5 comments about Miriam's Song: A Memoir.

1. How nice it is to sit in our American homes and vaguely read of the troubles of South Africa. I am ashamed to have never paid more attention to this subject. This is a riveting book that takes you past the superficial headlines and into the lives of the blacks who suffered under apartheid.

   The Mathabane family lives in a suburb of Johannesburg, in a one-square mile ghetto that is home to over 200,000 people (400,000 by the end of the book). Employment is hard to come by--for one to work, one must have a permit. But to get a permit, one must have a job.

   Their home is a two room shack, where four of the children sleep on the kitchen floor. There is a communal tap outside. Raw sewage runs in the street outside their door. Black children are only allowed to be taught certain subjects in a certain manner, and Miriam and her classmates are routinely beaten for any infraction--mistakes in schoolwork, uncombed hair, nails that are dirty/too long, wearing dirty bloomers, or not wearing bloomers at all. (These people live in complete poverty, and it was not uncommon for children to not have underwear.) The young teenage girls are easy targets of sexual abuse. Many become pregnant, single mothers, unable to finish school.

   While the story is unbelievably horrifying, their outlook is one of constant hope and faith. I am unable to get this family out of my mind, and I will be reading Mark Mathabane's autobiographical books as soon as I get my hands on them...This is an amazing story of how people in other parts of the world live. I strongly recommend this book.




2. ...about my life, my educational opportunities, my social status. Miriam's Song should be required reading for all spoiled brats who think their lives are difficult. Shame on me for ever taking education for granted! Shame on me for ever complaining that my opportunities in the US are limited because of my gender! This book left an indelible mark on my social consciousness. Not just a touching and eye-opening memoir, but also a story of fierce determination and strength, Miriam's Song ranks among my must-reads. Her story is inspiring and her candid writing makes the reader feel as if she is sitting right there in the room, like an new friend telling you about her life. The text does not attempt to justify or rationalize or otherwise explain the social structure, and is remarkably pure in its telling of Miriam's story. Because this book is free from philisophy and pontification about wrong and right, fair and unfair, here-and-there comparisons, the reader is left to come to these realizations on his/her own and thus the story becomes most poignant. I find myself wondering how Miriam is doing now, and would welcome another book including the rest of her story and her observations of the US. Whole-heartedly recommended. Finished it yesterday and loaned it to a friend today.



3. I strongly encourage everyone to buy and read this book. This book tells the story of what it is like to be female in apartheid South Africa. Do not pass up this opportunity to learn more about the legendary Mathabane family!



4. The book Miriam's Song, by Mark Mathabane, opened my eyes to the hardships and terrifying stories of Alexandria's slums and poverty. Told through the eyes of Miriam Mathabane, a poor black girl in Alexandria, South Africa, the story is inspirational and heart braking at the same time. From the beginning of the book, I was enthralled by the vivid details of Miriam's Bantu Education and poor living conditions. By the end of the book I felt as if I was inside Miriam's head, dealing with her emotions as if they were mine and following her story with a devout interest. This is the story of her struggle to overcome the difficulties of living in South Africa during the apartheid to achieve the power women and blacks were starved of.
   Miriam lived in a dysfunctional family consisting of an abusive father, smart but illiterate mother, and enough brothers and sisters to lose track of. The family lived in a shack they called a house, in an over crowded slum full of disease and mal-hygiene. On top of all of her hardships at home, Miriam had to deal with the Bantu (black) Educational system, which was staffed by cruel teachers and based on tough discipline. The teachers were more interested in clean hands and fingernails than the quality of education in the over crowded classes. In the book Miriam describes one experience with the strange education system saying, "Mama forgot to borrow a fingernail clipper... to trim my long and dirty finger nails... the mistress finally class my name... I gingerly step forward. I never take my eyes off the thick ruler in the mistress's right hand... `They are long and dirty'... the mistress slowly raises the thick ruler... high up in the air and prepares to rap my fingers." (24). It is clear that the mistress, or teacher, is worrying more than she should be on how long each students nails are and is disciplining in a harsh way. The only encouraging force keeping Miriam in the awful school was her brave mother who was continually encouraging.
   This book taught me more about how women are treated in superiorly in other places of the world and how differently I live from many other people. It was clear through out the story that physical and sexual abuse was accepted in the ghetto of Alexandria and was quite common. The discrimination of blacks was also very surprising. Even when the vast majority of the population was black, they were still treated like animals, and squeezed into small towns around the country. It was inspiring to read about the struggles for equality and the great measures many people went through to overcome the all-white government.
   After reading Miriam's Song I have gained a new respect for black women all over the world. The story showed me a new side of inequality not just judged by the color of skin but by gender. Miriam taught me to stand up for what I believe in and "fight the system." This is a great book for girls throughout the country to read because it is encouraging and a great read.



