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Review: Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton
Barb Husch, Forestville Library
May Multicultural Book Group
"In 1551, King Joao III of Portugal gave Archduke Maximilian an unusual wedding present: an elephant named Solomon. The elephant's journey from Lisbon to Vienna was witnessed and remarked upon by scholars, historians, and ordinary people--and serves as the foundation for this witty tale of friendship and adventure. Jose Saramago's "The Elephant's Journey" tells the story of Solomon. The elephant's journey from Lisbon to Vienna was witnessed and remarked upon by scholars, historians, and ordinary people--and serves as the foundation for this witty tale of friendship and adventure."
"The Elephant's Journey" book review by Ursula LeGuin in The Guardian
Jose Sarmago on video:
UCLA From Memory to Fiction through History with Jose Saramago
February Multicultural Book Group
This month the Multicultural Book Group read a novel that takes us between Kalimpong, a tiny Indian town in the shadow of the Himalayas to the world of illegal immigrants in New York City.
More on Kiran Desai:
December Multicultural Book Group
This month the focus of the book group is the Phillipines. The title of the book, Ilustrado, has its roots in the early Spanish colonial history of the country. The Ilustrado were an educated class that developed after the Spanish introduced public education in the 1860's.
Miguel Syjuco's book has won a number of awards and was given an impressive list of starred reviews by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist, and more. This is a very stylish and creative work that really brings the writer, Crispin Salvador to life.
More on the book:
A discussion of the book on WorldLiteratureForum.com
Miguel Syjuco speaking about the book:
Lincoln Book Discussion
HISTORY BOOK DISCUSSION
with JOHN HARRIS
Sturgeon Bay Library
Thursday, November 11 at 6:30 pm
History and Lincoln buffs: Read the book BLOOD ON THE MOON: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Edward Steers Jr. and join the discussion led by JOHN HARRIS. Be prepared for a lively discussion: this book makes new and provacative claims about a conspiracy surrounding Abraham Lincoln's assasination. Books are available for borrowing through the library catalog. Or you can preview most of the book at
Google Books: Blood on the Moon by Edward Steers Jr.
If you don't have time to read the book, join us anyway for the discussion.
September Multicultural Book Group
Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama is the poignant story of a young girl's life in the silk trade of pre-WWII China. This novel captures the dynamics of one life in a way that reflectives on the place of women in China in the 1920's and shows Chinese culture, values and family structure.
We had a wonderful presentation on the silk industry in China at last month's Multicultural Book Group. For anyone who missed it, there is a wealth of background information available:
More on the Dragon Boat Festival
Recipe for Jong, Pei's favorite dish
August Multicultural Book Group
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery is the book selection for August. This is the story of the residents of a posh apartment building in Paris as told by a couple of quirky characters who live there. Renée Michel is the concierge who pretends to be simple, but who is in reality an intellectual autodidact. Paloma Josse is a 12 year old who belongs to one of the wealthy families who lives in the building.
Muriel Barbery is a philosophy professor. Her book is full of philosophical and literary references. It's hard to keep up at times. To brush up on philosophy, listen to Michael Sandel's lectures from Harvard in an online class called Justice. Episode 6 and 7 cover Kant.
Is Paloma's interest in philosophy a realistic or believable protrayal of a 12 year old child? In fact, exposing children to philosophy is very popular in France.
And then there's the movie. It's not yet available in the United States but it looks good:
More on the book:
The Elegance of the Hedgehog on Wikipedia
July Multicultural Book Group
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayles is the book selection for July. It is a fairly light, entertaining and humorous travel journal about a British couple's first year of experiences adjusting to life in Provence, France. Provence could be Door County. The story sounds familiar, a newly retired couple adjusts to life in a beautiful, idealic location full of interesting "characters."
For those who really enjoy the book, check out the DVD's of a television series based on the book.
A Year in Provence television series
More information:
May Multicultural Books - The Secret Scripture
Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture, is set in Sligo, Ireland as are all of his novels. He writes about the places he knows and incorporates the stories he heard as a child from his mother. In an interview the author describes how this book is fiction but the concept is based on his great aunt who lived in an asylum much of her life. According to Sebastian Barry, people were not only placed in asylums for medical reasons, but also for moral reasons, such as having a child out of wedlock.
What were these asylums like? A website that documents the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum in photographs describes the history of an asylum in Menston, Yorkshire, England. One inmate from this asylum was committed for having "milk fever."
St. Columbus Lunatic Asylum is the asylum in The Secret Scripture and the building itself, like the asylum in Yorkshire, is a beautiful and impressive structure reminicent of a palace. In modern days it has been turned into a luxury hotel, The Clarion Hotel Sligo.
Sebastian Barry reads from the Secret Scripture : Roseanne's testimony of herself
Finally, a fun review of Sebastian Barry from Prairie Lights bookstore in Iowa :
“WORST CASE” by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
The son of a wealthy family is snatched off the street and held hostage by a man who considers himself to be the ultimate environmentalist, amongst other obsessions. Detective Michael Bennett and Special Agent Emily Barker (FBI) must find the killer as he systematically kidnaps the children of rich parents. the killer quizzes the kids for the price of their life on issues involving the price some pay for the luxury of others. Fast paced thriller, with some romance; the Nanny of Michael’s numerous adopted kids seems to be having mixed feelings, plus Special Agent Emily is attracted to our detective's warm personality. This new novel is good read reminiscent of previous books written by Patterson.
-Barb, Forestville Library