Marilyn's Bookshelf

August 2012

Dallas, Sandra, Whiter than Snow (August 2012)

In a small gold-mining town high in the Colorado Rockies, an avalanche kills seven children on their way home from school.  This happens in the first chapter.  The succeeding chapters talk about the lives of the various parents – two estranged sisters, a Civil War veteran, a black mine worker, and a prostitute.  Each of the stories is intense and poignant.  In the end, there are connections made, but Dallas is never gratuitous or moralistic. Another masterpiece by Dallas.

Marilyn's Bookshelf

July 2012

See, Lisa, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (June 20120

     Set in 19^th century China in a remote province, two seven-year-old girls are matched (almost as in a traditional marriage) as “old sames,” to remain life-long sister friends.  This is still in the days of tortuous foot-binding for tiny feet only 7 centimeters long and many, many family and cultural traditions.  These two girls, Lily and Snow Flower, share many experiences over a lifetime, some of which are written in a secret women’s language, nu shu, on a delicate fan which is passed back and forth between them.  Told from the point of view of Lily, the story weaves through both lives, marriages, children, escape during a rebel uprising against the Chinese government, and sickness.  The Chinese traditions are described – good and bad – in charming detail, much of which would be impossible for us to imagine.  The poetry from Snow Flower is especially poignant, and her life is not what it appears to be.  A delightful read.

Marilyn's Bookshelf

Handley, George B.,  Home Waters: A Year of Recompenses on the Provo River    

I understand that a year or so ago, George Handley (Ken and Kate’s son) was invited to present at a Relief Society event which welcomed both men and women.  Don’t know why I would have missed it, but after reading Handley’s transcendent book, I know I would never make the same mistake again.

BYU English professor, scholar and essayist, Handley has created an amazing tour de force by combining thoughts on faith, family, place, history, poetry, and environment.  His basic premise begins when he returns to Utah with his family after having been raised in Connecticut and working in California.  He wonders if he will be able to “fit in” to his perceived narrow vision of Utah Valley. However, he takes it upon himself to discover and explore the headwaters and tributaries of the Provo River, where he hikes, rambles and flyfishes (it brings to mind Norman McLean’s memorableA River Runs Through It).  But this is indeed more than just an exploration of the river, land and mountains, it examines in philosophical language that is more poetic than prose, ideas that encompass and intertwine all of these ideas in a fashion that entrances and enchants, as well as entices one to explore the passages of one’s own place in family, history, faith, and environment.  Published by the prestigious University of Utah Press, this is a book not to be missed.  It will rank up there with my all-time favs, not only because of its depth of subject, the beauty of language, and the magnificence of intellectual discovery.

Marilyn's Bookshelf

April 2012

Brooks, Geraldine, Caleb’s Crossing (March 2012)

     Brooks, a resident of Martha’s Vineyard, has set this novel in the early 17^th century on the Vineyard, and takes the plot from an actual early Native American, Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the first Native American to graduate from the newly-established Harvard College (1665).  Little is known about Caleb, and there is only one extant document, written in Latin in his own hand, from which she creates her tale.  Her main character, however, is Bethia Mayfield, daughter of a forward-thinking preacher whose mission is to educate the Native Americans in of the Wampanoag tribe on the island and particularly to teach them of Christ.  Bethia befriends Caleb when they are both children.  The friendship continues when Bethia, although far below her status and intelligence, is indentured as a servant to one of the teachers at Harvard where Caleb also is being educated as a student.  Brooks has done a great deal of research about the early days of white settlement on the Vineyard, and also the patterns of speech and the moirés of the day, which is the part I found most interesting about the novel.  The romantic aspects of the novel nudges toward the cliché, but worth the read if for nothing else but the elements of the early Puritan settlement and the early days of Harvard