5. This book was really good and an eyeopener in many ways. Sometimes it is hard to believe the bad things that really go on in the world.

5 comments about Paper Daughter: A Memoir.

1. Mar's memoir may be a better read for someone not accustomed to reading about the Chinese-American immigrant experience, but those well-read in the field are unlikely to be impressed. Mar does not use hindsight to explain things that confused her in her childhood, such as the significance of speaking Toisan instead of proper Cantonese. Her childhood experiences are not so different from those of American-born Chinese, or frankly of smart children in general. Her experience with the joy of being around other smart kids is more closely tied with the "smart" experience than the "immigrant" experience. And her tango with anorexia, along the same vein, has more to do with the "type-A female" experience then with the immigrant experience. Overall, this book is a good memoir of one woman's life, but there are too many ideosyncratic facets for this to tout itself as a good representation of the modern Chinese immigrant experience in America.



2. The book opens with a sensuous description of a Hong Kong child eating chicken bones, crushing them between her teeth to release the clotted marrow within. The author later contrasts this earthy and primal experience with the manner in which Americans eat fried chicken, delicately nibbling away from the bone, oblivious to the rich marrow within. I found this broad metaphor thought-provoking, contrasting the sterility of American suburban life with the riotous, crowded Hong Kong environs where the author lived her earliest years.

   I was very impressed with the sensual detail in the book, the descriptions of textures and scents hinting of mystery, such as the jars of dried mushrooms and spices that her mother stored in the tiny room that was the author's first home.

   The criticism that many reviewers have expressed is that the memoir fails to be reflective. I did not find that to be the case. I prefer to have the author use metaphor and selectiveness of memory to present her view, as she deftly does, than to read pages of exposition detailing why she felt her mother treated her coldly. I believe the author is trusting to the intelligence of the reader to puzzle out the motivations of each character. It would be less than artful to be as obvious as some readers apparently wish.

   That said, I did not always sympathize with the author, especially as she grew into adolescence and became increasingly disrespectful of her parents. However, it took courage for the author to sometimes portray herself in a less than attractive manner. One was left to wonder if her adolescent angst would have been similar if she had never left Hong Kong.

   I felt the memoir's legitimate focus was her childhood and formative years. Some have expressed the wish that the author would have continued, describing her college years in greater detail. I disagree, as that would have moved the story away from the focus on family. Family is used to define the author throughout the memoir; as she seperates from her family, the story ends. Therefore, I found the break logical.

   My one criticism would be that it is slightly facile to believe that a Harvard education somehow has elevated the author beyond her family. The first severing was one of language. Education was secondary. I disliked the implication that the education she strove for somehow delivered her from an intolerable life. The author seemed to be overly impressed with herself for being accepted into Harvard, as if this were the grandest achievement attainable. She also failed to criticize, or if she did, it was too subtle for my tastes, the adolescent mentalities and delusions of genius, which were apparently common amongst the students at the Cornell summer program she attended. Nor could I tell if she felt the psychiatrist who interviewed her for the program was rather pompous and shallow, as I did. My assumption, though, is that the author has chosen to leave this unsaid and that this scene was yet another instance of her trying to fit into one sub-group or another, posing as an intellectual rather than as a typical American teenager.

   The author progresses from dutiful Chinese daughter, to bewildered immigrant, to essential interlocutor for her family, to sullen teenager, to burgeoning "intellectual". I felt that most of these transitions were beautifully described and that the varying experiences and motivations of the different family members contributed greatly to the richness of the story. I was a little off-put by her eventual move to Cambridge and Harvard, because I felt that the author's motivations were more about belonging to an "elite" group and progressing socially than any educational goals. However, my opinion is belied by the elegant and moving memoir that she later wrote, which implies that her maturity has progressed greatly beyond the last stage described in the book, that of a self-centered teenager eager to break from her family.

   Overall, I found this memoir to be very worthwhile reading.




3. I read somewhere that the events in a person's life are only interesting to that person. So true in this case. Yeah, yeah, Asian girl picked on my American classmates. Asian girl must learn proper American table manners. blah blah blah. The flowery, overly-detailed descriptions were lame and contrived. It could have been a good story if it wasn't so full of self-pity and a narcissistic attitude. Poor child, auntie won't hug her. Poor dear, she can't date outside her ethnic background. It seems more like the diary of a confused and angry adolescent. Now, Amy Tan, that's an interesting writer!



4. Some people who've posted reviews here feel this book is not significant but I think we can all relate to being teased at school and trying to get by as a child. I loved this memoir and recommend it to anyone else who also loves memoirs or autobiographies.



5. Although much of the focus of Elaine Mar's memoir could be written by anyone who experienced childhood teasing, discrimination, loneliness, poverty, low self-esteem; it is important to find the core of her plight, a battle with parents resisting a change into their new country. But even that story can be retold by many.
   
