No comments about My Green Years Along the Rappahannock.

1 comments about Tales Out of School: Contemporary Writers on Their Student Years.

1. In her smart Introduction Dr. Susan Richards Shreve says, "I have had a half a century of an uneasy alliance with school." She tells about that alliance from a variety of angles, beginning with herself as "a bad student, a very bad student, and finally a good one." She's an English professor, a mother of four children, am impassioned advocate and an able observer and memoirist. Her son, Porter Shreve, has his great own story to tell - as the bedeviled (and bedeviling) 'scholarship kid' at the school that employed his dad.

   There are 16 additional pieces in this somewhat uneven collection. All of the contributors are Americans; academics and/or professional writers. More than a few grew up poor and felt ostracized - and talk about that experience. The domestic debate regarding public versus private schools continues, with varying success, in several of these pieces. (Nina Revoyr, Francesca Delbanco, others). In some of the stories, memories are likely fresh because the writer is only a decade or so away from the actual experience. The remembered pain and turmoil of adolescence combines is here. Sherman Alexie's young life was under a long shadow: poverty, alcoholism, and an awful disconnect. Alexie's account - of Indian cruelty to Indians - is powerfully bitter. (He reports having asked a bulimic female classmate to "Give me your lunch if you're just going to throw up." ) Immigrant experience, feelings of being an outsider for other reasons - and the ever-present threat of bullying and ostracism are here, too. Learning disabilities, sex, death, vandalism, parents, good and bad teachers - all present. Class conflict and political tension, too. Teachers have enormous powers - to annoy and to hurt, but also to love and redeem. Michael Patrick MacDonald's "Fight the Power" offers an astonishing picture of violence in to-be-integrated South Boston that slyly compares it to Belfast. Jeff Richards' essay "LD" talks about family, learning disabilities, persistence and love - with honesty and passion. David Haynes writes, straightforwardly and well, about teaching - in the dark, really, at first, and by default. He says blithely but not flippantly that he had neglected to choose a profession, so he began to teach.

   Class clown David Sedaris ("I Like Guys") does not fail to deliver - in one of the liveliest of the stories.

   Definitely worth reading.

4 comments about First Words: A Childhood in Fascist Italy.

1. The media seems to be eating up every book that blasts the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII...here's another attempt to cover up the heroics of the Church during the Nazi era....



2. I could not disagree more with the previous "book critic". This book is not a lambasting of individual Catholics or of the many individual priests that helped to save many Jews. One need only look at Ms. Loy's characterization of Pope Pius XI and his very anti-semetic stance to see that this book in no way sees all Catholics as heartless beasts. What it does show is that with the on-slot of Pope Pius XII's reign, the organized Catholic body-politic did nothing privately or publicly to condemn the atrocities committed against Jews at home or abroad in Nazi Germany. There were over 1200 Jews in Rome alone that could have been "hidden" in the Vatican...but no, the response to that was that Pope Pius XII could have been arrested. Getting arrested seems very tame to Jesus being crucified, does it not? All I can say is that, along with the reading of this very touching book by Ms. Loy, I would also recommend everyone out there supplimenting the reading of this book with Mr. Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope".



3. Rosetta Loy opens this book with her first memories of childhood as a young girl in Rome in the early 30s. She then paints the picture from that time to 1943.

   This book actually tells two stories - first the account of Rosetta's life during that period of time and second the historical facts of the time.
   The entire book impressed me, but two things about this book absolutely AMAZED me.

   1. Roessetta Loy's voice. On the first page she is a young girl tended by a nanny, the reader is treated with the perspective of life at this point in time from the unusual view of a curious and intelligent child. As the book progresses and Rossetta ages the story changes in vocabulary and scope.
   2. Ms. Loy presents the key points of political and legal changes in her church, city and country with simply clarity. This is the first book that I have read on the subject that didn't attempt go overboard on explanations, excuses or "what ifs". Ms. Loy states the facts of legal changes and racial politics of Italy at the time without attempting to question `how', `why', `to what end' and `what if'. Instead the reader will hear these questions echo in their own mind.

   This is a powerful book. It is written in simple style and easy to read. It could be read in a day or two, but if you are like me when you get to the end you will want to read it again.




4. Rosetta Loy's memoir of life in Italy during WWII, FIRST WORDS, traces a little girl's awakening to the meaning of blind hate by the fascists.
   
