Literary Horoscopes - Welcome to the Year of the Monkey!

Happy New Year!  Today is the first day of the Chinese Year of the Monkey. Just like the Western zodiac, the Chinese zodiac is based on a 12-part cycle, but each year has specific attributes associated with a specific animal rather than each month. People born in the year of the Monkey years are intelligent, curious and playful, just like their namesake. The flip side is that the Monkey can also be tricky, opportunistic, and not trustworthy.

The year of the Monkey will be volatile and unpredictable, but generally optimistic. Your own luck for the upcoming year will depend on your sign. According to Astrology Club, it will be a "generally auspicious year for Rats, Oxen, Dragons, Horses, Monkeys, Roosters and Dogs. This could be a difficult year for Tigers, Snakes, Dogs and Boars. Rabbits should beware their finances. Sheep should take care of their health." Above all, people who think on their feet and remain flexible will prosper during the Year of the Monkey. Individualism will be rewarded!

In this spirit, here are some titles that should inspire your fast-thinking and independent spirit.

Let's get the obvious recommendation out of the way: Curious George, everyone's favourite mischievous monkey. Originally created by Margret and Hans Rey, the Curious George character is now at the center of a franchise which now encompasses movies, TV shows, and many book series. The original seven stories written and illustrated by the Reys are included in The Complete Adventures of Curious George.

The Monkey is definitely the trickster of all the animals of the Chinese zodiac: he's clever and witty but you can never quite trust him. My favourite literary trickster of all time is Coyote from Green grass, running water by Thomas King. Not only is Coyote clever, but he just may have created the world. Or did he? Green Grass Running Water is an unconventional read filled with sly references to colonial history, and an engaging narrative with a lot of colourful characters. The occasional narration by Coyote keeps you wondering if you understand what is *really* going on.



Non-fiction fans might like reading some true crime titles in honour of the Monkey.  Bringing down the house : the inside story of six MIT students who took Vegas for millions by Ben Mezrich is action packed and contains many unexpected twists. "Bringing Down the House is an action-filled caper carried out by the unlikeliest of cons -- supersmart geeks. A highly elite group of mathletes was recruited to join The Club, a small, secret blackjack organization dedicated to counting cards and beating the major casinos across the nation at their own game. As a successful ring of card savants, backed by a mysterious ringleader and shadowy investors, they infiltrated Vegas and won millions." Publisher. 

     If you're a history fan, you'll likely enjoy Empire of deception : the incredible story of a master swindler who seduced a city and captivated the nation by Dean Jobb."A rip-roaring tale of greed, financial corruption, dirty politics, over-the-top and under-the-radar deceit, illicit sex, and a brilliant and wildly charming con man on the town and then on the lam, Empire of Deception has it all. It’s not only a rich and detailed account of a man and an era; it’s a fascinating look at the methods of swindlers throughout history. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day, and Dean Jobb shows us that the American dream of easy wealth is timeless." Publisher.


Of course, if you're one of the animal signs that is facing a challenging year, you might want to step away from the drama and focus on mindfulness. Tigers, Snakes, Dogs and Boars, Rabbits and Sheep - this book's for you! Taming the drunken monkey : the path to mindfulness, meditation, and increased concentration by William L. Mikulas, PhD. "Drawing from Western and Eastern psychology, health systems, and wisdom traditions, this book provides instruction for developing and improving three basic behaviors of the mind: concentration, awareness, and flexibility." Publisher.

Staff Pick: In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

The 2015 Christmas movie blockbuster season has begun with the release of Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea, based on the non-fiction book In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. The book tells the true story of the shipwreck that originally inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick.  In the early 1800s, whaling was the ultimate resource extraction industry, and Nantucket Island off the shores of Massachusetts was the unlikely center of the industry. Philbrick's book draws us into the culture of early 19th century whaling; the years away from home navigating the globe in search of sperm whales, the military rigour of the life at sea, and the logistics of slaughtering and processing huge whale carcasses lashed to the side of a wave-tossed ship. When the Essex is destroyed by a whale, the crew attempt to navigate to South America several thousand miles away with rudimentary instruments and a scanty supply of food and water. Philbrick uses personal accounts of the shipwreck as well as contemporary studies of starvation and deprivation to delve into the desperate mindset of the survivors. It's a gripping story of men driven to the very limit of survival.