   Two countries in one household.
   Elaine was very young upon arriving from Hong Kong with her mother to join her father. The parents didn't accommodate to the U.S. well. They didn't learn English or customary ways. Her mother was mentally and physically abusive and spoke to her daughter in a degrading manner, and often repeated to the daughter that it was a waste of their time raising her.
   
   I didn't feel what she had to say was any different that what many people experience as children. But then, I understood the conflict being raised as an American, but challenged by Hong Kong parents with their strong ties to that culture and beliefs.
   
   Money vs no money.
   That she could not buy the right clothes to fit in was moreso, poverty vs. money rather than a cultural aspect. And many Americans are forced to work in the family business their entire youth; it is not just a Hong Kong thing.
   
   Unanswered Questions
   I was left with questions unanswered. Her parents worked in a restaurant with relatives, and a feud caused them to leave the home (basement) and the father to be out of work. She never elaborates on what caused this feud that forced them to make changes and how did the feud end, since there was a reunion.
   
   Also, aside from some typographical errors, toward the end, there is a chapter titled "When Father Lived in Wichita", but it has nothing to do with the content. The father lived there before she came to the U.S. Another chapter regarding college life is titled TASPS, but nowhere do we get an explanation what this stands for.
   
   Graphic Detail - the sexual experience.
   We learn of her sexual experience with a white boy from the restaurant, and I do say; we learn this through graphic detail for several pages.....several. A page would have done for me.
   
   Well-written, holding my interest, living in Denver, and, my fascination with a different look at how two cultures collided.
   
   One has to admire her tenacity to get where she did! ......MzRizz

No comments about The Boyhood Memoirs of A. E. Hotchner: King of the Hill and Looking for Miracles.

5 comments about Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles.

1. Essentially this was a great book until I reached the latter part. The first 3/4ths were highly entertaining and kept me hooked. Bramwell relates stories that I personally had never heard before; stories that could only be told by someone who knew the members of the Beatles so intimately. Despite this I felt that Ringo and George could have been mentioned a bit more throughout. Additionally I thought that the last quarter of the book dragged a bit more than the beginning. Personally I had no problem with Bramwell's perceptions of Yoko. It was based on his experiences and how he interpreted the events that occurred. Can't quite fault the man for that.
   
   I think that almost every Beatles fan should read Magical Mystery Tours. It's really quite the read.



2. The first half of this book is very interesting, even to someone who has read nearly everything on the band and knows the story backwards and forward as myself. Bramwell apparently had a very successful carrer as a flak for various record companies post Beatles, largely due to that experience and the contacts made therin. He places himself closer to the center of a lot of well known Beatle events than I suspect he actually was. It seems he was basically a go-fer for the band and Brian Epstein in particular, at least until the film and promotion work he did in the middle to latter period of their group carrer.
   Where the book starts going off the rails a bit is in the repetitious accounts of the party scene. This pub and that club and drink, drink, drink. Also, the book could have used another edit to streamline the narrative a bit. The time line is all over the place and some events are foreshadowed or looked back on in a very confusing manner. So much so that even being prior well versed in the story in general I had to stop and think through from where in the time line a story or event was being related. This is definately not the book for a Beatles "newbie".
   My main complaint though is the fast and loose way some of the basic facts are related. Maybe it's a case of "forest for the trees" and being too close. But the book was written with a co-author, and a fact check would have revealed several mistakes in atributing cause and effect to certain events. The best example I can think of now is a passage where the author relates that many of the Beatle songs and albums had working titles which were later changed. True enough, 'Yesterday' had 'Scrambled Eggs', 'Abbey Road' started as 'Everest' however he states that the Rubber Soul album began as Abracadabra, but after John's "Jesus" comments it was decided to stay away from anything too magical sounding. OK Beatle people, what's wrong with that. A lot of you knew right away I'm sure. Rubber Soul came out in late '65, the Jesus flap didn't happen until summer '66. At first I thought that he actually meant that 'Revolver' was to be called Abracadabra, but even that would not make sense because 'Revolver' was completed in time for summer release before the American tour right at the time of the publication in America of John's months old and forgotten interview with Maureen Cleeve. I was dumbfounded that such an error could pass through in a major biography. Oh well, it might seem nitpicking but that sentence stood out like Yoko Ono at a square dance.
   There are good points. The author tells interesting stories of the early days and sheds new first-hand light on some of the touchstone events in the development of the band, such as the fabled Litherland town hall show in '60 and the atmosphere and circumstances of touring Britain right through to their massive success starting in mid '63. Apparently even as late as early '63 the girls didn't scream much but crowded the front and swooned. In addition, if you've always clamored for a list of Tony Bramwell's bed partners especially those of the semi-famous persuasion look no further. Also, if you believe Yoko is the devil and Linda an angel you will really enjoy the middle third of this book.



