American Treasure (1994) By Harold J. Drake

In many ways American Treasure is your typical war memoir – though for me there is an important distinction: the author is my uncle, Harold J. Drake.  He was an Infantryman in World War II.  While reading about his military record was interesting, it was not the reason I read the book.  I read it because I don’t recall having ever met him (or most of my other Drake relatives for that matter) -- maybe once, I’m really not sure.

If I did meet him it would have been at his father’s, my grandfather’s, funeral.  I was quite young then, and I’m pretty sure it was my first funeral.  I’d never met the man in the casket before either. My paternal grandfather, Elmer Drake, was a World War I veteran and is buried at Camp Butler, just east of Springfield, IL.

Let me explain.

My father was born in Lincoln, IL, one of six children.  My paternal grandmother died in a TB sanitarium in Ottawa, IL when they were all still kids.  My grandfather took off for who knows where, and the kids became part of what at-the-time amounted to Illinois’ foster care system -- which explains the lack of tears at this funeral. In Harold Drake’s book he touches on this subject the one and only time he mentions my father, his older brother.  It was during a conversation he was having with his foxhole buddy their first night on European soil, as part of the second wave of Americans soldiers, sent in to fight in the Battle for Normandy, once the path had been made possible by the D-Day invasion.

“I tell Herman that my home town was in Illinois and that I lived and worked on a dairy farm.  My family had become scattered around and only my brother, Kenny [my father], a Marine now in the Pacific, maintained a family relationship through letter writing.  I didn’t miss anyone except my mother who had died in 1932 leaving my father the impossible task of supporting six kids when she entered the sanitarium.  The State had been forced to place the whole family in an orphanage during the Depression.” 

The point in reading the book was to find clues about what happened in the lives of my father's siblings.  Some information was gleaned, but not much – it was clear Harold’s childhood was an unpleasant experience that he’d rather not talk about, he states as much in the book, explaining why he avoids the subject.  In those days, foster care for boys usually meant being farmed out as child labor for all practical purposes.

Harold, it is worth noting, was a redhead (as am/was I) and went through much of life being called “Red,” and, as was the case with me and all of my siblings, often called “Ducky," or a variation thereof.

I know my father lived with a family in Marengo, IL and worked in a bakery.  From the book I’ve learned that Harold and their younger brother Jackie went to live on a farm near Morris, IL.  But, Harold did not get along with the foster family, and ended up working on a farm in Hebron, IL and living in a hotel/boarding house while finishing high school, before joining the Army.  One of the girls, Betty (Elizabeth Jean) apparently was adopted by a family in Aurora, IL – my Uncle Bud (Leo), the only one I actually knew, isn’t mentioned, nor is the other sister.

In addition to the genealogy aspects of this book, it ended up being an interesting read.  Harold was wounded twice.  On the second occasion he was used by his commanding officer as a guinea pig to see if there was a possible path through a minefield outside of Brest, France.  He lost one of his legs as a result of that.  The book covers in great detail the two years of repeat surgeries he went through for his wounds, including the amputation, plastic surgery on his nose, and being fitted for and learning how to walk with an artificial leg.  Next to nothing is mentioned in the book about his post-Army years, though we know that he worked for the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Washington, DC and lived in Maryland. 

Recommendation:  I will share the book with my siblings, finding another copy is probably not possible.  The one I obtained was decommissioned from the National Library of Scotland, and it shows up on the “out of print” list everywhere else.  As it was printed by Minerva Press, a vanity publisher, there probably weren’t many copies to begin with.

Young Turk (2004) By Moris Farhi

My world history education covered the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, but provided next to nothing on what came after.  It’s as though the piece of geography these two empires occupied disappeared along with them.  It did not.  For the record, after the calamity of picking the losing side in World War I, the Ottoman Empire came to an end, ceding much territory to the victors, and eventually being deposed by a demoralized military at home.  In the aftermath, the Republic of Turkey was declared in 1923, with a military commander, Mustafa Kemal becoming its first President.  Known to history as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, he was a surprisingly forward thinking leader.  He died in 1938.

I’m always hesitant to comment on the history and politics of other cultures, because I’m really not qualified to do so. I know this much however: the politics and history of Turkey are controversial beyond dispute, and interpretation is truly in the eyes of the beholder.

