The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!


My current read is Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticatt. You can read my first post about the book here.

Synopsis from publisher:

From the best-selling author of The Dew Breaker, a major work of nonfiction: a powerfully moving family story that centers around the men closest to her heart — her father, Mira, and his older brother, Joseph.

From the age of four, Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her "second father," when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for a better life in America. Listening to his sermons, sharing coconut-flavored ices on their walks through town, roaming through the house that held together many members of a colorful extended family, Edwidge grew profoundly attached to Joseph. He was the man who "knew all the verses for love."

And so she experiences a jumble of emotions when, at twelve, she joins her parents in New York City. She is at last reunited with her two youngest brothers, and with her mother and father, whom she has struggled to remember. But she must also leave behind Joseph and the only home she's ever known.

Edwidge tells of making a new life in a new country while fearing for the safety of those still in Haiti as the political situation deteriorates. But Brother I'm Dying soon becomes a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control. Late in 2004, his life threatened by an angry mob, forced to flee his church, the frail, eighty-one-year-old Joseph makes his way to Miami, where he thinks he will be safe. Instead, he is detained by U.S. Customs, held by the Department of Homeland Security, brutally imprisoned, and dead within days. It was a story that made headlines around the world. His brother, Mira, will soon join him in death, but not before he holds hope in his arms: Edwidge's firstborn, who will bear his name — and the family's stories, both joyous and tragic — into the next generation.

Told with tremendous feeling, this is a true-life epic on an intimate scale: a deeply affecting story of home and family — of two men's lives and deaths, and of a daughter's great love for them both.

My thoughts so far:

In this section of the book, Danticatt tells two stories that illustrate clearly the struggles and dangers of life in Haiti in the 1970s. The first story, about her cousin Marie Micheline, shows the political turmoil that characterized the era.

Unwed and pregnant, Marie is sent away to live with relatives in a remote village so she won't bring shame to Uncle Joseph in the eyes of his congregation. While away, she gives birth to a daughter, and marries a young man willing to adopt her new baby.

However, her new husband joins the Tonton Macoutes, a group of pseudo-soldiers sanctioned by the government who are basically given free reign to terrorize the citizens of Haiti. When he decides he doesn't like Marie's behavior, he tells her she is not allowed to see anyone, and hides her away from her family. Uncle Joseph decides to rescue her, and finds her beaten and sick, with a husband who has many such girls in similar situations. He has to sneak her away in secret, because if her husband found out he could exact whatever revenge he desired, with no repercussions. The fear and secrecy perpetrated by the Macoutes was palpable - Joseph clearly risked his life to save Marie.

The second story was of how Edwidge and her brother, Bob, were finally able to join their parents in America. After several rounds of medical testing, it was determined that both children had non-reactive tuberculosis. After six long months of treatment, the consulate finally decided to allow the children to move to America. Unsure of whether or not they would ever see their family in Haiti again, Edwidge and Bob board a plane to a new country, and a new life.

Again in this section of the book, the author illustrates how her family was acquainted with the specter of death. Marie is nearly killed by her husband. Edwidge and Bob are diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, and then must board a plane - alone - with all the uncertainty that entails. She continuously weaves the shadow of death through the story, but it never seems grisly or bleak - it is, once again, just a part of life.

This is such a good book. I'm at the halfway point now, and might have to read the rest of it all at once. It's the kind of book that is hard to put down - the writing is good, and the story so interesting. You should probably go get this one.....=)

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!


My current read is Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticatt.

Synopsis from publisher:

From the best-selling author of The Dew Breaker, a major work of nonfiction: a powerfully moving family story that centers around the men closest to her heart — her father, Mira, and his older brother, Joseph.

From the age of four, Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her "second father," when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for a better life in America. Listening to his sermons, sharing coconut-flavored ices on their walks through town, roaming through the house that held together many members of a colorful extended family, Edwidge grew profoundly attached to Joseph. He was the man who "knew all the verses for love."

And so she experiences a jumble of emotions when, at twelve, she joins her parents in New York City. She is at last reunited with her two youngest brothers, and with her mother and father, whom she has struggled to remember. But she must also leave behind Joseph and the only home she's ever known.

Edwidge tells of making a new life in a new country while fearing for the safety of those still in Haiti as the political situation deteriorates. But Brother I'm Dying soon becomes a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control. Late in 2004, his life threatened by an angry mob, forced to flee his church, the frail, eighty-one-year-old Joseph makes his way to Miami, where he thinks he will be safe. Instead, he is detained by U.S. Customs, held by the Department of Homeland Security, brutally imprisoned, and dead within days. It was a story that made headlines around the world. His brother, Mira, will soon join him in death, but not before he holds hope in his arms: Edwidge's firstborn, who will bear his name — and the family's stories, both joyous and tragic — into the next generation.

Told with tremendous feeling, this is a true-life epic on an intimate scale: a deeply affecting story of home and family — of two men's lives and deaths, and of a daughter's great love for them both.

My thoughts so far:

A year or two ago, for my mom's birthday, I got her this Surprise Pack from Bas Bleu. (p.s. if you haven't found Bas Bleu yet...well, you probably shouldn't start, because it is just too much fun.) One of the books that came in that pack was Brother, I'm Dying. I was interested right away, because I'd read The Dew Breaker and found it to be riveting. When she loaned it to me a couple of months ago, and then last month mentioned I should think about reading it soon due to the current situation in Haiti, I knew I had to make it a priority.

The memoir opens with an auspicious day - the day the author discovers she is pregnant. It is also, somewhat tragically, the day she learns her father is dying. Her father has suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, a persistent, degenerative scarring and hardening of the lungs, and he is now clearly in the last stages of the disease. Unaware that her father knows the seriousness of his condition, she is surprised when he sits the family down together to talk about what will happen after he is gone. At that family meeting, his son Bob asks a significant question: "Have you enjoyed your life?"