Marilyn's Bookshelf

February and March 2012

McCullough, David, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris           

Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough has written a sweeping account of American painters, authors, sculptors, and authors who journeyed to Paris in the 19^th century.  Most of these artists considered Paris the mecca of artistic inspiration and production.  With a bibliography to astound even the most cynical of readers, McCullough has gathered information on John Singer Sargent, Henry James, Mary Cassatt, and many, many others, as they all found a niche among, not only their fellow compatriots, but also the artistic community in Paris. We learn various tidbits about their lives and their work, their successes and ideas.  McCullough even includes mention of a group of Mormon painters who went to Paris to study art, sponsored by the LDS Church in order to supply murals for the Salt Lake Temple (although we have many more paintings from them, as well).  Even through the war with Prussia in 1870-72, many of these artists stayed, when Parisians were eating rats to survive.  Some left Paris to return to America, and others returned on subsequent visits, yearning for the inspiration they found in Paris.  You can listen on CD, but I also got the book from the library, because there are three extensive sections of pictures, denoting many of the famous works that McCullough describes in his book.  McCullough has written many other historical works, all of which I would highly recommend.

Marilyn's Bookshelf

November 2011

Dougan, Terrell, That Went Well: Adventures in Caring for My Sister

      I met Terrell in Junior League many years ago.  She has been active in Salt Lake in volunteer work and is a journalist.  Terrell’s sister, Irene, was born six years her junior, in a long and arduous birth which may have contributed to her mental disability.  Although she cannot read or write, she is somewhat independent if living with a care-giver or in a group home.  Terrell is absolutely honest in her frustration with not only Irene, but also the care-givers, the programs of one sort or another, with funding for help, with those who meet and react to Irene in various ways.  She tells of hysterical experiences and tragic ones, of situations that would drive her to sleepless nights and tears, and wondering how in the world she would continue to deal with Irene (parents now are long gone).  But help always seems to arrive at just the right moment, and even though Terrell is a lapsed Mormon (her own admission), she is grateful to her higher power for many blessings which come in strange ways, like an uncle who offered to buy Irene a house for Irene and her care-giver, so that Irene would be closer to Terrell and in her own house.  Quite an amazing story, written from the heart.

December 2011

Dallas, Sandra, Tallgrass,    

      Authored by an East High graduate in the class of some of my colleagiate friends, this is the story of the Stroud family who live in the small town of the imaginary town of Ellis, Colorado.  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, many Japanese internment camps were created across America to house those of Japanese descent.  Tallgrass, a Japanese internment camp, situated just beyond the Stoud farm, was based on an actual internment camp in Colorado.  Dallas creates an intriguing tale of how many families in this small town become embroiled in the uncalled-for hatred of any and all Japanese.  The Strouds take a different view.  After a murder of a young girl in town, many in the town attribute the heinous crime to one of the residents of Tallgrass.  Rennie Stroud, fourteen years old, is the main character in the book, but we quickly become involved with many of the townspeople and many of the Japanese as well.  We learn that this is a complicated business.

Marilyn's Book Shelf

August 2011

Binchy, Maeve, The Lilac Bus

This would be a lovely, gentle novel for a lazy summer in August. Maeve Binchy writes mostly of Ireland, and there is little to dislike about her novels. Every Friday night, in this one, eight very different individuals board the bus from Dublin to their home town of Rathdoon, Ireland, to spend the weekend. Binchy spins a tale for each. Although their tales are quite separate, because Rathdoon is so small, their paths inevitably cross. Quite charming.

Marilyn's Bookshelf

July 2011

Stockett, Kathryn, The Help (June 2011)

            Although I am usually a little skeptical of so-called best-sellers, this novel is excellent.  Set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, the novel portrays the relationships between white female employers and their black maids.  We are introduced to a culture that, in the sixties,  still resonates with discrimination and retaliation for blacks no matter how small the implication of wrongdoing.  Skeeter, a white woman recently graduated from college with a passion for writing, decides to elicit the help of one of the black maids, Abilene, in describing this tenuous relationship between employers and maids.  Skeeter has an interest from a New York publisher but must find at least twelve black maids to cooperate and give her their stories.  Although she promises anonymity to each of the maids, there is a very real threat if it is discovered that any of the maids is one of the characters in the book. The threat could be loss of a job or the distinct possibility of violence to any of the black families, of course from sources unknown.  As a sub-text is the relationship between Skeeter and her old-school mother whose main purpose is to see Skeeter married to someone of “class,” and while she tries to make over her daughter, Skeeter forges her own course in life and eventually takes a job in New York after her book is published.  Stockett was raised in Mississippi, so she speaks from personal knowledge.  However, she herself admits that it can never be assumed that a white writer can actually speak for the black point of view.  I would imagine that unless you had some experience in the South, this story would seem incomprehensible.  As it is, it gives us a glimpse into a part of the history of the United State of which we should all be ashamed.