To start, let’s remember that Ataturk holds the same status for Turks that George Washington does for Americans – not perfect by any means, but with good that vastly outweighs the bad (George Washington, for those getting ready to slam me, was a slave owner and killer of Indians, in addition to being a Founding Father).

Ataturk’s personal mission as the founder of the Republic of Turkey was to restore the country to its rightful place on the world stage, not through Empire, but through modernization, of a secular and western bent.  Until its final decades, the Ottoman Empire had been, for the most part, an ethnically plural place where Muslim Turks lived in (relative) peace with Greek Christians, Kurds, Jews and numerous other ethnicities. The Ottoman’s did not however, have any qualms about using force against ethnic minorities – the Armenian Genocide occurred on their watch, with many future leaders as active participants). 

Ataturk rhetorically believed diversity to be good, and a component of nation building.  Put in modern terms, one could say he believed hyphenated citizens were okay, with the mantra that they be Turks first.  He is credited with inspiring Turks of all backgrounds to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” a philosophy made famous decades later with John Kennedy’s immortal quote. The new generation of leaders Ataturk sought to create was referred to as the Young Turks, a name originally given to junior members the Ottoman military who had worked to abolish the Sultanate.  [Adding to the complexity of Turkish history, the Young Turks moniker is used for two polar opposite political viewpoints: those who like Ataturk believed in nationalism by nation building, and those who believed in nationalism by ethnic cleansing, as in the Armenian genocide, and the expulsion of Greeks from Turkey.] 

Moris Farhi’s historical novel is about the nation-building Young Turks and how Ataturk’s dream has been stolen from them.

Farhi’s book covers a group of Turkish youth who came of age during World War II.  They are an ethnic hodgepodge:  Muslim, Jewish, Greek, Christian, Gypsy, Kurd, Armenian, even a Turkish-Scottish guy – boys and girls.  This book can be judged as excellent based merely on their coming of age stories, but the book is much more than that, it is a spell-binding political commentary on modern Turkey. 

An important chapter occurs late in the book when Asik Ahmet, a man who served as a professor-mentor-friend to many of the youth, holds an end of semester gathering for them.  At it he asked them what occupation needed by the country they were willing to devote their lives to.  Once someone chose an occupation it was no longer available to anyone else at the party, which posed a problem for some of the students because the question was asked of them in alphabetical order.  Last to be called was Zeki, a Turkish Jew, who is clearly the stand in for the book’s author, Moris Farhi.  Zeki chose the occupation of professor.

Like Zeki, Mr. Farhi was born in Turkey, but moved early in his academic career to the United Kingdom.  Young Turk was (apparently) written in English, and first published in 2004 by Saqi Books in London.  The copy I bought while vacationing in Istanbul earlier this year was an English edition – one must wonder if it is even available in Turkish.

Recommendation: On the back page of the edition I have is a pull quote from Nicholai Murray, author of Kafka, it reads: “Everyone should go out immediately and buy Young Turk. Warm, witty, wise, humane, it’s a delightful book.”  I couldn’t possibly agree more.

The Alchemist (1988 Portuguese, 1994 English) By Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was/is one of those trendy books everyone, and I do mean everyone, was reading back in the 1990’s -- only I never read it, until now.  As is my usual habit, I read some reviews of the book after I finished it.  What I discovered was that some 50,000 reviews of The Alchemist have been written, which underscores just how big of an international best seller it has been.

Many of the reviews insisted on categorizing it as a “self-help” book because of its “pursue your dream” message.  While I’m okay with that, I think it might be a bit simplistic – call it a related collection of philosophy essays, with more than a few religious undertones, and you get my vote.

The book follows the adventures of a shepherd boy living in Andalusia.  He has a vivid dream which repeats itself.  When he goes to a Gypsy for help in interpreting the dream, the adventures begin: he sells his sheep and follows his dream.  It’s a fun story that includes traveling across the Sahara Desert from Morocco to the Pyramids.  It includes tribal warfare, love, lots of hard work with business success, robbery and mysticism of the natural environment.  It includes shepherds, Gypsies, bakers, kings, crystal merchants, an Englishman, and caravans. 

While it’s not an original plot, it is a beautifully written version of it.