Philbrick also references other famous tales of exploration, shipwreck, and survival in In the Heart of the Sea. The famous mutiny of Captain William Bligh's ship The Bounty had occurred 30 years before the wreck of the Essex, and the story of his survival in an open boat on the Pacific would have been known to the survivors of the Essex. The Bounty : The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander traces the steps of  the mutineers as well as the Captain Bligh. "Alexander's reconstruction of the mutiny and its aftermath (thanks to her exhaustive research through books, reports, newspapers, correspondence, historical societies and archives) is almost as remarkable as Bligh's feat. She details daily events during the captured mutineers' court-martial, expanding on court transcripts. Separating facts from falsehoods and myths in the closing chapters, she finally turns to the life of the mutineers on Pitcairn Island, noting "this fantastic tale of escape to paradise at the far end of the world had the allure of something epic." Publisher.

Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare by John Toohey attempts to present a sympathetic view of the notoriously cruel Captain and brings attention to the remarkable navigational skill that allowed Bligh to make the 4000 mile journey to saftey in an open boat. "Instead of rehashing the tale of the famed 1789 mutiny on the HMS Bounty (as done by so many historians, novelists and filmmakers), Australian historian Toohey tells the story of what happened to Capt. William Bligh after the mutiny was over. After his ejection from the Bounty, Bligh traveled halfway across the Pacific (to Java) on a cramped 23-foot launch with 18 crew members. Drawing heavily on survivors' accounts and other contemporary sources, Toohey recounts the dramatic tale of this voyage in an almost novelistic narrative, reconstructing conversations and interior monologues and capturing the terror and cunning of men facing slow death on the high seas." Publisher.

Readers that enjoyed these stories of survival against all odds might also enjoy reading about Ernest Shackleton's failed expedition to the South Pole in the early 20th century. The setting for these adventures is in frozen Antarctica rather than the open Pacific, but the desperate will to survive by the crew is very similar. Endurance : Shackleton's incredible voyage by Alfred Lansing has been called the "definitive account of the Endurance's fateful trip". Using team member diaries and interviews with survivors, Lansing describes the story of survival after their ship gets trapped and eventually crushed by the ice.

Caroline Alexander's book, The Endurance : Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition also tells the tale of the Shackleton expedition, and includes 170 previously unpublished photos taken by the expedition's photographer, Frank Hurley, described as "stark, artfully composed tributes to the savage beauty of the ice and to the fortitude of the men and their dogs. Not one of the men died during their sojourn in a freezing hell; as Alexander makes clear in her gripping, emotionally resonant book, this incredible fact bears witness not only to Shackleton's leadership but to the strength of the human spirit." Publisher.

Ireverrant reads : blasphemous or brilliant?

I spent my Christmas break reading a novel that might offend some but I really enjoyed. Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith presents the story of Jesus’s birth. Grahame-Smith is well known for writing familiar, beloved historical characters in a new light, such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter. His novels can be outrageous, but his tongue- in-cheek humour makes up for it. After all, who really knows what happened during the time of Christ? All the key elements that you expect from the nativity story are here. But Grahame-Smith has also written a well-researched novel, depicting a violent, difficult times with its class issues, Roman invasion, King Herod, the ambitious soldier Pontius Pilate, etc. While most of us are familiar with Jesus’ tale, this novels main character is Balthazar, a good heart thief , nicknamed the Antioch Ghost. Through a series of misfortunes, Balthazar becomes the leader of the “three wise men” who lead the holy family to Egypt. This tale may be the greatest story never told…before now.