3. This book is required reading for any Beatles enthusiast; however, although Bramwell seemingly has the credentials--knowing Paul and George since childhood--to write such a book, including blow-by-blow dialogue with the lads no less, I found it curious that Bramwell is only mentioned once in the index of McCartney's 654 page (auto)biographical tome, MANY YEARS FROM NOW. Seems Bramwell didn't loom too large as far as McCartney was concerned. What gives, Tony?



4. This is not so much an analysis of the Beatles' unbelievable career or their music as it is a rather breezy, first-person account of the segment of their lives that Tomy Bramwell shared. He knew John, Paul and George growing up in Liverpool (he didn't meet Ringo until they were both adults), and he gives us many insights about the three founding Beatles and of how they grew into rock's greatest band. Bramwell also worked for the Beatles all during the years of their greatest popularity.
   True, many of the details have been published earlier, elsewhere. But Bramwell gives them a new, "I was there" interpretation and what might be termed a specifically "Liverpudlian" perspective.
   I have noted in an earlier review of another book about the Beatles that the author of that one seemed to have a pro-John, anti-Paul bias. In all fairness, I would have to say that while Bramwell appears to have liked all the Beatles personally, Paul seems to have been the best friend to him, the one he considered "most normal," so to speak. But nevertheless, the picture he gives of the four is honest and candid, while still maintaining the fondness he held for all four of these extraordinary men.
   Warning: If you were favorably impressed by John's and Yoko Ono's various "pro-peace" stunts and other somewhat bizarre activities in the late 1960s and early 1970s, don't expect Bramwell to share your enthusiasm in this book. He makes it clear that he held Ono in low regard, and thought John's fascination with and marriage to her a mistake.
   The final few chapters of the book do not make as interesting a read as the earlier ones, as Bramwell goes somewhat off topic to relate anecdotes about how he met, got drunk with, etc., seemingly every well-known but flakey celebrity in Hollywood. It detracts a little from the book -- but only a little.
   If you're a Beatles fan -- or if you're a young person who has heard of them but would like to learn a lot more -- you'll find this book well worth your time.



5. Tony Bramwell has given us a lucid insider's view into the Beatles' tight circle. Some of this is hilarious stuff and it is actually refreshing to read Bramwell's shots at the now-ultra-untouchable-PC John'n'Yoko myth.
   He is almost contemptous of Lennon and disdainful of Yoko and her machinations. Lennon comes across as a drug-addled loser with his best years behind him-Yoko is an evil Queen of the Castle,an almost Satanic figure bent on destroying the Beatles and what's left of Lennon's ego.
   Actually,"disdainful" is putting it mildly. I am surprised Bramwell has survived the curses Yoko must've hurled at him while she was mixing her potions and gazing into her crystal ball.
   If the reader wants a refreshing tome that punctures the Beatle myth and the lenono myth-this book is it.
   It's among the best Beatle books.

3 comments about Cowboy Princess: Life with My Parents Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

1. Cowboy Princess: Life With My Parents Roy Rogers And Dale Evans is Cheryl Rogers-Barnett's true story of growing up as the daughter of "the King of Cowboys" and "the Queen of the West", whose popular exploits on movies and TV captivated the nation. Joy, the gruelling demands of the entertainment industry, the terrible loss of three siblings, and the lively personalities of those who shared their lives with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Cheryl Rogers-Barnett fill this highly readable and personal account. Highly recommended for fans of Roy Rogers and the western movies of yesteryear.



2. I loved this book! I became a little girl again with eyes wide open in awe of my heroes - Roy and Dale. Cheryl is very honest about the fun, the hectic schedules, the grief over the loss of her siblings, her rebellious nature in an innocent way, the strengths and weaknesses of her well-known parents who raised their family well, loved them dearly, lived a honorable life and had a lot of adventures in the way. Where the fans viewed Roy and Dale as super heroes ... Cheryl presents them as parents. I highly recommend this book!



3. who enriched our lives over five decades.
   
   Cheryl Rogers Barnett has truly written a memoir full of Love, Respect, and Admiration for her late parents, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She writes of the people they were, before she was born, the circumstances of her adoption - yes, Cheryl was adopted by Roy and his first wife - and growing up in the Rogers-Evans* (Roy's first wife died while Cheryl was still a young pre-adolescent child, Dale lovingly took her on as her own) household. Roy, bless his soul, was in many ways, a real cowboy who eschewed the Hollywood lifestyle and could live in the great outdoors - in fact one of their early homes out at Lake Hughes was in a wooded setting - with rattlesnakes! Knowing that this wouldn't work, Roy moved in closer to Los Angeles, but always made sure that his children were grounded and did not have airs about them.
   