The author's family seems to be at home with death in a way that is unusual by society's standards. That's not to say they are callous, or do not grieve the death of loved ones - they just seem to view death as natural and inevitable in ways that I'm not used to reading about. Perhaps this comes from the attitude of Edwidge's Uncle Joseph, who would say this at funerals:

"Death is a journey we all embark on from the moment we are born. An hourglass is turned and the sand starts to slip in a different direction as soon as we emerge from our mother's womb...But if we weep at death, it is because we do not understand death. If we saw death as another kind of birth, just as the Gospel exhorts us to, we wouldn't weep, but rejoice..."

She describes the day when she and her younger brother, along with a cousin, discover their dead grandmother in her bed. Instead of running and screaming, they very methodically went about analyzing the situation: they put a mirror in front of her mouth, and when it didn't fog with breath, they gently opened her eye. After determining that she was truly dead, they just as carefully lowered the lid they had opened.

The author also begins to tell the story of her life in Haiti as a young girl. Left behind by her parents who had immigrated to America, she was raised primarily by her Uncle Joseph and Aunt Denise. She discusses the hardships her mother, who was initially unable to join her father in America, faced trying to raise two children on her own. It's a fascinating look at the lives of the families left behind when people immigrate - in theory, the immigrants are looking to better the lives of their loved ones, but often their abrupt disappearance leaves confusion and fear in its wake, especially in the lives of young children. And then, when the children have finally adjusted to the reality of their new life, the immigrants return, disrupting their lives again.

I knew this would be an excellent read, and I haven't been disappointed. I'm going to have a hard time not reading this one straight through.

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read is Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother who Gave Her Away by June Cross. You can read my first post about this book here, and my second post here.


Synopsis from publisher:

June Cross was born in 1954 to Norma Booth, a glamorous, aspiring white actress, and James “Stump” Cross, a well-known black comedian. Sent by her mother to be raised by black friends when she was four years old and could no longer pass as white, June was plunged into the pain and confusion of a family divided by race. Secret Daughter tells her story of survival. It traces June’s astonishing discoveries about her mother and about her own fierce determination to thrive. This is an inspiring testimony to the endurance of love between mother and daughter, a child and her adoptive parents, and the power of community.


My final thoughts:

This final section of the book finds June really coming into her own, making decisions to please herself instead of her mother or Aunt Peggy. She pursues her own dreams of becoming a journalist, has relationships on her own terms, and begins to make peace with the lifetime of betrayal she has endured from her mother.

June decides to meet her father - for all of her life, she has thought of him as a drunk, a wife beater, and the man who abandoned her. However, when she meets him, she finds the story is not exactly as she had believed all her life. She is able to form a relationship with her father, and understand him in a way she had not thought possible. I am continually impressed with her ability to meet the people who hurt her in the past without bitterness or anger. I wonder if it is the journalist in her - she is able to put aside her own personal hurt, and just meet that person where they are.

I was most surprised when June asks her mother to take part in a documentary about their life story, and her mother agrees. While it doesn't go perfectly as planned, June is able to discover truths about her mother's life that tragically mirror her own. I'm so glad June's mother shared her story with June, who eventually shared it with us - while I still can't understand how she could leave her daughter, I can sympathize with the reasoning behind what she did.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. June's story is heartbreaking, but she doesn't tell it to portray herself as a victim. This book also gives readers an important look into race and class in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s in America. It's that great combination you sometimes find in nonfiction of historical impact and fascinating storytelling. Books like this are why I read nonfiction - go find a copy!

Finished: 2/13/10
Source: review copy from Author Marketing Experts - thank you!
Rating: 8/10

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read is Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother who Gave Her Away by June Cross. You can read my first post about this book here.

Synopsis from publisher:

June Cross was born in 1954 to Norma Booth, a glamorous, aspiring white actress, and James “Stump” Cross, a well-known black comedian. Sent by her mother to be raised by black friends when she was four years old and could no longer pass as white, June was plunged into the pain and confusion of a family divided by race. Secret Daughter tells her story of survival. It traces June’s astonishing discoveries about her mother and about her own fierce determination to thrive. This is an inspiring testimony to the endurance of love between mother and daughter, a child and her adoptive parents, and the power of community.

My thoughts so far:

Interestingly enough, I am finding myself even more involved in June's life as she gets older - she is beginning to look at life on her own terms, form her own opinions, and realize just what the decisions made by and for her have done to her life, and she becomes more fascinating as she grows.

June's mother continues to hurt her, coming up with stories about how she "adopted" the little girl across the hall, and even allowing a rumor to perpetrate that June was actually her stepfather's biological child from an affair he had with Pearl Bailey. It is an interesting comment on the society of the time that a mixed-race child born to a white man would have been significantly more acceptable than a mixed-race child born to a white woman.

June continues to struggle with issues of identity, trying to conform to both white and black expectations at different times in her life. In both communities she is challenged - for trying to "fit in" too much with white society, and for "pretending" to be truly black. For the first time, she is able to identify her feelings of anger at her mother, and at Aunt Peggy, for the deceptions of her childhood.

Probably the most painful part of the book so far for me was the section involving Uncle Paul's death. Paul was Aunt Peggy's husband, and had been the primary father figure in June's life after she was left with them by her mother. While they had tension in their relationship, they grew to genuinely love each other, and Paul encouraged June's interests in several areas. After his death, June discovered that she wasn't listed as one of is family members in the obituary, because she wasn't a "blood relative" - never mind that he had raised her for most of her life. I could feel June's pain as, once again, she was considered not worthy to be a part of the family. It was heartbreaking.

June tells her story with such courage and grace - still not pointing fingers or attaching blame, she simply lays out the circumstances as they happen. While she was obviously treated unfairly, she still clearly holds so much love for her mother and the other members of her family. I'm very interested to see where the relationships go now that June is done with college and heading off to make her way in the world.

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read is Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother who Gave Her Away by June Cross.