Another biblical tale told from a little known the point of view is Christopher Moore’s Lamb : the Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. Both authors are like each other with their absurdist points of view. Grahame-Smith brought the New Testament up to Jesus arriving in Egypt. Moore has written a wonderful novel on what Jesus’ “lost years” would have been like. Moore actually went to Israel to research this novel, and it shows in his writing. At the beginning of the novel, Biff is resurrected into the 20th century to complete the missing parts of the bible. Besides Mary and Mary Magdalene (known as Maggie), the three wise men are in this novel as a magician, a Buddhist, and a Hindi Yogi. Through Biff’s sarcastic voice, we learn the origins of judo, why Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas, and why rabbits are associated with Easter. So besides a look at Christianity, readers get an amusing peek at other religions. Since between the ages of 13 and 30 there is little written about Jesus, who knows, Moore may be right!

Quarantine by Jim Crace is the Whitbread Novel of the Year and a Booker finalist. It is unusual that a book on religion would be written by an atheist. Crace does not believe and has a devotion to atheism that resembles evangelical beliefs. I know that this is hard to wrap your head around, but Crace must have a basic knowledge of the bible in order to write this award- winning book (I also find in ironic that his initials are JC but that is another story). Jesus is, once again, not the main character of the novel. Quarantine features a cast of seven characters travelling in the desert. In this novel, Christ first gets religion as a teen and “was transformed by God like other boys his age were changed by girls.” This tale is not the 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness that most of us were taught, but the novel does make the reader to thoughtful conclusion.

So, Dear Reader, you chose. Are these novels blasphemous or brilliant?

Staff Pick - Caught by Lisa Moore

I have been suggesting Caught by Lisa Moore to anyone who is willing to listen. It has so much about it that would appeal to so many readers - a fast-paced plot, suspense and tension, an entirely likable protagonist, high seas adventure and romance wrapped up in a very satisfying work of literary fiction.

David Slaney has escaped from his Nova Scotia prison and his hitchhiking his way across the country to meet up with his friend to commit, once again, the crime for which he had been imprisoned. In the mid-1970s Slaney and his friend Hearn attempted to smuggle a large quantity of marijuana into Newfoundland. The fishermen of Capelin Cove turned them in and Slaney bore the punishment of this crime while Hearn escaped prosecution and took on a new identity and a new life. Four years later, they still owe a large amount of money to some dangerous people and attempt one last try at their failed endeavor.

Caught is about so many things - freedom and the illusion of freedom; it is a quest, a literary adventure which brings to mind Hemingway and Conrad. I found David Slaney to be a particularly engaging character and I was compelled to read quickly even though Moore boldly hinted at the outcome in her title choice. Following Slaney's escape from prison he meets up with a series of characters who each have their own impact on his adventure. In an interview on CBC Moore talks about a real life pot smuggling incident in Newfoundland in the 1970s in which the criminals take on a folkloric quality. Storytellers in Newfoundland did not judge or condemn them, rather they were regarded as "audacious". So with Slaney. His encounters with strangers were brief, but they were poignant. Really, Slaney is not a very good criminal and everyone saw through him pretty quickly. Slaney himself was an adept observer of the people around him, but lacked an introspective quality that might have altered some of the decisions he ultimately made.

I think this is the best book I've read so far this year.

Slaney's adventures take him to Colombia where his immersion in a hot dangerous climate seemed to infuse him with a enhanced sense of bravery. In The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez "No sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde in a seedy billiard hall in Bogota than Antonio Yammara realises that the ex-pilot has a secret. Antonio's fascination with his new friend's life grows until the day Ricardo receives a mysterious, unmarked cassette. Shortly afterwards, he is shot dead on a street corner. Yammara's investigation into what happened leads back to the early 1960s, marijuana smuggling and a time before the cocaine trade trapped Colombia in a living nightmare." publisher

Suspenseful literary fiction with a focus on drug trafficking.

What's New in Adventure Fiction?

Adventure novels are engrossing stories, contemporary or past, which draw you into the lives of heroes and adventurers - men and women who have live life to the fullest. Perhaps it's conquering a mountain, battling the elements, overcoming the odds or winning a war. Adventure fiction allows us to feel a vicarious adrenaline rush while being entertained by engaging characters and learning about a time, place or an activity perhaps quite different from our everyday lives.

Here is a sample of some recently published adventure novels.

