DRESS FOR  

LITERARY SUCCESS

WITH

THEBOOKJEANIE

Spring is the time for new beginnings and every book you open takes you on an adventure, somewhere that you have never been before.  Get out your hammocks and settle into a lazy day of reading.

The House Girl by Tara Conklin.  Every now and then you come across a book that makes you catch your breath and stop, go back and reread a passage, and then just marvel at the beauty of the language and the strength of the imagery.  This amazing first novel weaves the stories of a two young women:  a "house girl" who attends to the mistress of a once-grand but failing tobacco farm in Virginia, and an ambitious first year litigation associate in a prestigous Manhattan law firm.  But it is with Josephine, who has spent her seventeen years of life in slavery and degradation, that Conklin gets it so right.  With her cheek still stinging from her master's sudden blow, "something shifted in Josephine then, a gathering of disparate desires that before had been scattered. She could not name them all, there were so many, but most were simple things: to eat a meal when hunger struck her, to smile without thinking. . . to love a person of her choosing. Today was the last day, there would be no others."

As Josephine plans her escape to freedom she shares the thoughts and ambitions that rise above her fear, pain, and loneliness.  She struggles to shake off her feelings of hopelessness and takes pride in the small paintings that she is able to create alongside LuAnn Bell, her aspiring-artist mistress.  Over a hundred years later, her mistress's paintings are sought after by collectors all over the world but a recent claim by an art historian puts that legacy in jeopardy. Lina Sparrow, on a determined path to partnership, takes on an assignment to seek reparations for the descendents of American slaves in what would be a historic case.  The allegation that the Bell paintings are actually the work of Josephine rather than LuAnn intruiges Lina, the daughter of a famous New York artist and it becomes her mission to uncover the descendents of Josephine Bell to serve as the plaintiffs in her case.  But in tracing Josephine's story, Lina also stumbles across her own past and begins to question the choices that she has made and the truths that she needs to uncover.  Though at times deeply disturbing, this elegantly written novel was a joy to read.  It not only calls into question the meaning of justice but also the responsibility that a society must bear for wrongs inflicted upon its members, no matter what their status.

A spring poem by Susan Lewis, a poet and friend . . .

Tokyo Rain

Waking to the rain

softly washing

beyond the paper screen

Somewhere a dog is barking

storm-shutters rattle and trains

slice over the crossing

Outside, transparent

umbrellas float like jellyfish

on their way to work

Waiting in my reading nook . . .

The Secret Man: The story of Watergate's Deep Throat by Bob Woodward.  Coming of age in the era of Watergate, I always envisioned Deep Throat as a heroic, selfless anti-hero and the mythology of such a figure lasted for over 30 years until his identity and long complex relationship with Bob Woodward was recently revealed.  Part memoir, part history, part political thriller, and certainly a journalistic coup extraordinaire, Woodward's chronicle of the secrets and intrigue of Watergate is tempting me to stay up late with the light burning.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.  The latest book by one of my favorite authors is set in  Appalachia where this former Tucsonian now lives.  Dellarobia married young and struggles to face the obstacles of life on a failing farm.  When she encounters what she identifies as a miracle, she isolates herself from her family and her community in her quest to find the truth behind her experience.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe.  A testimony to a unique bond between mother and son, Will shares the story of his mother's final days when literature brings them together, sparking intimate conversations about faith, love, courage, and the importance of the written word.

See you next week . . . keep reading!