Synopsis from publisher:

June Cross was born in 1954 to Norma Booth, a glamorous, aspiring white actress, and James “Stump” Cross, a well-known black comedian. Sent by her mother to be raised by black friends when she was four years old and could no longer pass as white, June was plunged into the pain and confusion of a family divided by race. Secret Daughter tells her story of survival. It traces June’s astonishing discoveries about her mother and about her own fierce determination to thrive. This is an inspiring testimony to the endurance of love between mother and daughter, a child and her adoptive parents, and the power of community.


My thoughts so far:

I'm having a couple of different reactions to this book so far. Initially, I found myself feeling extremely angry with June's mother - she seemed to make a string of pretty poor choices, which led her to virtually abandon June because she was "inconvenient". I also felt angry with Aunt Peggy, the woman who raised June, because while I understand she took in June as a kindness, and truly loved her and took care of her the best she could, she also enabled June's mother in relinquishing her responsibilities.

But as I read further, I started to understand her decision better. I still don't know that I think what she did was okay, but I get that she probably felt like she didn't have other options, and that what she did was in June's best interest. She did at least provide a safe, caring environment for her daughter, and I could appreciate that.

June is still a girl throughout the first section of the book, so much of the time she is confused and unsure as she tries to figure out how to navigate between the two different worlds she is forced to live in. It's impossible not to feel for her - I felt like I just wanted to hug her much of the time. She is obviously very close to the story, and yet is able to talk about her mother without bitterness. It's clear the two had an odd but ultimately loving relationship.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the portrayal of race relations in the 1950s and 60s. In particular, the discussion of "passing" and it's importance at the time has been fascinating. I'm looking forward to the next stage of June's journey.

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!


My current read is Nothing To Do But Stay: My Pioneer Mother by Carrie Young.

Synopsis from publisher:

Carrine Gafkjen was, as her daughter remembers, at once the most liberated and unliberated of women. If she had considered the subject at all she would have thought it a waste of time. She firmly believed in destiny; what fate planned for her she dealt with head-on.

In the early 1900s the twenty-five-year-old Gafkjen boarded a train from Minneapolis to claim a homestead for herself on the western North Dakota prairies. She lived alone in her claim shack, barred her door at night against the coyotes, existed on potatoes and salt, and walked five miles to the nearest creek to wash her clothes. A decade later she had, by her own ingenuity, doubled her landholdings and became a secure women of property. Then, at an age when most other women would have been declared spinsters, Carrine Gafkjen married Sever Berg and had six children.

Nothing to Do but Stay tells the story of this uncommon woman with warmth and good humor. It gives testimony to the lasting spirit of our pioneer heritage and, in these uncertain times, to the staying power of family and tradition. This book will appeal to all those with an interest in the settlement of the West, the history of the Great Plains, women's studies, and the perseverance of the early-twentieth-century farmers.

My thoughts:

Normally I read nonfiction books over the course of a few days to a couple of weeks, but I gobbled this small book up in one sitting. Less a linear narrative and more a series of essays about life as a pioneer, this is a quiet testimony to a type of strength we just don't see anymore.

I knew I would like the author's mother from the first sentences - "My pioneer mother was wild for education. She firmly believed that young people given enough schooling and using the brains they were born with could rise above themselves as far as they wanted to go, the sky the limit." She lived that belief, giving each of her 6 children a high school and college education during a time when many had to stop going to school to help support the family.

Carrie's mother was strong - there is really no other way to describe her. She was strong of back, strong of mind, strong of purpose. She moved to North Dakota, bought her land with cash, worked and saved and made herself a prosperous farm - alone. She didn't have a family to support her, or husband to depend on - she made her own decisions, bore the consequences, and became extremely successful. Then, when she decided to have a family, she committed completely to the changes that life brought, and had a loving marriage and raised 6 happy, intelligent and well-adjusted children.

The author has a clean, simple way of telling a story. She doesn't create drama where it doesn't exist, but allows the reader to experience the struggle and joy of life as a homesteader as it happened. One of my favorite examples is this story of her mother's weekly laundry routine:

"My mother spent every Monday from dawn until late afternoon doing the family wash. It was probably no accident that four out of six of her children were born on Tuesday.

If she wasn't having a baby on Tuesday, my mother ironed. She had three flatirons, which she heated on top of her kitchen range and which she lifted with a detachable handle. She changed irons about every ten minutes as they cooled off. When I awakened on Tuesday morning, I could hear my mother ironing. The handle squeaked as it was pushed against the flatiron moving across the ironing board. One Christmas my father bought her an outsized gasoline iron, which was equipped with a small gas tank on the back; it had to be generated like a gas lamp before being lit. My mother loved that iron. It had such a large smooth surface, and she didn't have to heat up the coal range as she did with her old flatirons. But all day the carbon monoxide fumes drifted up in her face, and by the end of the day she had a splitting headache. Still, she refused to give it up; she thought the headaches were worth the time it saved. One Tuesday, however, she was in a hurry, and she didn't generate the iron long enough. It started to puff, and she hurled it out the kitchen door a second before it burst into flames. It couldn't have happened to a nicer piece of equipment."

If I have a quibble about the book, it's that I was expecting a bit MORE about the author's mom - while she is certainly featured, the story is as much about the entire family as it is about one person. I did enjoy the family vignettes, but found Carrie's mother to be the most interesting, and would have loved to read even more about her.

This is a quick read, and I think it would have wide appeal. It would be a good book for someone who doesn't have a lot of time to read - each chapter is basically a complete story, and this would be a volume that could be dipped into if you only have a few minutes to read each day. I think it would also be appropriate for young adult readers. It's not story-driven, but rather glimpses of a lifestyle that has passed us by.

Finished: 1/9/10
Source: my shelves
Rating: 8/10


This book counts toward:



Women Unbound Reading Challenge - book 1/8


















The 4 Month Challenge - book 2/20

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read is Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes On in the Kitchen by Dalia Jurgensen. You can read my previous posts about this book here and here.