The Three Emperors: an Ethan Gage adventure by William Dietrich

"Adventurer Ethan Gage travels through the darkest and most superstitious realms of eighteenth century Europe, to the castles and caves of Bohemia to rescue his family and uncover a mysterious medieval device rumored to foretell the future. Having quick-wittedly survived the battle of Trafalgar, Ethan is rushing to rescue “Egyptian priestess” Astiza and son Harry from imprisonment by a ruthless mystic who seeks revenge for disfigurement, and an evil dwarf alchemist who experiments with the occult on Prague’s Golden Lane. Using death as his ruse, and a pair of unlikely allies—a Jewish Napoleonic soldier and his sutler father—Ethan must decipher clues from Durendal, the sword of Roland. Astiza uses her own research to concoct an explosive escape and find a lost tomb, their tormentors in relentless pursuit." publisher

The Emperor's Knives by Anthony Riches

"The seventh novel in Anthony Riches' acclaimed Empire sequence brings Marcus Aquila back to Rome, hunting the men who destroyed his family. But the revenge he craves may cost him and those around him dearly. The young centurion's urge to exact his own brutal justice upon the shadowy cabal of assassins who butchered his family means that he must face them on their own ground, risking his own death at their hands. A senator, a gang boss, a praetorian officer and, deadliest of all, champion gladiator Mortiferum - the Death Bringer - lie in wait. The knives are unsheathed, and ready for blood . . ." publisher

Authority by Jeff Vandermeer

"For thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X has taken the form of a series of expeditions monitored by a secret agency called the Southern Reach. After the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (a.k.a. "Control") is the team's newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves-and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he's promised to serve. And the consequences will reach much farther than that. The Southern Reach trilogy will conclude in fall 2014 with Acceptance." publisher

Counterfeit Lies by Oliver North and Bob Hamer

"Veteran undercover FBI agent Jake Kruse is investigating a smuggling ring in southern California when his assignment is cut short. A prominent criminal defense attorney wants to hire Jake on another kind of mission: to kill the daughter of a local crime boss. What began as a "contract killing" soon captures the attention of the CIA, the U.S. Secret Service, and high-level officials in Washington. The undercover agent is plunged into a deadly underworld of North Korean espionage, Hezbollah terror and the sinister deception Iran uses to acquire nuclear weapons. Caught in a web of international intrigue that goes to the top of the U.S. government, Kruse is forced to confront the ultimate moral quandary: doing what’s right when everything seems wrong." publisher


The Bootlegger: an Isaac Bell adventure by Clive Cussler


"It is 1920, and both Prohibition and bootlegging are in full swing. When Isaac Bell’s boss and lifelong friend Joseph Van Dorn is shot and nearly killed leading the high-speed chase of a rum-running vessel, Bell swears to him that he will hunt down the lawbreakers, but he doesn’t know what he is getting into. When a witness to Van Dorn’s shooting is executed in a ruthlessly efficient manner invented by the Russian secret police, it becomes clear that these are no ordinary criminals. Bell is up against a team of Bolshevik assassins and saboteurs—and they are intent on overthrowing the government of the United States." publisher

Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin

" If you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R. R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire. Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart—and yet leave you all the richer for it." publisher

Woman and Children First - suspenseful tales of shipwrecks

Women and Children First
by Gill Paul

"The Titanic was the most magnificent ship ever built, offering every possible luxury to her passengers -- yet on the night on the 14th of April, 1912, she sank in the North Atlantic, leaving the lucky ones floating in wooden rowing boats, and the rest struggling for their lives in the icy water. This novel follows the fortunes of Reg, a handsome young steward who works in the first-class dining room; Annie, a gifted Irishwoman who is travelling to America with her four children; Juliette, a titled English lady who is pregnant and unmarried; an American millionaire and his wife who are trapped in a poisoned marriage; and a mystery passenger who never shows her face in public. The sinking of the Titanic not only steals lives but blows apart the futures of those who survive. Coming to terms with the shocking events, survivors form new attachments, make decisions with tragic consequences, and watch all their old certainties crumble. How can life ever be the same again when you have heard 1,500 people dying in the water around you?" - publisher

