cbfiske still peering through the mists of time

New year, so I'm starting a new thread to record my Reading Through Time reading. This thread is officially open for peering. My old thread may be viewed at www.librarything.com/topic/97410

Themes

First Encounters - January 2017
fiction - Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Storico Italia - February 2017
fiction - The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani

Meeting Madness - March 2017
nonfiction - The Heart Has Its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor by Wallis, Duchess of Windsor
nonfiction- The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

It's A Family Affair - April 2017
nonfiction - Midnight in Broad Daylight: a Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

Oh What a State of Affairs! - May 2017
fiction - Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

Fight For Your Rights - June 2017
nonfiction - Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews by Ellen Levine

Viva La Revolucion! - July 2017 also for 18th Century Quarterly Theme - July-September 2017
nonfiction - Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick

Art: Making It, Preserving It, Collecting It, Stealing It - August 2017
nonfiction - The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O'Connor

Let's Have a Drink - September, 2018
fiction - The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
fiction -West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan

First Encounters - January 2017
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

My Review:

My grandparents and other close relatives emigrated to the United States, so I find myself fascinated by stories of immigration. Brooklyn , a fictional account of Eilis Lacey's immigration to Brooklyn, New York in the early 1950's, really held my interest. The twist that occurs in the novel highlights even more the differences between Eilis' life in America and in Ireland. I was also able to see the movie made from this book and was pleased to see that it followed the book fairly closely. Enjoyed this read.

Brooklyn has been on my wishlist for awhile; I need to get with it.

Love your thread title!

>4 countrylife: Thanks, Cindy. I'm glad I finally sat down and read Brooklyn. I was the same way you were with that one.

Storico Italia - February 2017
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani

My Review:

This one will take awhile to digest, but very glad I took the time to read it. In The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, Giorgio Bassani does a very good job of portraying the life of the Jews in Ferrara, Italy during the years immediately preceding World War II. Universal experiences of adolescence and young adulthood are set against the particular experiences of attitudes and laws affecting the Jews of that time and place. The movie, made from this book, does follow the movie while taking some dramatic license. The dramatic license did not spoil the story for me and I recommend the movie, which came out in 1970, as well as the book. This is a story that will stay with me.

Meeting Madness - March 2017
The Heart Has Its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor by Wallis, Duchess of Windsor

My Review:

Earlier, I had read A King's Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor so when I saw the Duchess of Windsor's autobiography for sale at a local used bookstore, I couldn't resist. It has been sitting on my bookshelf next to his autobiography for awhile now and I decided March would be a perfect time for a meeting. I learned quite a bit of new information about Wallis' growing up years in Baltimore, MD and I discovered that, even before her meeting with her royal husband, Wallis had quite an interesting life. Not sure if I like her or not, but she's definitely not someone who could ever fade into the woodwork.

Meeting Madness - March 2017
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

My Review:

This book, written shortly before Carrie Fisher's death, discusses her time making the first of the Star Wars movies and includes entries from a diary she kept at the time. I hadn't read anything by her before and was impressed with her writing. I also enjoyed her tales about coping with her Princess Leia celebrity.

It's a Family Affair - April 2017
Midnight in Broad Daylight: a Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

My Review:

I highly recommend this well researched nonfiction story of a family who had members in the United States and in Hiroshima, Japan during World War II and soldiers on both sides of the conflict. This author gives us a very personal view of the war and its effects on the people on both sides. It's also quite a page turner.

I want to mention a very good book I read for one of my real life book clubs that would fit in perfectly with last April's Women and War theme. The book is Doris Kiernan's The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II. This book discusses the women who worked on the Manhattan Project in the "secret" government city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I had been familiar with Los Alamos, New Mexico, but really didn't know much about Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This book helped fill in the gaps in my knowledge and I appreciated its focus on the women workers.

Oh What a State of Affairs! - May 2017
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

My Review:

This was a charming read concerning the life of Will Tweedy, a young teenager growing up in a small town in Georgia in 1906. Quite a sense of time and place.

Fight For Your Rights - June 2017
Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews by Ellen Levine

My Review:

This book is a good introduction to the actions and efforts of the Danes resulting in the rescue of 90% of the Jews in Denmark during World War II. It also discusses the 500 or so who were sent to concentration camps and what became of them. Ms. Levine relies on research, included in a great bibliography, along with interviews with people who lived the events described. While Ms. Levine's book is geared toward the young adult reader, it is a nice solid overview for the adult reader as well. Glad to have read this.

>11 cbfiske: I read this one a few years ago, and really enjoyed the peek into this society.

Viva La Revolucion! - July 2017 also for 18th Century Quarterly Theme Read - July-September 2017
Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick

My Review:

In this book, Nathaniel Philbrick discusses the actions and character of George Washington, the commanding General of the American forces during the Revolutionary War,and of Benedict Arnold, an Officer who fought quite well for the American side before betraying the Americans and turning toward the British. I like the way that Philbrick dug beneath the surface and popular conclusions to give a more complete picture of these two men and the time and place in which they lived. This book was well worth my time and helped flesh out a topic I thought I knew everything about already. One quibble - I would have liked a little more information about Benedict Arnold after his turn to the British. The book didn't answer my questions about what happened next for Arnold.

Art: Making It, Preserving It, Collecting It, Stealing It - August, 2017
The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O'Connor

My Review:

This book was a fascinating, close up look at the painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, also known as The Lady in Gold, by Gustav Klimt. Ms. O'Connor takes us from the creation of this work in early twentieth century Vienna, Austria through its history up to present day. Included also is the history of those connected with the painting. Particularly interesting is the section concerning World War II and the takeover of Austria by the Nazis. I don't often find non-fiction books to be page turners, but The Lady in Gold definitely qualifies!

Let's Have a Drink - September, 2018
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

My Review:

Great introduction to the Lost Generation. Ernest Hemingway has taken his wife Hadley to Paris. The book is told from the viewpoint of Hadley, an insider with access to the alcohol, parties and literati clustered with Ernest, but also an outsider, there not because of her writing talent, but just because she's married to Ernest. An interesting perspective on the lifestyle choices of the Lost Generation's voices and the impact on those around them.

Let's Have a Drink - September, 2018
West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan

My Review:

This book is Stewart O'Nan's account of F. Scott Fitzgerald's years writing screenplays in Hollywood
during the 1930's. Quite a look at Fitzgerald's life struggles, including especially his struggles with alcohol, during this time.