Synopsis from publisher:

Spiced is Dalia Jurgensen's memoir of leaving her office job and pursuing her dream of becoming a chef. Eventually landing the job of pastry chef for a three-star New York restaurant, she recounts with endearing candor the dry cakes and burned pots of her early internships, and the sweat, sheer determination, and finely tuned taste buds-as well as resilient ego and sense of humor-that won her spots in world-class restaurant kitchens. With wit and an appreciation for raunchy insults, she reveals the secrets to holding your own in male-dominated kitchens, surviving after-hours staff parties, and turning out perfect plates when you know you're cooking for a poorly disguised restaurant critic. She even confesses to a clandestine romance with her chef and boss-not to mention what it's like to work in Martha Stewart's TV kitchen-and the ugly truth behind the much-mythologized family meal.


My final thoughts:

Jurgensen concludes her story of life and work as a pastry chef with her job in a 3-star restaurant. In many ways this is her best job, as she has complete control over her dessert menu, better working conditions, and a much better schedule. However, she experiences the full brunt of workplace tension, as the staff around her subject each other to harassment, sexual innuendo, and full-on aggression. By the end of her book, she is looking to the future, wondering if she will be able to continue working in her current position in the restaurant world.

This was probably my least favorite part of the book, although the tone and style remain as entertaining as before. Jurgensen chooses to share, in great detail, the seedier parts of restaurant life, and I just didn't care that much about those details.

She was working in New York during 9/11, and her restaurant's response to the tragedy was remarkable. Basically shutting down regular service, they spent several days preparing and serving food to search-and-rescue workers, medical personnel, and survivors, walking the food to ground zero themselves. Eventually they became a sort of control center for the many restaurants, distributors, and other food services who came together to help in the rescue efforts. Of all the stories of 9/11, I hadn't heard this one before, and it was a pleasure to read.

In general, Spiced was a lot of fun. It reminded me in many ways of Top Chef, one of my favorite TV shows, and was a great read for this busy time of year. My biggest complaint is that Jurgensen didn't share recipes for any of the countless yummy-sounding desserts she talks about making - however, if you look on her blog (My Spiced Life), you can find a few, including a brownie recipe you can bet I'm going to try. Ultimately, Jurgensen isn't probably going to change your life, but I bet she'll give you a few hours of entertainment, and probably make you a little bit hungry, too!

Finished: 12/23/09
Source: the publisher - thank you!
Rating: 7/10

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read is Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes On in the Kitchen by Dalia Jurgensen. You can read my first post about the book here.

Synopsis from publisher:

Spiced is Dalia Jurgensen's memoir of leaving her office job and pursuing her dream of becoming a chef. Eventually landing the job of pastry chef for a three-star New York restaurant, she recounts with endearing candor the dry cakes and burned pots of her early internships, and the sweat, sheer determination, and finely tuned taste buds-as well as resilient ego and sense of humor-that won her spots in world-class restaurant kitchens. With wit and an appreciation for raunchy insults, she reveals the secrets to holding your own in male-dominated kitchens, surviving after-hours staff parties, and turning out perfect plates when you know you're cooking for a poorly disguised restaurant critic. She even confesses to a clandestine romance with her chef and boss-not to mention what it's like to work in Martha Stewart's TV kitchen-and the ugly truth behind the much-mythologized family meal.


My thoughts so far:

In this second part of the book, Jurgensen's story starts to take a turn toward reality. So far, her journey as a chef has been, quite honestly, pretty smooth. She's had to work hard, but all her bosses have been supportive, her skills have stood the test, and she's worked for very successful restaurants.

However, now she accepts a job in a kitchen that is a confirmed "boy's club", and finds herself ignored at best, and harassed on a regular basis. After leaving that job, she finds herself working in a better climate, but in a restaurant that is not considered memorable by the critics, and ultimately won't ever be a success.

I found this part of the narrative more interesting, because it shows the side of restaurant work that isn't all smiles and great reviews. Things get tough, and Jurgensen has to just push through. She also talks about her relationships - or lack thereof - and I'm reminded again what an all-encompassing job being a chef really is.

This is still a quick, fun read, and it's working well for me at this time of year. I expect I will be done with it in no time!

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read is Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes On in the Kitchen by Dalia Jurgensen

Synopsis from publisher:

Spiced is Dalia Jurgensen's memoir of leaving her office job and pursuing her dream of becoming a chef. Eventually landing the job of pastry chef for a three-star New York restaurant, she recounts with endearing candor the dry cakes and burned pots of her early internships, and the sweat, sheer determination, and finely tuned taste buds-as well as resilient ego and sense of humor-that won her spots in world-class restaurant kitchens. With wit and an appreciation for raunchy insults, she reveals the secrets to holding your own in male-dominated kitchens, surviving after-hours staff parties, and turning out perfect plates when you know you're cooking for a poorly disguised restaurant critic. She even confesses to a clandestine romance with her chef and boss-not to mention what it's like to work in Martha Stewart's TV kitchen-and the ugly truth behind the much-mythologized family meal.


My thoughts:

I needed something light after finishing up a couple of very heavy reads, and Spiced has perfectly fit that bill. It's just been an easy read, fun and entertaining, which is just what I was hoping for.

Dalia Jurgensen always wanted to cook, and so she enrolled in cooking school, quit her job, and weaseled her want into a entry-level position at the famous Nobu in New York. Her new boss didn't care that she had no experience - that just meant she didn't have any bad habits he would need to break. She was initially miserably bad at her job, and then better, and then quite good. She got a better job at a newer restaurant, and eventually worked her way up to grill chef. Then, inexplicably, she decided she needed to take a break, which is where I left the story this week.

Jurgensen tells her story in a friendly, conversational style, which has been a pleasure to read. She doesn't gloss over her failings, even recounting the time when she burned an actual hole in a metal pan. She seems to be remarkably quick at picking up the nuances of her job, and her reactions to stressful situations are impressively cool and collected. She seems to be the type of person who would be fun to hang out with, so it's easy to root for her as she pursues her dreams.

I don't know that this will have any deep life lessons to impart, but it's a lot of fun, which is perfect for this busy time of year.