The 25^th Anniversary edition of the book, which is what I read, contains an introduction by the author that is interesting when placed in the context of the book.  Apparently when it was first written it did not sell many copies, but Coelho never gave up on his Personal Legend of being a major author.  

Recommendation: Make some tea, grab an afghan and pull up a chair.  Enjoy.

The Girl on The Train (2015) By Paula Hawkins

Earlier this year I thought I had read a book recommended by my friend Angela; it ended up I had picked up the wrong book.  I read The Girl on “A” Train, by A.J. Waines; while what she had recommended was The Girl on “The” Train, by Paula Hawkins.  But, we both agree: “A” is good, “The” is much better.

The Girl on The Train is a psychological thriller, somewhat similar to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  And like Gone Girl it is being made into a movie, to be released later this year (2016).

The girl in The Train is named Rachel, and she’s a mess, as you’ll figure out no later than the first chapter.  She’s a heavy drinker.  No that’s not right, she is an alcoholic.  She’s been on a binge ever since her divorce ... two years ago.  She’s also been fired from her job, but instead of telling her roommate about her work situation she gets up every morning and takes a commuter train into London, pretending to be going to the office.  What she sees each morning and evening through the train’s windows, at it passes through the town where she once lived with her ex-husband, is the plot of the book.

Of course, as an alcoholic, she has a credibility problem.  Life is frequently a blur to her, and complete blackouts are part of her history – or are they?

I had trouble with the beginning of this book because I had difficulty working up any sympathy for Rachel.  I (wrongly) have little patience for people who can’t seem to pull it together.  By the end of the book however, Rachel was the only character I had any empathy with.  She's clearly still trying to get her life in gear, but by the final chapter I’m pulling for her, and thinking she’s going to succeed.

Recommendation:  Great read.

The Boston Girl (2014) By Anita Diamant

The life of the main character of The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant is nothing exciting or unique.  She is, in a word: average.  It took me awhile to realize this is the author’s point. 

The Boston Girl is Addie Baum, the daughter of immigrants to the United States.  She was born in 1900. The story is as told to Addie’s granddaughter for a school project in 1985.  The novel is one part immigrant story, and another part the loving story of a grandmother telling her daughter what it was like being a girl/woman in her day.   One could fairly categorize it as a coming of age story.

First there are the do’s and don’ts all children must learn, and break.  Then there is first love and the “good girl” vs “bad girl” dating rules, and learning the hard way that they don’t apply to boys; chivalry is dead, assuming it ever existed.  Add the lessons that in pre-birth control America, unwanted pregnancies and abortions were common place, even though never talked about … ever.  Overlay all of this with women “don’t need” an education, and if they “must” work, they aren’t allowed to have “careers.”

As I was reading this, the 7 year-old girl who is my neighbor asked me what it was about.  I told her it was about a Grandma telling her granddaughter about what it was like to grow up “in the old days.”  (A warning for her grandmother … you have an interrogation coming next time you are in town).

Roughly 100 pages into this book it crossed my mind that what I was reading was a softer version, an individual version, of The Feminine Mystic by Betty Friedan (1963).  Yes, I’ve actually read and liked, The Feminine Mystic, it deserves its recognition as one of those rare books that helped change the course of history.  Then near the end of The Boston Girl, the author even acknowledges her debt to Friedan, by mischievously writing The Feminine Mystic into the storyline.

Recommendation:  While I would prefer that everyone, granddaughter and grandson, read The Feminine Mystic, I admit that’s not going to happen.  I’m comfortable with The Boston Girl being a compromise selection.

Girl on a Train (2013) By A J Waines

Several weeks ago, my close friend Angela recommended I read The Girl on The Train.  She says she warned me to be careful with the title, and though I don’t doubt that (she has a flawless memory) obviously, I forgot.  

Last weekend, we had brunch while she was changing from a train to a plane in Chicago. In conversation I told her I had started the book and was around page 100.  In briefly discussing the plot however, we weren’t making a/the connection. Ends up I caught on the wrong train.  But, it wasn’t a bad trip.  It also turns out that I’m not the only person to make this mistake because sales of Girl on a Train by A J Waines are surging.