   A Catholic nation, Italy should have followed Christ and turned against the hate-filled fascist state. However, Pope Pius XII offered no Christian model to emulate. Instead, this quasi-holy, German-sympathizer avoided confrontation, closed his eyes to atrocities and was still recommended for sainthood after the holocaust.
   
   Rosetta Loy watched as Jewish friends disappeared. Afterwards, she researched how Italy reacted to the obvious carnage. After her research, she points an angry finger directly at the Pope and his minions.
   
   This book is a warning to Bush-Cheney and other fascists in the USA today. Your unprovoked wars, your stereo-typing of Mexicans as illegals so as to camouflage your wars in Iraq and your neo-con pugnacious attitude around the world are doomed.
   
   Even Karl Rove re-writing history won't save your souls after your hate-filled, arrogant, bigotted, fascistic acts.
   
   Even a child can see the fascists underneath your fake smiles.

1 comments about Living in Concord.

1. Don't be tempted to think this is a book about Concord, a place. Instead, it is about concord, a state of mind. Observations weave together various places and events, but they are like colorful nap on a carpet ... only concealing the vital underlying threads which form the true strength of this huge little book.
   
   There is something most uplifting in the gentle, descriptive narrative which meanders through times and places, and a subtle, comforting rhythm in the frequent, loving references to literary passages -- all this surrounded by soothing reflections on human experience and the cycles of life. You will treasure it.

5 comments about Bad Blood: A Memoir.

1. The story of an unexceptional childhood - mild neglect, some poverty and a very filthy home - neither sordid nor tragic nor eventful enough to be compelling reading. Especially for a person raised in India the dysfunctionality level of childhood/family seems average. The only redeeming feature is Lorna Sage's writing style. Witty and insightful. Normally this should raise a book to atleast 3 and a half stars but somehow this one does not quite make it past "interesting enough to read when there's nothing better to do". To use review cliches since they work so well in describing a book, it is readable but far short of unputdownable.



2. Holy moly! You wanna talk about a dysfunctional family? Here it is. It's during the years of WWII. The author's father is off fighting for God and country, and her mother is having a delayed adolescence, so author Lorna Sage is shipped to her grandparents house somewhere in rural England. Her grandparents are weird, weird, weird, but it is their very faults that ultimately make Sage, a well-known and powerful literary critic, into the person she becomes.
   Her grandfather is a debauched, intellectual, furious and infuriating vicar whose idiosyncrasies were seemingly limitless. Her grandmother's rage at her lot in life and the man who was responsible for it (and by extension, ALL men) never once abates - and you almost champion her for her constancy.
   Bad Blood reads as wicked fun with a strongly feminist underlying message. I loved it.



3. I grew up in the same 1950's in England and apart from her randy grandad shared many of the same experiences, feelings and general discomfort with the miserable, narrow social conditions in England. Put another way a perfect breeding ground for the english character of inhibitions, repression of feelings, violence and fear of economic success riddled with Edwardian class distinctions of no value/relevance in the 50's. Jealousy of the American post war success and hide bound by genteel poverty everywhere it was not surprising that England's social scene exploded in the 60's and 70's. I left England for the US many years ago to escape the trapped kingdom of the mind and the pathetic lack of real freedoms, nostalgia is the UK's greatest industry and the more books like this that appear will help people understand that england's "ennui" is not that attractive after all !



4. This finely written memoir of her childhood as an Anglican minister's granddaughter. Today, or recently, [she died in 2001] Sage is an English literary critic and her memoir is both appreciably granular and endowed with a coherent overview. Highly recommended. Won the Whitbread Biography Award.



5. I read through this book in a long afternoon, finding it totally engrossing. The story is about a young girl growing up under the roof of her grandfather, an intellectual vicar who led a double life of sex and booze, and her grandmother, an angry, disappointed anti-intellectual diabetic who lived for the treats of going to movies, candy, and scented soaps. The two detested each other, and their daughter wore herself out and sacrificed her personality to keep the household going in a very marginal way. The daughter had a daughter of her own, the author of this memoir, Lorna Sage. I don't think the point of this story is that her life was a nightmare, though it was hardly happy. It was about how, as humans, we all just keep making messes of our lives, generation after generation, and we all have our own family history and genetics which determine our strengths and our devastating flaws. Lorna inherited her grandfather's "bad blood", along with his use of books to escape both the place he was in (an isolated, wet, postwar depressed backwater), and the mess he was actively making of his life. In the middle of this mess, Lorna used this gift to survive, and even to struggle out of the quagmire by getting an advanced education.