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann. You can read my first post about this book here, and my second post here.

Synopsis from publisher:

After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century": What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z?

In 1925 Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world’s largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humankind. But Fawcett, whose daring expeditions helped inspire Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, had spent years building his scientific case. Captivating the imagination of millions around the globe, Fawcett embarked with his twenty-one-year-old son, determined to prove that this ancient civilization—which he dubbed “Z”—existed. Then he and his expedition vanished.

Fawcett’s fate—and the tantalizing clues he left behind about “Z”—became an obsession for hundreds who followed him into the uncharted wilderness. For decades scientists and adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett’s party and the lost City of Z. Countless have perished, been captured by tribes, or gone mad. As David Grann delved ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Fawcett’s quest, and the greater mystery of what lies within the Amazon, he found himself, like the generations who preceded him, being irresistibly drawn into the jungle’s “green hell.” His quest for the truth and his stunning discoveries about Fawcett’s fate and “Z” form the heart of this complex, enthralling narrative.

My final thoughts:

This third and final portion of the book really felt like it became the author's story. Fawcett and his son have started out on their great mission to find the Lost City - and disappear. Fawcett's wife basically devotes the remainder of her life to talking people into searching for him, which eventually becomes quite sad. Not only does she refuse to consider that he might be dead, she lures a number of other explorers to their deaths in the jungle, searching for her lost husband. I said last week that I don't think I could have endured being the wife of an explorer like Fawcett - this just reinforced that in my mind. She literally spent her entire life trying to support her family on a pittance, and talking people - including herself - into believing he wasn't dead. She was consigned to wait for him for their whole marriage. Her own aspirations were never taken into account. I found her story much more tragic that Fawcett's - at least he got to live out his grand adventures. She was only allowed to imagine them.

The author himself finally makes it to the jungle, only to have everyone who hears about his journey basically call him crazy. He does find a guide to take him to the place where Fawcett was last seen, and talks to several members of the Kalapalo tribe, including one who was alive when Fawcett was last seen. All the stories seem to agree that Fawcett and his small party ventured into territory that the Kalapalo's warned him against entering, and was never seen again. Ironically, it appears Fawcett was nearly at the place he was searching - a vast civilization is being uncovered near the location Fawcett was trying to reach, that may be just exactly what he was looking for.

Grann's own journey was dangerous, although modern technology made it quite a bit less impossible than when Fawcett attempted the same travel. I admit to being a little disappointed that he was not able to find a conclusive end to Fawcett's story, but his decision to accept what he had learned and return home was, honestly, the only logical decision either one of these men made, as far as I am concerned.

I found this book to be completely compelling from start to finish. Grann weaves his dual narratives seamlessly together, and each story beautifully compliments the other. Fawcett is such a larger-than-life persona, almost mythological in nature, and yet Grann is able to prod beyond the surface to give readers a glimpse of the real man behind the myths. There are not many people in the world today with the same spirit of adventure and thirst for knowledge that Fawcett embodied, and reading about him was a fascinating experience.

I definitely recommend this book - it will appeal to a wide range of readers, and a little escape into the jungle might be just what you need to warm your chilly winter night!

Finished: 12/6/09
Source: the publisher - thank you!
Rating: 8/10

Don't just take my word for it! Here's what some other fabulous bloggers had to say:

At Home with Books
Trish's Reading Nook
A Lovely Shore Breeze

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann. You can read my first post about this book here.


Synopsis from publisher:

After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century": What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z?

In 1925 Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world’s largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humankind. But Fawcett, whose daring expeditions helped inspire Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, had spent years building his scientific case. Captivating the imagination of millions around the globe, Fawcett embarked with his twenty-one-year-old son, determined to prove that this ancient civilization—which he dubbed “Z”—existed. Then he and his expedition vanished.

Fawcett’s fate—and the tantalizing clues he left behind about “Z”—became an obsession for hundreds who followed him into the uncharted wilderness. For decades scientists and adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett’s party and the lost City of Z. Countless have perished, been captured by tribes, or gone mad. As David Grann delved ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Fawcett’s quest, and the greater mystery of what lies within the Amazon, he found himself, like the generations who preceded him, being irresistibly drawn into the jungle’s “green hell.” His quest for the truth and his stunning discoveries about Fawcett’s fate and “Z” form the heart of this complex, enthralling narrative.

My thoughts:

While this section of the book continues to chronicle the adventures of Fawcett in the Amazon, it also gives a glimpse into his life as a husband, father, and friend, which makes him seem much less a mythical hero, and much more a highly unique but definitely fallible human. We see him leaving his wife for years on end to pursue his dreams, never allowing her the privilege of joining him in the jungle. She clearly believed in the equality of the sexes, but it seems her husband the fearless adventurer was not quite ready to embrace that belief. He also had a strong sense of favoritism for Jack, his oldest son, who was athletic and strong. His younger son, Brian, felt that favoritism keenly, and suffered for it when Fawcett decided to take Jack on his mission to find the Lost City and leave Brian behind. I honestly can't imagine being his wife and kids, left alone for years at a time, never knowing if he would come home. I don't think I could ever make peace with that life.

We also see Fawcett start to formulate his ideas about the Lost City, and make his first (unsuccessful) attempt at finding it. I find myself reading with horror as the author describes the conditions of the explorers - near starvation, covered in parasitic insects, hallucinatory and diseased. I think the people who go on Survivor are crazy - this seems like complete madness. Why would you go through that kind of horrible experience, and then keep going back? I cannot relate in the slightest to this mindset, but I certainly find it fascinating.

Meanwhile, the author is preparing to make his own voyage into the Amazon, to see if he can uncover the whereabouts of Fawcett's lost excursion. As he is leaving, his wife says to him, "Don't be stupid." THAT made me snort my hot cocoa. Because there is so much about this crazy idea that is smart. But it makes for great reading, and I can't wait to see how the two stories converge.

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann


Synopsis from publisher:

After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century": What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z?