The Lifeboat: a novel 
by Charlotte Rogan

"A young woman's first-person story of survival against seemingly insurmountable odds reveals truths about human nature and, particularly, about herself. Married just four weeks earlier, Grace and Henry Winter cut short their visit to London in 1914 after Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated. Wealthy Henry is able to book their passage back to New York on the Empress Alexandra and then to wangle space on a lifeboat for Grace as the ship is sinking. Grace's survival is never in question in the opening pages, she's one of three women from her lifeboat being tried for murder but her story is no less harrowing for that, since she reveals more of herself throughout her ordeal. Early on, ship's crewman Mr. Hardie is a hero on the boat, providing invaluable if harsh leadership, whether deeming that some must be sacrificed for the sake of all or strictly doling out limited rations. But things change as conditions worsen. This is an accomplished first novel, noteworthy for its moral complexity and the sheer power of its story.-" - Booklist

The Chain Locker
by Robert Chaulk

"Bob Chaulk's dramatic story begins in 1931 when thirteen-year-old Jackie Gould is a stowaway on the steamer "Viking" bound for the sealing grounds of the North Atlantic. When the ship's supply of blasting powder accidentally explodes, Jackie finds himself drifting on a piece of ice in the dark with an older sailer. The Chain Locker shows us how heroism, loyalty, and friendship play out in this amazing novel based on true stories about brave Newfoundland sealers." - publisher

 

3 Hidden Gems - adult fiction

Here for your consideration are three new novels, all of which have received starred reviews from Booklist.

Mr. Lynch's Holiday: a novel (M)
by Catherine O'Flynn

"*Starred Review* Recently widowed and newly retired from his job as a bus driver in Birmingham, England, Dermot Lynch sets out on his first overseas trip to see his son. Eammon has relocated to a remote new condo development in sunny Lomaverde, Spain, but what once seemed like paradise has fallen into disrepair in the wake of Spain's crushing economic recession. Laura, Eammon's longtime girlfriend, has fled back home to England, and Eammon, left to his own devices, seems headed for serious depression, sleeping until noon and barely mustering the energy to teach his online English class. As the once gleaming new development quietly molders, and the few remaining residents make awkward attempts to put a positive spin on their situation, Dermot and Eammon find a way to delicately maneuver around the fact of Laura's looming absence, offering each other encouragement and commiseration in equal measure. In her third novel (after What Was Lost, 2008, and The News Where You Are, 2010), O'Flynn offers trenchant commentary on capitalism even as she balances the comic and tragic aspects of disillusionment. Overflowing with warmth and compassion as well as a sly humor, this skillful novel will appeal to fans of Richard Russo and Francine Prose." - Booklist

Falling to Earth (M)
by Kate Southwood

"*Starred Review* Alone among the residents of Marah, Illinois, Paul Graves and his family emerge completely unscathed from the violent tornado that levels the town. Not a window broken, not a chair out of place; even his lumberyard remains utterly intact. As the toll of death and destruction begins to be tallied, the Graves are exemplars of salvation and sympathy. Their good deeds, however, are quickly diminished as resentment builds among the survivors. Why were the Graves spared? Did they deserve the largesse, or somehow orchestrate its occurrence? Like ominous drumbeats, insinuations prey on everyone's minds, including Paul's and his wife Mae's. Once pillars of this tight-knit community, the family quickly become pariahs, and the tragedy that initially bypassed them eventually finds its way to their door in the storm's wake. A tragedy such as this touches everyone, and Southwood explores the myriad ways lives are affected by disaster and its aftermath. All the big themes are here chance, fate, loyalty, revenge, guilt, jealousy and Southwood handles them deftly, with a nuanced but sure touch. Inspired by actual events surrounding the 1925 Tri-State tornado, the worst in U.S. history, Southwood's poignantly penetrating examination of the psychic cost of survival is breathtaking in its depth of understanding, mesmerizing in its delicate handling of sensitive emotions" -Boolist