   Barnett writes about her growing-up in the Rogers-Evans household, and in reading it one kind of wishes that too were put of a family that truly lived by the Cowboy Code. Roy and Dale were among the kindest folks one could ever meet, and I sure wish I did. Both Roy and Dale were unfailing kind and considerate to most people they met. It speaks volumes that in the one instance Roy ever got angry at fans was when they chose to want to visit him on the day they were burying Cheryl's little sister, Robin, and only AFTER these uncouth and rude people insisted in visiting him, having no consideration for the grief of the family.
   
   She writes of the wonder horse Trigger, of how George "Gabby" Hayes was as different in real life as he was in the movies. Gabby, bless him, was a trained Shakespearian actor who was more accustomed to wearing tweed suits than a bandana and chaps - still, he too made the roles his very own. There are the Hollywood stories and vignettes of growing up knowing John Wayne and so many other Western heroes and other television and movie celebs, written straightforward, (the reader will never have the feeling that this book is a gossipy read) of Nudie the Famous Rodeo Tailor whom Roy helped to get established in Hollywood, and finally of the last decades when Roy and Dale, seeing how different Hollywood had become (mid-1960s), chose to move out to Apple Valley, and live out their lives there.
   
   Throughout it all, Roy and Dale always gave deep love to the people they knew, and encouraged their children to be the best and fine folks in their own right(after learning she was adopted, Cheryl underwent a quest to learn about her real parents, with Roy and Dale supporting her every way). With the happiness there were the tragedies, first Robin, then the young son who died serving in the U.S. Army, and the adopted daughter from Korea, killed in a senseless road accident. Throughout it all, Roy and Dale's faith in God was never unwavering and was always solid. They lived the true meaning of the Cowboy and Cowgirl Codes.*
   
   *(on their very last record together, Roy, Dale and son Dusty recorded a song written by two great friends of mine, Chris Hillman and Steve Hill entitled: "God's Plan" ...that pretty well sums up the honest and rich meaning of the lives they lived.
   
   A warm memoir of a time when the tinsel Cowboys were so very much real - and real people too, unlike the sad imitation that Hollywood has become these days. Thank you, Cheryl Rogers-Barnett for a heartwarming read, and for signing my Roy Rogers-Dale Evans lunchpail in Wickenburg, Arizona last April.

5 comments about A Hole in the World: An American Boyhood.

1. "A Hole in the World" was recommended to me by people that had read my memoir. I was astonished to see how much our childhoods were alike. Although my story involves being raised as an Old Order Mennonite, we both had childhoods filled with anguish and fear, the deprivation of a mother's love, and behaviors tailored to whatever you had to do to get through the day. And we both had an essential ingredient that helped us make it in life, and that was teachers that saw potential within us. Mr. Rhodes knew he had raw intelligence, and with the positive influence of his teachers, went on to become the successful writer and person we so greatly admire. He clearly cites his personal difficulties in his adult life for he did not know how to be a father, how to have a happy home. I think as the title of his book alludes, he will always have an ache that can't be filled. This is a book everyone should read for it shows the importance of good teachers and mentors. Their encouragement can say to a child that gets it no where else: You are somebody and you have value.



2. I came to this book quite late, just finishing it a month ago. I read a few non-fiction books by the author and liked them quite a lot, so I grabbed this recently at my local Friends of the Library used book sale. Actually, since I am a domestic violence social worker, reading autobiographical accounts of various kinds of abuse experiences is part of my continuing education. Sad to say, I have read tales of abuse suffered in childhood which are even more disgusting than what Richard and his brother endured, and which lasted much longer than the two-plus years of horror the Rhodes kids experienced at the hands of a vicious stepmother. This is well-done, and the suffering depicted is probably understated...my sense is that Rhodes did not want to rub the readers' noses in his agony, but rather present a message that acting to protect the multitude of neglected and abused kids all around us sometimes does pay off in big ways. If you have an interest in the survival of a bad childhood, this one should be read, but probably would be even more powerful if paired with Dr. Laura Schlessinger's upcoming book, "Bad Childhood, Good Life" due to be published in January, 2006.



3. Not exactly. If you arrive at this book as I did, mildly inquisitive after enjoying his two masterful, definitive tomes on nuclear weapons, you are in for one HELL of a ride.
   
   This is a different book altogether, one that you will not put down. I find myself wondering how elder brother Stanley might have turned out if he hadn’t been the one to walk into the bathroom and find their mom dead with a shotgun in her mouth. Seems he turned out OK, though he didn’t go on to win a Pulitzer Prize.
   
   And when the manipulative floozy moves in and besots their dad to the point where he just seems to vanish, and she starves them, and tortures them, what comes through is just what basic survival machines human beings are capable of becoming when necessary.
   
   Yeah, sure – I had a rough childhood, and so did you. It probably haunts you still. To get an idea of how lucky you are, read this book.
   