In 1925 Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world’s largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humankind. But Fawcett, whose daring expeditions helped inspire Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, had spent years building his scientific case. Captivating the imagination of millions around the globe, Fawcett embarked with his twenty-one-year-old son, determined to prove that this ancient civilization—which he dubbed “Z”—existed. Then he and his expedition vanished.

Fawcett’s fate—and the tantalizing clues he left behind about “Z”—became an obsession for hundreds who followed him into the uncharted wilderness. For decades scientists and adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett’s party and the lost City of Z. Countless have perished, been captured by tribes, or gone mad. As David Grann delved ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Fawcett’s quest, and the greater mystery of what lies within the Amazon, he found himself, like the generations who preceded him, being irresistibly drawn into the jungle’s “green hell.” His quest for the truth and his stunning discoveries about Fawcett’s fate and “Z” form the heart of this complex, enthralling narrative.

My thoughts:

I'm happy to say I'm back in the groove with this week's selection - once again, this is a great piece of nonfiction.

Percy Fawcett had a troubled upbringing, with each of his parents unable to provide any real affection. Fawcett later states that perhaps this lack of emotional support was good for him, as it forced him to turn inside himself for strength. A member of the British Artillary, it was at his post in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that Fawcett met the love of his life, his wife Nina, and discovered an obsession with discovery that would last the rest of his life.

Grann alternates Fawcett's story with his own tale, and each story is equally fascinating. Grann's wife is, understandably, skeptical when he proposes finding an explorer who disappeared 80 years before, but as he uncovers more details, he is unavoidably drawn into this incredible mystery.

In this section of the book, we see the beginnings of Fawcett's life as an explorer in the Amazon jungle, and the start of Grann's search to find an explanation for Fawcett's disappearance. We also learn about the beginnings of the Royal Geographical Society, which had as its goal to map the entire surface of the world. I think this is the first book I've ever read about explorers, and I am struck by just exactly how fragile and dangerous their world was. Setting off into the unknown, many times with not much more than the clothes on their backs and what little food they could stuff into a pack, these men and women set out to see what the world held. Many - maybe most - never came back. Grann says, "...these accounts made me aware of how much of the discovery of the world was based on failure rather than on success - on tactical errors and pipte dreams. The Society may have conquered the world, but not before the world had conquered its members."

I am thoroughly engrossed in the stories of Fawcett and Grann, and can't wait to see where their journies take them next.

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!


My current read: The Big Thaw: Travels in the Melting North by Ed Struzik
published 2009
278 pages

Synopsis from publisher:

Climate changes effects are reshaping the Arctic profoundly. Landscapes are being radically transformed, animal habitats are disappearing, and natural resources are being revealed to an energy-starved world. Veteran Arctic journalist Ed Struzik took eleven trips throughout the north to document this rapidly changing land, gaining unprecedented access to scientific expeditions, native communities and security and sovereignty experts.

The product of those trips, The Big Thaw is the only book that looks at global warmings wide-ranging impact on the Arctic. Struzik goes into the field with the worlds leading polar bear scientist, skis on melting glaciers with glaciologists, travels the Northwest Passage on an aging icebreaker and stalks a carnivorous rogue walrus with an Inuit hunter. His journeys bring him up close to some of the worlds most unique animals, from the iconic polar bear to the mysterious narwhal.

Struzik melds the vivid stories of his experiences with fascinating explorations of the Arctics past from the alligators and giant tortoises that inhabited the north 55 million years ago, to the 19th century explorers who died searching for the Open Polar Sea and its possible future as the center of international struggle, underground smuggling and ecological disaster.

My thoughts:

Well, it was bound to happen - I'd been on such a string of fascinating nonfiction reads that a snoozer was inevitable. For me, that's what this was. I have a couple of ideas about why it didn't work for me - here they are:

1. I hate winter and ice and snow, and this book is all about the Arctic. Yuck. I get that it's beautiful, and a great natural resource, and all that, but I'm getting all set to dread winter here in Iowa - I probably shouldn't have tried to read this book in this season. It just reminded me of all the reasons I'd like to move somewhere tropical for the next 4 months.

2. It was very "science-y" - and by that I mean, lots of stats, not so much story. And even that probably isn't completely fair, because the author does spend a good amount of time talking about where he went, and what he saw, and the people he came into contact with. It just had an overall pervading textbook-ish feel that turned me off.

3. I felt like I already knew most of the information in the book. My husband is a Discovery Channel nut, so we spend a good deal of time watching documentaries, and I think much of the information presented in this book has already been covered, with many more pictures to keep my attention. This probably isn't the fault of the author - he can't help it that my house is a center of learning for all ages.

Really, I think if you are quite interested in the global warming and the fate of the Arctic glaciers and such, you would really like this book. It just wasn't my cup of tea.


Finished: 11/21/09
Source: Wiley publishing group
Rating: 5/10

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


My current read: My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar. If you need to catch up, you can read my first posts about this book here and here.

Synopsis from publisher:

In a remote and dusty corner of the world, forgotten for nearly three thousand years, lived an ancient community of Kurdish Jews so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic--the language of Jesus. Mostly illiterate, they were self-made mystics and gifted storytellers, humble peddlers and rugged loggers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in the mountains of northern Iraq. To these descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Yona Sabar was born.

In the 1950s, after the founding of the state of Israel, Yona and his family emigrated there with the mass exodus of 120,000 Jews from Iraq--one of the world's largest and least-known diasporas. Almost overnight, the Kurdish Jews' exotic culture and language were doomed to extinction. Yona, who became an esteemed professor at UCLA, dedicated his career to preserving his people's traditions. But to his first-generation American son Ariel, Yona was a reminder of a strange immigrant heritage on which he had turned his back--until he had a son of his own.

My Father's Paradise is Ariel Sabar's quest to reconcile present and past. As father and son travel together to today's postwar Iraq to find what's left of Yona's birthplace, Ariel brings to life the ancient town of Zakho, telling his family's story and discovering his own role in this sweeping saga. What he finds in the Sephardic Jews' millennia-long survival in Islamic lands is an improbable story of tolerance and hope.

