it was an older series. (I think I may have confused it with the Jules Maigret series). But as much of my reading lately, Still Life was on Scribd so I picked it up.

Still Life opens up with the characters in Three Pines, a small village outside of Montreal. After a fairly quick introduction to several characters, Jane is found dead and Chief Inspector Gamache is called in to investigate the death. Like the Bruno series, at least part of the interest for me is comparing the different legal systems. Gamache is the head of a team of homicide detectives for a regional police system. It is his job to go to the area and set up shop until the crime is solved.

Because Gamache basically moves in to the community, and sees his job as primarily watching and listening to people, there is a lot of space for character development and understanding the setting. There are more main characters than in the Bruno series. And at least initially in this book, there is a lot of assumed backstory for Gamache that is hinted at, but not actually revealed. My assumption is that more of the back story will come up later in the series. The tenth book in the series was published last fall.

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Reposting my 2013 review because God of the Mundane is free at NoiseTrade in mobi (kindle format), PDF or epub.
Takeaway: God is the God of our every day mundane tasks and activities just as much (if not more so) than the mountaintop or special times.

If I were going to write a book (which I have no intention of attempting), this is the book I would want to write.  Since Matthew Redmond has already written it I am off the hook.

For the past couple years I have told people that I am attempting to live an ordinary life. It is not that I don’t want to change the world.  It is that I think the way that we are Christians are most effective at changing the world is living as faithful ordinary Christians.

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I am reposting this 2012 review because the Kindle Edition is on sale for $2.99.
Summary: A 1960s Southern Baptist family moves to the Congo to be missionaries.  Their lives are forever changed.

I have been somewhat reluctant to read this book.  I know a ton of people that have liked it.  My sister in law suggested it years ago and kept suggesting it to me.  Many others commented when they saw I had started reading it.

It is a book that well deserves all of its praise.  This is a book many should read.  It is not a everything comes out happy story (which I knew going in).  But not all stories that are important are happy.

Very quickly into the story the family move to the Congo.  As you can guess much of the early book is focused on cultural transition issues.  The father feels called by God to bring salvation to the Congo.  But he is inadequately prepared for what that really means.  The mother can barely survive what it takes to just live, cooking, cleaning, raising four girls in the Congo. Even without a difficult overbearing husband, it would be hard.  The four daughters find their own ways of coping for better and worse.

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