At Night We Walk in Circles: a novel (M)
by Daniel Alarcon

"*Starred Review* After the stunning, metropolitan sprawl of Lost City Radio (2007), Alarcon situates his riveting second novel in the backwaters of an unnamed South American nation. For Nelson, an out-of-work actor, it seems as if everyone has moved on: his one-time lover lives with another man, his brother long ago left for the U.S., and he's stuck at home with his widowed mother. But when the newly revived, controversial theater company Diciembre casts Nelson in a traveling remount of The Idiot President, he joins Patalarga, a founding member, and Henry Nunez, a playwright imprisoned during the show's original run. At first, Nelson immerses himself in the world of the play, performing in taverns and city squares, until the tour brings the trio to the hometown of Rogelio, Henry's former cellmate and confidante. Henry's past and Nelson's future converge, setting the stage for a fast-unraveling mystery of role-playing and retribution, told in compelling prose that is smart, subtle, and totally engrossing. Alarcon possesses Alejo Carpentier's gift for evocative descriptions of anonymous geography, and one sees shades of Manuel Puig in the passages that recount Henry's incarceration, both of which bode well for this native Peruvian's bright literary future." - Booklist

Love with a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche, and other tales of Adventure Travel

For some, the uncertainty of adventure travel holds great appeal. Despite the discomfort, stress and hardship that might be encountered, these intrepid travelers thrive on the thrill of the unexpected, the excitement of being the first and the only, and the joy of meeting fellow adventurers. For those amongst us who are less likely to sacrifice personal safety and comfort, we can share in the adventure with this selection of great travel writing.

Love with a Chance of Drowning: a memoir (M) by Torre DeRoche is a real life romantic adventure told with humour and an engaging self-deprecating style. Deroche has a chance meeting and instantly falls for an Argentinean seafarer. Despite her own fear of deep waters, she throws caution to the wind and joins him on his ocean adventure.

Back on dry land Hidden Cities: travels to the secret corners of the world's great metropolises: a memoir of urban exploration (M) by Moses Gates takes you to parts of the city environment that normally is inaccessible. Abandoned subways, canals, sewers and rooftops offer a view into our world that few are able to see. The more he discovered the greater his curiosity grew propelling him toward riskier adventures.
 
I Married a Travel Junkie (M) by Samuel Jay Keyser relates the story of what happens when a reluctant traveler pairs up with an adventure junkie. In the case of Keyser and his wife Nancy, Keyser, who had envisioned his life playing out quietly on his farm, finds himself galloping around the globe encountering one exotic and dangerous creature after another. Self-effacing and direct, Keyser follows his wife's lead while learning about himself as a traveler and as a part of a couple.

It's one thing to have adventuresome travel alone or as a couple, but Joe "Metal Cowboy" Kurmaskie embarks on a family vacation to beat all family vacations in Mud, Sweat and Gears: a rowdy family bike adventure across Canada on seven wheels (M). Two adults, three children (including a one year old) spend a summer biking across Canada.

I think it is safe to say that most of us would choose our conveyances based on how safe, comfortable and convenient they are. Not Carl Hoffman. In The Lunatic Express: discovering the world - via its most dangerous buses, boats, trains and plane (M), Hoffman seeks out the most dangerous forms of transportation in the poorest and most overcrowded cities while meeting up with fellow travelers who are never likely to know the convenience and comfort of western travel. 

Acquired Tastes: on the trail of the world's most sought after delicacies (M) was written by professor of food science who is often compared to Indiana Jones. Massimo Marcone travels the world to learn about what people eat and why. Focusing on food that probably would not meet Canadian safety standards (rotten shark meat and tea made from larvae droppings) and also includes a Newfoundland delicacy - seal flipper pie.

Nursing in Dangerous Times

I admit that my brain does take leaps that other people may not follow. I was thinking about holidays and singing a Bruce Cockburn song today when I took the leap to the subject nurses (“Lovers in a dangerous time” + Victoria Day = Victorian order of nurses = blog on fictional nurses during wars). Now I admire nurses; they are always the frontline person and provide the practical application of the medical field. Doctors are so busy that they have to rely on their staff’s medical and personality skills to help their practice run smoothly. It is doubly so when it comes to nursing during war time. Here are some fictional accounts that show examples of this.