Populated by Kurdish chieftains, trailblazing linguists, Arab nomads, devout believers--marvelous characters all-- this intimate yet powerful book uncovers the vanished history of a place that is now at the very center of the world's attention.

My final thoughts:

This final section was all about the Sabars' life in America - Yona's first impressions of his new country ("They would tell you things which would never occur to me to mention to someone I just met, if ever..."); meeting the woman who would become his wife ("She sees the image of God in human beings even when they are not at their best..."); his work as a professor, and struggles with his increasingly rebellious son.

Sabar doesn't try to sugar-coat his relationship to his father. He was full of teenaged frustration, and treated his father cruelly. His adult insight into the motivations behind that behavior were interesting, and I could relate to them. Although I don't think I was ever that purposefully cruel to my parents, I know what he means when he says his father probably would have understood the feelings he wasn't mature enough to put words to.

Eventually, Sabar grows up and realizes that he might be able to learn something from his father. His attempts to connect with his father's past, and the trip they take back to Zahko, wrap up this book, and I admit I found this section the least compelling. I was much more interested in the relationship between the two men, and felt the pages of Sabar running around fruitlessly looking for his lost aunt lost some of the strong sense of personal history that I had so enjoyed until that point.

Despite that, I still recommend this book strongly. It's cast of characters is impossible not to fall in love with, and I predict you will start to think of them as members of your own family, like I did. Sabar has a wonderfully engaging storytelling style, and the pages fly past - you will be amazed at how quickly you are done, and how much you miss this fascinating, quirky, remarkable family.

Finished: 11/14/09
Source: the publisher - thank you!
Rating: 8/10


One of the reasons I started The Nonfiction Files as a weekly feature was to reinforce the idea that nonfiction isn't scary - there are so many wonderful stories to discover! If you have read a great piece of nonfiction lately, let me know, and I will link to your post on my next weekly Nonfiction Files!

I'm joined in The Nonfiction files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


My current read: My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar. If you need to catch up, you can read my first post about this book here.

Synopsis from publisher:

In a remote and dusty corner of the world, forgotten for nearly three thousand years, lived an ancient community of Kurdish Jews so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic--the language of Jesus. Mostly illiterate, they were self-made mystics and gifted storytellers, humble peddlers and rugged loggers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in the mountains of northern Iraq. To these descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Yona Sabar was born.

In the 1950s, after the founding of the state of Israel, Yona and his family emigrated there with the mass exodus of 120,000 Jews from Iraq--one of the world's largest and least-known diasporas. Almost overnight, the Kurdish Jews' exotic culture and language were doomed to extinction. Yona, who became an esteemed professor at UCLA, dedicated his career to preserving his people's traditions. But to his first-generation American son Ariel, Yona was a reminder of a strange immigrant heritage on which he had turned his back--until he had a son of his own.

My Father's Paradise is Ariel Sabar's quest to reconcile present and past. As father and son travel together to today's postwar Iraq to find what's left of Yona's birthplace, Ariel brings to life the ancient town of Zakho, telling his family's story and discovering his own role in this sweeping saga. What he finds in the Sephardic Jews' millennia-long survival in Islamic lands is an improbable story of tolerance and hope.

Populated by Kurdish chieftains, trailblazing linguists, Arab nomads, devout believers--marvelous characters all-- this intimate yet powerful book uncovers the vanished history of a place that is now at the very center of the world's attention.

My thoughts so far:

This second section of the book finds Yona and his family in Israel, which cannot live up to the dreams they have built for their homeland. While it is a much more melancholy read than the first part, I found myself connecting even more with this remarkable family.

While Yona's father and grandfather are each disappointed in their new country, Yona finds creative ways to make himself at home. While still in high school he gets a job to help support his family, and goes to school in the evenings. He quickly forms fast friendships with a group of boys at the high school - all feeling like outcasts because of their family situation and status as Kurdish refugees. I found the discrimination by Jews of European descent against Jews of Middle Eastern descent startling - as, I'm sure, did the families who were being discriminated against.

While Yona makes his way in the world, finishing high school and enrolling in college, he encourages his siblings to do the same. In a way, it was an interesting parallel to many of the stories of immigrant families to the United States - the kids assimilate fairly quickly, while the parents struggle to fit in. Yona's father was never able to replicate the success he had enjoyed in business, and his mother was virtually homebound. I felt sad for these two vibrant people who just couldn't seem to find their place in the new land.

Yona truly comes alive in college, and finds himself immersed in the world of linguistics. I love the way the author describes language:

"Language lives. It inhales culture and history. It sprouts new limbs, sloughs off old ones. It goes through cycles of rapid growth, unremarkable periods of stable maturity, decay, and sometimes, as with Hebrew, miraculous rebirth."

It is because of Yona's knowledge of a language that is almost unknown to the scholars of his day - Aramaic, the language of his youth - that he is finally able to go to America, which is where this section of the books ends. I feel so excited for him, to go on this great adventure, and yet worried as he leaves his family behind. I've become very invested in these lives - this is great storytelling!



Also participating in The Nonfiction Files is Jehara - stop by and visit! (p.s. she just got married this weekend, so you should really go congratulate her!!)

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


My current read: My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar

Synopsis from publisher:

In a remote and dusty corner of the world, forgotten for nearly three thousand years, lived an ancient community of Kurdish Jews so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic--the language of Jesus. Mostly illiterate, they were self-made mystics and gifted storytellers, humble peddlers and rugged loggers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in the mountains of northern Iraq. To these descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Yona Sabar was born.

In the 1950s, after the founding of the state of Israel, Yona and his family emigrated there with the mass exodus of 120,000 Jews from Iraq--one of the world's largest and least-known diasporas. Almost overnight, the Kurdish Jews' exotic culture and language were doomed to extinction. Yona, who became an esteemed professor at UCLA, dedicated his career to preserving his people's traditions. But to his first-generation American son Ariel, Yona was a reminder of a strange immigrant heritage on which he had turned his back--until he had a son of his own.