While considered “new” in the US market, Waines is a best-selling author in Great Britain with such titles as: Dark Places to Hide, The Evil Beneath, and No Longer Safe.  You can tell by her titles that psychological thrillers and crime stories are her specialty.  She’s less gritty than Sara Parestky, and less political than Matt Benyon Rees, standing comfortably on her own.

The plot of Girl on a Train begins – obviously -- with a train, boarding at Portsmouth, England. Anna Rothman, the lead character who is a freelance journalist, sits next to a young woman who seems merely aloof at first and then later crosses over to out-and-out stressed.  Both are headed back to London. 

Yet when the train stops at an intermediate station, this other passenger will exit, but not before secretly slipping a locket into Anna’s carry-on.  While in the station, Anna’s carry-on gets stolen, but then abandoned by the thief without anything of value, including the locket, being taken.   

When the train commences again, it hits and kills a pedestrian, who is of course the stressed out young woman.  The rest of the novel entails the “why” of the locket and some improbable clues and subplots.  Police are determined to call it a suicide, Anna thinks otherwise.

The rule of thumb for grading a mystery novel is was it suspenseful?  “A” train begins its trip rather slowly, but then speeds into the Station quite fast. 

Recommendation: Yes, and I’ll probably read some of her other books.  Oh, I’ll also read The Girl on “The” Train.

City on Fire (2015) By Garth Risk Hallberg

At a mammoth 903 pages, City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg provides ample proof there really are only six degrees of separation.  By the novel’s end, we’ve met everyone in New York, or at least their stand-in, and have had to draw a genealogy-like chart to connect them.  It’s a suspense filled book, with a convoluted plot (my only criticism).  But, let me emphasize, it is a phenomenal read.

How does one begin to summarize this book without providing a spoiler?  Not an easy task.

It’s set mostly in Manhattan and the Bronx, with chapters in Brooklyn Heights, Staten Island, and for suburban angst, trips to Long Island.  The time frame is 1977, the bicentennial is over, disco is reigning, punk is rebelling, and the plague has not yet arrived.  It is the time period immortalized by images of subway graffiti.  Oh, and the finale happens during a city-wide electricity blackout.

In reality, the main character is New York.  The supporting cast includes many people, and it would be difficult to single out just one, they all play significant roles.  In no particular order:

• William – the gay son of the Hamilton-Sweeney bluebloods.
• Regan – William’s sister
• Charlie – the epitome of suburban wannabee part of the action.
• Sam(antha) – the epitome of suburban girl who is part of the action.
• Keith – who is married to Regan, and having an affair with Sam
• Mercer – William’s boyfriend
• Amory – a.k.a. Demon Brother, William & Regan’s step-Uncle.
• Richard – a reporter
• Dr. Zig – a radio shock jock
• Larry – a NYC police detective
• Sewer Girl, Sol, DT, Jenny and many more … and Ex Post-Facto, the punk rock group that connects the dots.

I will often “dog-ear” pages when I read a book, and did so twice with City on Fire because of short quotes that so perfectly capture a larger topic.

The first was to mark a passage from a chapter about the riots that occur during the blackout, Mercer gets attacked when he tries to prevent a school from being ransacked.  He gets rescued by a drag queen named Venus de Nylon.  “I had no idea you had it in you,” says Mercer to his rescuer.  Venus’ response:  “No one ever does, Mercer, until they get pushed too far” – a clear flashback to the start of the modern day gay rights movement a few blocks away (New York, 1969) when drag queens led the counter-charge during a police raid on the Stonewall Inn.

It was like a waiting room where they kept not calling your name.

My other “dog ear” is from a flash forward.  It alludes to one of the gay characters who later contracted AIDS, as he is being treated with early, less effective drug regimens: “They put him on drugs, things went up and down, but he lived.  He lived.  It was like a waiting room where they kept not calling your name.”  An entire genre of books has been written on this subject.  Hallberg got it in one sentence.

Recommendation:  I loved the book, convoluted plot or not.  Do I recommend it?  Hard to say, you may have to make that call yourself.  There is a lot of "airing of dirty laundry" in this book, particularly on the 70's rampant sex and drug culture, but I cannot say there are any inaccuracies. What I can say is there is a lot in this book that many will not want to read, and others will deny.