Lipstick in Afghanistan (M) is Roberta Gately’s debut novel. The novel is inspired by Gately’s own experiences as a nurse in third world war zones. Nurse Elsa was an ER Nurse in South Boston. But even the violence she witnessed there could not prepare her for the devastation she experiences in a small medical clinic in Bamiyan. But a tube of lipstick she found in her older sister’s bureau never fails to raise her spirits. It is with this lipstick and her determination she travels alone to war-torn Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11. It is another tube of lipstick that he finds in the aftermath of a bus bombing that leads her to a life changing friendship with Parween. These two women’s story and struggle is a tribute to friendship and a reminder of the cost of war.

Chickahominy Fever: a Civil War mystery (M) by Ann McMillan. Chickahominy Fever is better known as malaria and this is just one emergencies that Nurse Narcissa Powers has to deal with. I don’t know about you but whenever I think of medicine being practiced at that time I think of amputations, blood and muddy fields. McMillan has written a wonderful cast of characters and has woven in interesting historical details. Nurse Power is busy trying to find the body of a missing confederate soldier while Judith Daniel, a free black herbalist searches for the mother of an abandoned infant. Amongst these puzzles there is a missing letter from Jefferson Davis home detailing military strategy and pressuring President Lincoln to freeing the slaves. McMillan is wonderful in historical details and mystery and this makes the novel even more enjoyable.

Face of the Enemy (M) is the first in the series New York in Wartime by award winning Joanne Dobson and takes place in WWII New York City. Nurse Louise Hunter is faced by wartime racism when the wife of her patient is rounded up by the FBI. The FBI sweep through the prominent Japanese society after the attack on Pearl Harbour. This novel is much more than a whodunit. It is a historical profile of a city and a nation, a cultural insight of the plight of a Japanese immigrant woman and a page turner as well. It touches both the mind and the heart of the reader as the characters are so interesting. I am sure that this is just the beginning of a successful series for this author.

A Farewell to Arms (M) by Ernest Hemingway takes place during World War I. It is a first person account of the Italian Campaign. I battled with myself about including this book in this blog since the main character is not the nurse but as it is such a famous novel, I gave in to the urge to include it. American Frederic Henry falls in love with English nurse Catherine Barkley against the background of battles, soldiers and displaced natives. The battles are not just on the field. The couple have to battle for their love. The novel is based on Hemingway’s own military background while serving in the Italian campaign. The character of Catherine was inspired by Agnes Von Kurowsky, a nurse who cared for him. Kitty Cannel was the inspiration for Helen Ferguson and the unnamed priest was based on Don Giuseppe Bianchi. This novel was his first best-seller and is a wonderful example of his work to come.

It was only after I had finished this blog that I realized that this was Nurses Week. Maybe that is how the idea arrived in my subconscious. So salute all those hard working nurses out there – wherever they may be.

The Spy Who Loved Me (or is it vice versa?)

Another birthday party is in order. I recently wrote about the Little Prince turning 70 this past week. Someone pointed out to me that James Bond also has a birthday this month. It was 13th April, 1953 that Ian Fleming’s famous Agent 007 first arrived in the novel Casino Royale. (M) This was the first of many Bond tales by Fleming. Countless stories continue to arrive at the hands of other writers, both for the page and screen.

The first author to continue the Bond adventures was Kingsley Amis under the pseudonym of Robert Markham. He was followed by John Pearson, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson and Sebastian Faulks. The latest (and probably not the last) author is American author Jeffrey Deaver.

There even have been spin-off series of book entitled Young Bond, (M) based on Bond’s schoolboy days at Eton College.

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in 1908 to a wealthy merchant banking family and his father, Valentine Fleming, was a Member of Parliament. Perhaps some of the government secret plotting in the Bond books may have been inspired by the senior Fleming’s shop talk. Ian Fleming was a naval intelligence officer during WWII and later a journalist. His wartime service and the news he covered provided much of the background, detail and depth of the Bond novels. After WWII he worked as Foreign Manager for the Kemsley newspaper group. His contract allowed him to take three months holiday every winter in Jamaica. One of the many sights in Jamaica that you can visit is Fleming’s House, Goldeneye (named after a military operation he was involved with). It was here that he wrote Casino Royale over a period of two months.