5 comments about Somebody's Someone: A Memoir.

1. Regina's memoir revisits memories through the eyes a ten year-old girl. She recounts her journey through foster homes and her quest to find a family that will love her. Regina's story is beautiful and tragic - a unique glimpse into the life of child determined to find her place in a confusing and indifferent world.



2. This book is not to be missed, a must read for everyone. It transends all races, ages and genders It is the true story of hope and finding one's way through a hard unforgiving life.



3. It wasnt at all what I thought. I really didn't like the writing- the ending wasnt great and I thought it could've had more details on foster care. As a FC worke I've seen things 1000x worse then the book. It really didn't capture how horrible the system can be.



4. I wish I could have gotten the same understanding from this book that some others got. It is to me a hard story to follow. It has no continuity. The book was not as good as I thought it would be. I don't expect anyone to to agree or disagree with me on this review. I'm just expressing my thoughts about the book Somebody's Someone: A Memoir.



5. The story of such an intelligent, creative, insightful, imaginative girl and the obstacles she was dealt in life alone makes for a great book. Add one of the most unique writing styles imaginable and it becomes a masterpiece. I can't say enough about this book. Get it immediately.

5 comments about Weather of the Heart: A Child's Journey Out of Revolutionary Russia.

1. This memorable book gives us the memoirs of an 88 year old first time novelist, Nora Lourie Percival. This is far and away the best book I have read in years. It is an interesting and compelling story of a child growing up in and then escaping from Communist Russia. It is wonderfully written and historically significant. The rich descriptive narrative is a pleasure to read and to hear read (my husband and I read it aloud to one another). I found myself continually rereading passages purely for the purpose of savoring the author's exquisite use of language; I have read few contemporary writers whose use of language is as skillful and as sensitive as is this writer's. This is a book to be added to the family library and to be re-read throughout the years. It is an absorbing, heartbreaking and uplifting true story of a child and her family's survival of the Russian Revolution. The reader is grabbed by the first pages and his interest is held throughout. I've bought several to give as gifts. I would recommend it to anyone! It is truly marvelous.



2. I learned so much about revolutionary Russia and a different way of life from this book. Reading Ms. Percival's life story was intriguing--full of happy reunions and sad partings. The book really makes you realize that people are the same all over the world. This story of a young girl's long journey to America will inspire you and make you cry.



3. This book details the events that brought an immigrant family to safe harbor in the US after escape from the Russian revolution. The viewpoint is that of a young girl, just 3 years old at the beginning of the story. This young girl is the only daughter of a bourgeoisie family. Her father left the farm as a penniless young man, and through his own enterprise came to own a small shoe factory in Samara. As the revolution takes hold, Percival's father is named as a criminal against society because of his social standing, and he is forced to flee to Manchuria, leaving his wife and daughter behind. Percival describes to us how she and her mother gradually lose their life of relative luxury and ease, how their German governess fled, and how they had to abandon their home and move in with her paternal grandparents. The circumstances that follow develop her into a mature young woman by the time the main narrative ends when she is 8 years old and living in New York City.

   Occasionally, especially in the first chapter, Percival's writing style can be a little annoying. Nevertheless, the story that she has to tell is riveting. She provides unique details of the daily life of ordinary people in the time just before, during, and after the Russian revolution. She also tells us much about the conditions and rules faced by immigrants to the US during the early part of the 20th century.




4. From beginning to end I was caught in the poignant details of this story. The Russian Revolution is brought to life through the individuals who face poverty, uncertainty, and constant changes in their circumstances. Whether people are poor, middle class, or wealthy, they are thrown together in difficult, often dangerous situations. Nora Percival fills the pages with family members who are at times wise and courageous only to later be petty and weak, each one trying to survive in a world that no longer makes any sense and which never stands still long enough to build new understandings about how to respond. Nora's free spirit in the midst of this chaos is a constant inspiration. As a young child and into her teens she tends to her mother who is depressed and unable to find the energy required by this newly restricted environment. Though her mother often becomes tiresome, Nora continues to persevere, giving of her own strength to keep her mother afloat. When Nora finally comes to America the reader comes with her, feeling Nora's celebration of freedom and a chance for a new life.