   But then, you probably have never won a Pulitzer Prize, and neither will I. If that was the deal being offered, I’d jump on it.



4. This is a beautifully written memoir of childhood hardship, cruelty, and neglect. The author's candor and equanimity in examining a painful history is remarkable, as is the poignant outcome.



5. This is a story that tells itself because the events are so riveting and the prose so clear, there is not need for embellishment. And although it's more or less a straightforward memoir/narrative, it culminates in a wonderful epiphany for any reader who is eager to learn how someone can turn personal tragedy and hardship into a life of contribution. Recommended for humanities, cultural studies, and social science teachers looking for a text that can actually teach the essence of what being human and its trials and adversities is all about. That it is 'unavailable' is truly a travesty.

5 comments about Go Ask Ogre: Letters from a Deathrock Cutter.

1. I can't stop reading this book. I'm not much of a reader but Jolene is an awesome writer. I can relate to it in so many ways. I'm a huge fan of Ogre. I love Jolene's artwork and the part about making handcrafted envelopes for each letter. ^ _ ^



2. what can i write about this book that hasn't already been said before? its great, and obviously a great deal of care was taken when this book was put together. recommended for cutters, ex-cutters, goths, punks, and any other "outsiders" in general.



3. In his Basketball Diaries -- also a dark coming-of-age tale, no coincidence there -- Jim Carroll wrote, "I want to be pure." Jolene Siana, in a book that bravely lets light into the darkest corners of her tortured teenage years, offers readers just that -- a visceral, unblinking, honest look at her own struggle to be pure, to simply become. The letters and artwork that compile this book may have been therapeutic. They may have even helped the author survive. And bringing them together years later may have helped her yet again. But this isn't a self-indulgent book. It's a generous and open one. It's really Siana's readers -- anyone who feels lost, alone, and in need of connection; anyone searching for something pure in a world that's anything but -- who benefit here. This book is a gift.



4. Jolene Siana's collection of letters and artwork sent to Ogre, from the band Skinny Puppy, is a moving chronicle of a girl's struggle to find place and meaning for herself at an age that is normally awkward at best. I found great beauty in this very human quest for self discovery and identity.



5. I loved this book and read it from front to back in one sitting. It is a great look inside the mind of a teenager. It takes you through all of her stuggles with unedited brutal honesty. It is easy to relate to her moments as a young woman growing up and her issues.

5 comments about Looking for Lost Bird: A Jewish Woman Discovers Her Navajo Roots.

1. Like many of the readers I couldn't put the book down until I read it from cover to cover. While reading the story I found out these people were my extended family! I know everyone mentioned in the book. As a youngster I remember the crusade of Aunt Desbah, Uncle John and others in finding the twins who were stolen as babies. I wept at the end when Yvette participated in the holy Hozhoji ceremony to be reunited with her birth place, family, culture, and environment. Very moving!

   Aunt Betty, Yvette's biological mother lived a very brave life as she longed and searched everyday of her life wanting to be reunited with her twins. May God bless her soul.




2. Looking For Lost Bird:
   A Jewish Woman Discovers Her Navajo Roots.
   Yvette Melanson with Claire Safron
   Bard Books. 233 pages. $22.00
   By Elliot Fein

   Looking For Lost Bird is a true story that is disturbing yet compelling. A Native American Navajo Indian woman gives birth on her reservation home in Arizona to twins, a girl and a boy. During their infancy, both children get sick. The mother takes the children to the nearest local hospital for a diagnosis.

   Hospital staff members instruct her that they will need to keep the two children over night for observations. When the mother returns the next day, the children are gone. The hospital has no record that they were ever admitted.

   The kidnapped infant children are each adopted in Florida by two different families. One of the families is a young Jewish couple that lives in a New York City suburb. Looking for Lost Bird is the story of the Navajo girl, Yvette Melanson, who is raised in that Jewish household.

   As an adult, Melanson discovers her Navajo origins and searches for her family roots. She finds her family (minus her mother, who died of a broken heart grieving for two lost children) still living on the Navajo reservation in which she was born. At the age of forty-three, Melanson decides first to visit her birth family in Arizona, then to move there permanently with her husband and two children.

   While adjusting to the reservation, Melanson learns and begins practicing the religion, culture, and way of life of her birth family. In this process, she abandons many of the Jewish cultural practices (but not necessarily Jewish values) in which she was raised.

   Melanson's Jewish parents (particularly her mother) provide a loving and caring environment for their daughter. In Yvette's recollection of how she was raised, their warts do surface, particularly the shortcomings of her father. After her mother becomes ill and eventually dies during her teen years, the father changes into a different, less appealing character.