My Father's Paradise is Ariel Sabar's quest to reconcile present and past. As father and son travel together to today's postwar Iraq to find what's left of Yona's birthplace, Ariel brings to life the ancient town of Zakho, telling his family's story and discovering his own role in this sweeping saga. What he finds in the Sephardic Jews' millennia-long survival in Islamic lands is an improbable story of tolerance and hope.

Populated by Kurdish chieftains, trailblazing linguists, Arab nomads, devout believers--marvelous characters all-- this intimate yet powerful book uncovers the vanished history of a place that is now at the very center of the world's attention.

My thoughts:

I am completely fascinated with this book. (I think I say this every time, don't I?? But then, there are so many fascinating stories to be told, that I never seem to have a problem finding another one.)

Sabar is not only telling the story of his family, but also of a region rich with its own history and contradictions. The Sabars are from Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan - a city on an island surrounded by a river, where Jewish-Muslim relations are so central to the city's identity that they have a creation myth to explain it. The two religions and their adherants flourished side by side in this unique area, so much so that when Jews and Muslims began to kill each other, the people of Zakho didn't believe it. It wasn't until the late 1940s that relations began to feel a strain, and when the majority of the Jewish residents left for Israel after the denaturalization laws went into effect in the 1950s, their Muslim neighbors gathered in the streets to mourn their passing and wish them well.

Along with the history of the region, we learn the story of Sabar's family. His great-grandfather, the mystic; his grandmother who, abused by her stepmother, was not told of her marriage until she arrived at her new in-law's house; his grandfather, a brilliant businessman, who resisted leaving for Israel until the last moments. These people literally come alive, and I feel an emotional attachment to them.

We also start to learn the story of Ariel and his father, and their strained relationship. To Ariel, his father was a relic from the old country, someone to ignore whenever possible, and confront when necessary. The realization that he wanted to understand his father came with the birth of his own son, and gave him the motivation to embark on this journey. We haven't been given a lot of insight into Ariel yet, but his care for the people he is writing about, and his love for the country they live in, is evident by the way he writes about them. I'm not an adventurous person, but he makes me want to go visit this land and meet its people.

I tend to enjoy family history - other families as well as my own - so this book is naturally of interest to me. Early on, the author says he wants to answer two bigger questions: "What is the value of our past?" and "When we carry our languages and stories from one generation to the next, from one country to another, what exactly do we gain?" I hope he shares his answers to those questions.

Stop back next week for part 2 of My Father's Paradise, and also be sure to visit Jehara, who is also participating in The Nonfiction Files. I think she's starting a new book - can't wait to see what she picks!

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.

Starting a new book this week - The Real Wizard of Oz: The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum by Rebecca Loncraine

Synopsis from publisher:

In the first major literary biography of L. Frank Baum, Rebecca Loncraine tells the story of Oz as you've never heard it, with a look behind the curtain at the vivid life and eccentric imagination of its creator.

The Real Wizard of Oz is an imaginatively written work that stretches the genre of biography and enriches our understanding of modern fairytales. L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its thirteen sequels, lived during eventful times in American history-- from 1856 to 1919-- that influenced nearly every aspect of his writing, from the Civil War to Hollywood, which was emerging as a modern Emerald City full of broken dreams and humbug wizards, to the gulf between America's prairie heartland, with its wild tornadoes, and its cities teeming with "Tin Man" factory workers. This is a colorful portrait of one man's vivid and eccentric imagination and the world that shaped it. Baum's famous fairytale is filled with the pain of the economic uncertainties of the Gilded Age and with a yearning for real change, ideas which many contemporary Americans will recognize. The Wizard of Oz continues to fascinate and influence us because it explores universal themes of longing for a better world, homesickness and finding inner strength amid the storms.



My thoughts so far:

This is a very well-written biography. I've just finished part 1, which details Baum's life from birth until he gets the idea to move from upstate New York, where his family lives, to South Dakota, with his wife and two young sons. Here's why I say this is well-written - nothing happens. And by nothing, I mean a whole bunch of little things, but nothing big to grab your attention or force you to take notice. This is, so far, just the story of a family struggling to make ends meet, weathering the ups and downs of their fortunes, celebrating life and mourning death. No astonishing tragedy - just the normal small sorrows of life in the 1800s in America. And while they certainly had their share of sorrows, the family didn't disintigrate or splinter, but stayed a close knit, loving group. It's just so refreshingly NORMAL. I'm loving it.

That's not to say that Baum was a normal young man. He and his brother created their own newspaper as teens, he traveled the country with an acting troupe as a young man, and married an intelligent, college educated woman who didn't promise to obey her husband in their wedding vows. (His mother-in-law was Mathilda Joslyn Gage, one of the prominant forces behind the women's suffrage movement.) It's pretty clear that this guy is not going to have a "normal" life, and the author has been intentional about giving glimpses into the factors that influenced Baum's stories - the unusual yellow pavement in the city he lived in as a young man, the balloning craze that swept the country, the horrible tornados reported in the west. She is building the groundwork for Baum's fantastic world, drawn from the mundane details of his life. It's fascinating.

Early in the book, she makes a statement that surprised me - "Before Baum wrote the tale of Dorothy's journey from Kansas to Oz and back again, it didn't exist, and America had no modern fairy tale of its own." That hadn't occured to me before, but it's certainly true. The Wizard of Oz is America's first, great fairy tale. I've realized that I have never read the book myself, so I'm planning a read to coincide with my reading of this biography. I think it will be an interesting study.


I mentioned this last week, but after the fact - The Nonfiction Files has a friend! Jehara is going to be posting a weekly Nonfiction Files at her blog, as well. Make sure you stop by - she's currently reading what I think would be a pretty interesting biography of poet Anne Sexton. And, of course, the more the merrier - feel free to play along with us if you'd like. Just let me know, and I'll link to your post, as well.