5. I happened upon Nora Percival in Valle Crucis, NC where she was signing her books. I feel so lucky to have personnally autographed copies of her books and a photo of me with her. Nora Percival is as captivating in person as she is in her story.
   "Weather of the Heart" is wildly educational, exciting and inspiring, a study in optomisism. I literally could not put it down: I carried it from room to room and took it with me if I left the house. When I finished reading the book, I missed Nora the child because I found her so charming; WHAT A GIRL!! What a book!

1 comments about Now, When I Was a Kid . . .: Nostalgic Ramblings by.

1. Now, When I Was A Kid... is the personal and nostalgic autobiography of Dan McGuire's growing up as a young man in a semi-rural town from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. With "the big city" (Chicago) a streetcar away, the simple small town ease of sharing a peaceful time on the neighborhood porch was to be overshadowed by the terrible threats of World War II and the ensuing Cold War. McGuire tells of a sheltered childhood, and the fun of just being a kid when the heavy responsibilities of adulthood were just around the corner. A wistful and fondly told reminiscence, Now, When I Was A Kid... is a particularly well written and highly recommended memoir of what it was like to grow up in a yesteryear America that will never come again.

2 comments about Popcorn Poppin' on the Apricot Tree.

1. This was a book I didn't want to put down until I had finished it. Faith has a way of "weaving a tale" and I was fascinated by her true stories and antics of Anne Peters and her siblings. A book to be enjoyed by both adults and children!
   Sincerely,
   Gloria



2. I loved this book. While it told Annie's tale it also brought back many of my own childhood memories when times were simplier. Annie and her family showed tremendous strength and love for one another throughout their mother's illness, their devotion is inspiring.
   A great book for adults and children.

5 comments about Ultimate Judgment : A Story of Emotional Corruption, Obsession and Betrayal.

1. I met this wonderful person that this book was written about. She gave me this book when she learned that I too was abused. It is incredible how she has turned so much pain and suffering into something positive as she shows so clearly in the way she leads her life. I never thought in a million years there was so much abuse going on in our United States. It't time that abuse is stopped including verbal, mental,emotional and sexual. I pray that in opening the scarrs and barring her soul in her book that Megan will be continuely blessed and never forgotten. Your Friend, June



2. I've learned from personal experience that Meg is truely as strong and good hearted as she seems. I cringe at the thought of the horrible things she was forced to endure for so long and can only pray this book touches others as much as it has me. Meg's story inspires everyone to never give up or give in to the wicked people surrounding us. I thank the Lord everyday for the voice he has given her, and hope that others can find peace that have been through similar tragidies.



3. I am Ms. Meg Clairmonte's Ex Sister-in-law. I have heard for years about Meg's court case and book. My son, her nephew, just turned 18 and graduated from high school. I am a single mother and have struggled for years to support us and now we are trying to send him to Tech school in the fall.
   
   The only reason I am telling you all that is to say this...
   
   I just found out that Meg's step-father, Don had created a trust fund for my son. If the reason Meg sued for all that money was for "therapy" as her lawyer once told me, then why, pray tell, was it necessary to take the trust funds that were supposed to benefit my son and hers. (Yes, she took her own son's money, too. I guess she figured that he wouldn't need any money, either)? Did that additional sum of money make a big difference in her settlement? Well, I can tell you that it would have made a big difference in my son's life right now, when we are trying to scrape up the money for school.
   
   I know you can tell that I am very hurt by this. My guess would be that the reason she did it was because I would not be sucked into the law suit and testify on her behalf. My experience with Meg before Don died and she started telling the world about her life with him was that she was manipulative and spiteful. So, there you are, she has proved me right. And this time it was at my son's expense and hers, too.
   
   Just wish everyone who read the book and felt so sorry for Meg could read this, too. As I knew from the beginning, it was always about the money...



4. I thought the book was great. I just wish they would have wrapped things up a little more at the end.



5. Ms. Clairmonte is a severely disturbed woman, who, when she found out she had been left out of the will of her step-father, destroyed the memory of a great man, making up horrible lies, and sued her own mother, leaving her mother broke and penniless. Shame on Ms. Clairmonte, how can she live her with herself?