   Melanson never reveals whether her Jewish parents knew about her Navajo origins. The reader is left to speculate whether the knowledge, if known by her Jewish parents that she was stolen from a Native American Indian family would have impacted their decision to adopt.

   What is surprising in the telling of this life story is the absence of any form of anti-Semitism by the author. When Melanson writes critically about her mother and father, she writes about them as individuals. She does not associate her criticism of them with Judaism as a faith tradition.

   On the reservation, when she begins taking on Native American Indian ways, Melanson naturally compares Navajo culture to Judaism. In this comparison, Melanson writes with respect, affection, and even admiration about the religious tradition in which she was raised.

   Melanson tells her life story (with the help of Claire Safron) with compassion, humor, and eloquence.

   I recently led a book club at my synagogue. A member of the club recommended that I read Looking for Lost Bird. After reading it, we immediately decided to include Looking for Lost Bird one of our featured selections. The book provides a great opportunity to learn about Navajo culture and to see how it compares to Judaism as a religious tradition. The book is also a true gift for adopted individuals, particularly native American Indians, seeking to uncover their past.

   Elliot Fein teaches Jewish Studies in the Tarbut V'Torah School in Irvine.




3. I look through thousands of books a year as a reseller, but I read about 2 books a year. This one got my attention because I have a son who is 1/2 Navajo. His mother suffered the same sort of fate as Yvette. "voluntarily" seperated from brothers and sisters at the age of 5, sent to Utah, a mom she has not met, alcohol, violence etc etc etc . . .
   
   This book does a very good job of relating what rez life is really like, and gives a good insight into Navajo culture.
   
   I am a classically stoic, but I had tears in my eyes all the way through this book. I encourage anyone who is interested in the journey of the Navajo to spend some time on the reservation. Drive around, meet the people. Western culture has a lot to learn from this society.
   
   Read Ward Churchill's writings too, don't judge him by what the media has said about him.



4. This is an amazing and detailed story - and I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has not read it - suffice it to say that 'discovering ones roots' is neither an easy nor a direct path to tread - the brave people who undertake this quest never cease to amaze me .......



5. The book came and it was like new--maybe it was new. I thought it took a bit longer to get to me than usual, and, if so, it's no big deal

5 comments about The Twelve Little Cakes.

1. You wouldn't think that a novel about being the daughter of dissidents in Communist Czechoslovakia would be funny, but this novel is hilarious. I shared my copy with several persons and purchased others as Christmas gifts (2006). I'm dubious whether Dominika could so accurately recall conversations as a young child as detailed in the book, but you will fall in love with her in this autobiography. Her refreshing honesty and childish innocence opened some of the hardest hearts in a difficult time when adults were fearful whom to trust and honest conversation had to be guarded. It's an insider's look into hard times under a Communist regime without being preachy. And their family vacation to Poland makes you understand why the Poles were the first to throw aside the iron curtain. I cannot recommend this book more highly, particularly to our newest generations (X and Y) who did not grow up in the Cold War.



2. I recommended this book for my bookclub since it had so many 4-5 star reviews on this site. This book was a nice easy read but I would only give it 3+ stars. Most of my bookclub agreed. It has some cute and touching stories in the various chapters but doesn't get into much depth regarding actually living under a communist regime. Some of the stories seemed alittle unbelieveable.



3. I picked this book up on a whim, I admit it was right up my alley in content and it seemed like it got good reviews. I have to admit I was surprised by how much I just enjoyed the book. The perspective and stories are engaging and I found that the book ended much too soon for me- but just right for the story line.
   
   Well worth the read.



4. I will hold my thumbs for the sequel to Twelve Little Cakes, but with talent such as this, the author hardly needs me to cross my fingers Czech-style. The spirit of the Czechs is captured by Dominika in her first English work. Her spirit is that of The Little Prince: observant, sparked with life, and wise beyond her years. Dekuji. The hours you spend with Dominika in this work will connect you with her soul, and the soul of a beautiful country full of beautiful women. It is a holiday to remember.



5. When I first began reading The Twelve Little Cakes, I didn't realize that it was a true story. (I check this information along with the reviews on Amazon before buying a book, but by the time I get around to reading it I have long forgotten.) I realized that it was real when she mentioned Bohousek, her famous dog -- I remember my mom pointing him out in films when I was young. From that point on, it made the story a completely different experience for me and I was even more eager to read ahead.
   
   There were many other similarities I shared with Dominika, but the most important one was our romantic view of Czechoslovakia as children. When we're young, we don't care about any differences. We just want to go play. I remember my mom explaining why certain neighbors didn't like each other and how everyone gossiped. The urge people had to snitch on someone for no reason and make their life miserable is something I definitely understood in this book, though I never understood it as a child (and even now, really) -- Can't we all get along?
   