Marilyn's Bookshelf: September

Boorstin, Daniel J., The Discoverers

Even though I said that my favorite reading genre is fiction, this magnificent non-fiction book is one of my all-time favorites and is always on my list of best recommends.  Written by historian and former Library of Congress librarian (1975 to 1987), Boorstin has given us a sweeping view of many different discoveries which have led to man’s understanding of his world.  Although technically it is an account of history and science, his prose is so riveting and fascinating that you never feel as though you are being lectured. One of the first ideas he deals with in the book is the concept of “time” and how man learned to measure it. By leading us gently through the dilemma before sundials, clocks, and even the concept of a 24-hour day, Boorstin engages us in the very basic issues that man had to deal with in order to move forward in societal engagements.  This is only one of dozens of startling discoveries that capture our attention.  The book is divided naturally into sections, and one could either read it straight through or take it piecemeal.  Happily all of the reference notes are grouped in an appendix at the back so you won’t be distracted with superscript or footnotes.  The almost 700 pages may seem daunting, but I guarantee the book will be well worth your time.

Marilyn's Book Shelf

August 2010

Barr, Nevada, Blind Descent

One more book for the summer – a thriller, which you don’t have to think about too deeply (no pun intended).  This is one of a series of the Anna Pigeon mysteries.  Anna, a National Park Service ranger is asked to be a part of a rescue operation in a neighboring cave to Carslbad Caverns, called, Lechuguilla, a relatively unexplored cave with some extremely difficult passages.  The reason Anna has been asked to participate is because one of her dear friends has been injured in the cave.  As Anna talks to her injured friend Frieda, she discovers that there may be some suspicious circumstances about the cave and the injury.  Full of twists and turns and the terrors of caving, this proved to be a fascinating tale with the various characters Anna’s friends, the NPS, and others.  A great read.  If you choose, it is available on CD, read by Barbara Rosenblatt.  I always have a book on CD going in my car besides what I’m reading at home.  It is amazing how much you can “read” just doing errands.

Marilyn's Bookshelf

Marilyn’s Book Shelf

This is a new feature of the RS Presidency blog.  Hopefully, I’ll add a new book each month.  But first a few general observations about books.  We all have our favorite reading genres.  Mine is fiction because I love language and am fascinated with how authors tell us about life through a window into a story. But I branch into historical fiction, non-fiction and biography occasionally. 

Some of my cardinal rules:   I NEVER read a book unless I:  1) know something about the author or have read something by the author before; 2) have read a review by a trusted source; or 3) have the book recommended to me by someone I trust.  I NEVER buy “check-out-stand” novels – the ones in small paperback format which are written by formula and usually sensational. I ALWAYS keep a record of everything I read – just a short summary, because sometimes, even the next day, I can’t remember the name of the main character. 

That said, I’ll try to give you a variety of titles and include a brief summary and why I think the book is worthy of your reading time.  I’m always available by phone 801/582-6176 or email: msmolka@mtnstream.com for other recommendations.

July’s Recommendation

Lee, Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird

If you missed reading this superb book when you were in high school, you owe it to yourself to read this classic piece of literature, especially since this is the fifty-year anniversary of its debut.  Published in 1960, it has remained one of the best-selling social commentaries ever since.  Harper Lee was often asked why she never wrote another book.  Her answer was that she thought she could never write anything as good.  Based loosely on an actual event that occurred in 1936 when Lee was ten years old, we are introduced to widower and attorney Atticus Finch and his gutsy daughter Scout.  This was a novel about social commentary and racial prejudice long before its time.  True, the movie starring Gregory Peck was excellent, and the play is gripping, but of course the book is better.  Atticus defends a young black man who has been accused of raping a white woman in a southern town, a presupposed conviction.  Atticus as a wise father and courageous attorney is portrayed in an unforgettable manner.  It would be a great read for your teenaged kids as well.  Even better, you could read it together.  Even teenagers  still like bedtime stories!