Diana Marcum (1963–2023)

The Fallen Stones is a travel memoir about a woman who lives on a butterfly farm in Belize for a season. She describes her experiences living in the jungle of Belize and the tells the story of some of the workers and neighbors of the farm. I really loved the descriptions of the setting of the butterfly farm. I felt like I learned about the history of Belize and its people. I liked hearing the descriptions of the butterflies and other wildlife they encounter. However, the book felt a bit surface level for me. I wanted to know more details about both the people and the butterflies. It felt like hearing a friend tell me about their trip rather than a journalist really telling me about the science, history, and people of the area. If you are looking for a casual travel memoir to travel via book to Belize, this may be the book for you. If you want to know more about butterfly farming or a deeper look at modern day Belize, this might miss the mark.… (altro)

The Tenth Island - Marcum
4 stars

Diana Marcum is a feature writer for the LA Times. This book is a mildly fictionalized memoir of her life as a reporter in California’s agricultural central valley. Among the many immigrant groups settled in central California, there is a thriving population of Azoreans. Some sections of this book added to my appreciation of California’s ethnic diversity. Other parts of the book made me feel as if I’d just been on an exotic vacation to the Azores.

Before I read this book, I’m not sure that I knew exactly where on the globe I would find the Azores. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic? Halfway to South America? It’s good to know; the Azores are an autonomous region of Portugal, an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic. Marcum is a skilled writer. This book is mostly structured as a series of anecdotes that travel back and forth between California and the Azores. Her stories are full of beautiful scenery and eccentric people. She is dryly sarcastic when she relates details of her personal relationships. Towards the end of the book, she returns to the Azores for a third time with her labrador retriever, Murphy. I enjoyed all of the book, but Murphy’s island antics were the best.… (altro)