   As a Czech-American, I relate to this story very well, and perhaps this is partly responsible for my 5-star review as this story transported me back a few years and allowed me to relive some of my own cherished memories. I have spent half of my life living in each place, and my Czech childhood was quite similar to Dominika's.
   
   The Czech Republic is a stunning place and there are so many amazing people. This book did hit the nail on the head, though, as far as the problems in Czech society.
   
   It was an absolute pleasure to read this book. I truly admire Dominika's parents for sticking it out together and for the incredible love they shared within their family. It will warm your heart!

5 comments about A Tuscan Childhood.

1. Prior to her death, Kinta Beevor wrote only one book -- A TUSCAN CHILDHOOD -- which would have been better titled "My Life in Tuscany" as it really is the tale of her connection to Tuscany over period of 40 years that included her childhood. Beevor, whose maiden name was Waterfield, was the daughter Aubrey the artist and his wife Lina Gordon, both British ex-pats who lived and worked in Italy during the first half of the 20th Century. The family owned the fabulous 15th Century Fortezza della Brunella which the family called "the castle" and Lina inherited Poggio Gherardo which was almost as old. Both properties came with extensive farm lands. As a result the Waterfields lived lives of comfort -- socializing with the rich and famous (D.H.Lawrence for one) and feeding them to-die-for meals and sending their much neglected children back to England for schooling.

   Though I became weary of name-dropping, I found Beevor's book an enjoyable read. Her mention of various rich and famous folks is as natural as can be--just tiresome in the same way a story told over and over by an older person can be. She says her son encouraged her to write down what she could remember, and I suspect he did so after he heard her stories several times. Fortunately, someone had the good sense to publish the book for a wider audience.

   Ms. Beevor obviously loved Tuscany--her father's castle where the family restored and maintained a beautiful garden on the roof, her mother's house which Beevor's mother gained the use of on the death of her Aunt Janet, and the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Beevor's description of the sea as the train approached Aulla for her summer vacations from school in England is as well written as anything Lawrence ever wrote, and no doubt she was quite knowledgeable of his works given he was a family friend.

   After WWII, faced with death duties on the Poggio Gherardo following the death of Beevor's brother John, and huge expenses owing to the damage inflicted on both properties during the war (the retreating Nazis and the encroaching Allies made a mess, the latter found an autographed photo of Mussolini in the castle and wrecked havoc) the family was forced to sell up and return to England.

   Beevor's book contains passages that reminded me of bitter-sweet scenes in "The English Patient", the "Jewel in the Crown", "Tea With Mussolini", "Out of Africa", "Room With a View" and other works written by European ex-pats returned to their home of origin. Ms Beevor was undoubtedly well read and understood the withdrawal of the British Empire following WWII, and in her closing chapters she shares her thoughts about the effect of that withdrawal on Italy. Italy of course was not a colony, but the British had truly made themselves at home in Italy before the war (and may have done so once again).




2. The only book Kinta Beevor ever wrote, it was perhaps the only book she could have written. Her obvious love for her magical childhood in Tuscany (esp the years before she was shipped off to England for school) shines forth from every paragraph as she recounts her life as one of the benignly-neglected children of a pair of English aristocrats who owned a 15th century castle, the Fortezza della Brunella, as well as a villa above Florence.
   Centered around two very different periods of the author's life, the rural castle and the more urban villa, A Tuscan Childhood is full of famous people (her parents were part of the literati), beloved peasant farm workers, nursemaids, and Aunt Janet, upon whose death the villa falls into the hands of Ms. Beevor's mother.
   Toward the end, in diatribes against Mussolini, the Allies, death taxes, and everything and everyone else, an old lady's peevishness with changing times mars what is otherwise a lovely and evocative piece of writing.



3. Kinta Beevor, author of only this book, comes from a family of writers, including her son, the reknown author, Antony Beevor. It must be a genetic feature that families produce wonderful writers.
   She draws you into her world, like a welcoming friend. You will experience historic events and the world as it was in Tuscany in the 19th century and the early 20th century. You will get to know many of the distinguished and famous persons who visited the Waterfields and best of all, you will become acquainted with "Aunt Janet", the famous English writer, Janet Ross.
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Tuscany and in warm and inviting family experiences and how they are influenced by world events.



4. This book really takes you to Tuscany, as it was for British ex-patriates between World War I and World War II. Everything is here - the people, the landscape, the food. Highly recommended!



5. What amazed me about this book is that in spite of the author's English silver-spoon upbringing (sometimes it's hard to figure out which castle she's in at the moment) she gives the reader such an intimate portrait of the country, the scenery, the customs and the people of Tuscany. When you read of all the artistic and literary nobility that her parents had entertained, it's hard to fathom how she found the opportunities (and she did find them...) to relate so well to the local people. I have read many books written by authors who lived with and among the rural peasantry that don't give any better or more appealing feel for the country. I would hate to have missed this book!