James Bond is an intelligence officer in the 00 section of the Secret Intelligence service, which is commonly known as MI6. Fleming stated that Bond is a compound of all the secret agents and commandos that he met during the war. He also gave Bond some of his own personal traits and behaviors. Bond is a classic adventure story he-man hero, but he also is very human in his self-doubt and makes mistakes. Bond was assigned the 007 in reference to one of the British naval intelligence achievements in WWI, the breaking of the German Diplomatic code.

Fleming took the name for his character from an American ornithologist, James Bond. He explained to the ornithologist’s wife that “It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born”. He is quoted as saying”…I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man…..I thought by god (James Bond) is the dullest name I ever heard.” After the publication of Casino Royale, Fleming used his annual holiday in Jamaica to write other Bond stories. Even after Fleming’s death in 1964, James Bond refused to die. His literary executors hired other authors to continue the series, as I have mentioned above.

So raise your martini glass (a deep champagne goblet) full of three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet (shaken not stirred) to the great James Bond!

Icy Cold Survival Stories

Brrrr....

Alone on the Ice : the greatest survival story in the history of exploration (M)
by David Roberts

"Douglas Mawson is not as well known as Amundsen, Scott, or Shakleton, but as this intense and thrilling epic shows, he deserves a place on the pedestal next to these other great explorers of the Antarctic. Trained as a geologist, the Australian-born Mawson launched an expedition to a largely unexplored region of Antarctica in 1912. The effort soon turned into a grim struggle of endurance and survival against an unforgiving environment. Mawson and his team had to cope with the unpredictability of severe weather, hidden crevices in ice that could easily swallow a man, the loss of their food and other supplies, and their slow physical deterioration. Roberts attributes their survival in no small measure to the guts and determination of Mawson. He is portrayed here as a fascinating combination of reticence and aggressiveness, with an ability to both command and inspire his men. This fast-moving account earns for Mawson and his team a well-deserved place of honor in the so-called heroic age of Antarctic exploration." - Booklist

Buried in the Sky : the extraordinary story of the Sherpa climbers on K2's deadliest day (M)
by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan

"In August 2008, 11 climbers died on K2, the world's second-highest mountain. The story has been told before (in, for example, Freddie Wilkinson's One Mountain Thousand Summits, 2010, or Wilco van Rooijen's Surviving K2, 2012), but here the authors take an unusual approach, chronicling the tragic events, which were triggered by the collapse of an ice wall that stranded climbers in the Bottleneck, a gully leading to the summit, from the point of view of the Sherpas who had been assisting the climbers. Sherpas are usually unnamed and unmentioned (apart from Tenzing Norgay, Edmund Hillary's Sherpa on his historic Everest climb), but the authors do a very nice job of not only reminding us that climbers couldn't do what they do without the Sherpas' expertise and dedication but also giving us a revelatory look at Sherpa history and culture. Two Sherpas survived the K2 disaster, and their stories are key to the book. For climbers, and for readers of books about climbing, this one is highly recommended." Booklist

Man on the Ice: the Rex Saunders story (M)
by Rex Saunders

“This is going to be a good day out in boat,” said Rex Saunders, a sixty-six-year-old sealer from St. Lunaire-Griquet, NL, before heading out to the icefields on May 4, 2009. Later that day, the cold and unforgiving waters of the Atlantic Ocean nearly claimed another victim after his boat capsized. He had phoned his wife mere moments before the mishap and told her to expect him home in an hour, but now the sealer found himself stranded and alone on an ice floe. There he spent the next two nights, miles from shore and armed only with a flotation suit, a five-gallon gas can, and his faith.

Man on the Ice is the autobiography of Rex Saunders, a man of faith who grew up on the rugged shores of the Great Northern Peninsula. His battle with the elements made national headlines when this everyman-turned-hero stared death in the face while waiting for a miracle he knew would come." - Publisher