rocketjk's 2024 OTS fun & games
Conversazioni2024 ROOT Challenge
Iscriviti a LibraryThing per pubblicare un messaggio.
1rocketjk
OK! I'm back once more. Four years ago, given my second full year of retirement and first year of Covid, I hit an amazing 82 books read, 31 of which I counted as "Off the shelf." Over the last 3 years, my "off-the-shelf" reading, was off somewhat for one reason and another. Anyway, my 2021 totals were 67 books read, with only 22 off-the-shelfers, well short of my 30-book OTS goal. 2022 brought me 53 books read, and 24 OTS, just short of my 25-book goal. In 2023 I bumped the goal back up to 30 and read 27 OTS, so better but still a little short.
In May of 2023, my wife and I packed up the SUV, coaxed the German shepherd into the back, and rolled out to drive across country from our Mendocino County, California, home to spend a year in New York City, where we will be through May of this year. That has had two effects on my OTS reading. One is that I'm no longer in my Mendo County reading group. That was a very fun group of friends, but the monthly selection only very rarely counted as OTS books for me. So as great as that group was, being away from it will enhance my OTS reading and help me maybe, who knows, reach my goal this year. On the other hand, I am now 3000 miles away from my books. The collection of those still unread numbers somewhere around 2,000. So for the first half of 2024, as during the second half of 2023, my OTS reading selections have come by scanning my LT library, but either getting the actual book from the NY Public Library or actually buying a second copy. Still those are books that are on my shelves back in CA, so, at least for me, they count. So once again my OTS goal will be 30 books.
In addition to the books I read straight through, I like to read anthologies, collections and other books of short entries one story/chapter at a time instead of plowing through them all at once. I have a couple of stacks of such books from which I read in this manner between the books I read from cover to cover (novels and histories, mostly). So I call these my "between books." When I finish an "Off the Shelf between book," I add it to my yearly list. Cheers, all!
Book 1: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Book 2: The Ploughmen by Kim Zupan
Book 3: Inheritance by Lan Samantha Chang
Book 4: Collier’s Magazine - May 10, 1941
Book 5: Robert Owen by Joseph McCabe
Book 6: This is Murder, Mr. Jones by Timothy Fuller
Book 7: The Mountains Wait
2connie53
Hi Jerry, good to see you back with the ROOTers and reading about your adventures with books in New York.
Love the name of that writer ;-))
Love the name of that writer ;-))
4rabbitprincess
Welcome back and have a great reading year!
5MissWatson
Welcome back and have lots of fun with your shelves!
7curioussquared
Happy new year, Jerry! Sounds like you are having an adventurous year.
8detailmuse
Happy reading and happy New York-ing!
9Robertgreaves
Hope you have a great reading year, Jerry
10rocketjk
Book 1: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Until now I have been one of those stupid idiots who had never read any of Louise Erdrich's novels. Finally I rectified that by reading her much acclaimed 2021 novel, The Sentence. Given this book's 91 reviews on LT so far, I'd say that nobody needs a long review of this book at this late date from the likes of me. But here's what I will say: all the acclaim is warranted. This is a good-hearted book about community, friendship, love and identity. It is a book about a bookstore, and so brought me back quite vividly--and in a good way--to my own days of bookstore ownership. The story centers around a group of Native American women living in Minneapolis who together run the aforementioned bookstore, as well as the husband of one of the women, Tookie, our narrator. There is also Flora, a regular customer. Flora is a white woman who, sometimes to the amusement but also often to the annoyance of the store's employees, identifies strongly with Native American culture. Well, but this identification often takes the form of acts of kindness and positive action, so how annoyed can they be with her. But early in the novel, Flora dies and soon thereafter begins haunting the store, in particular targeting Tookie for her increasingly unwelcomed attention.
Then Covid hits, and everything is turned upside down. And then George Floyd is murdered and, since we are in Minneapolis, the world explodes. Erdrich does an astoundingly good job of recreating the feelings of uncertainty, fear, isolation and dread of those early Covid days, events which already, only a few short years later, have faded from my memory, or have at least lost their vivid, horrifying intensity. And then stir in the turbulence, anger and regret of the George Floyd protest and the violent, repressive response of the police.
But ultimately The Sentence is, as I said at the beginning, a book about community and reconciliation. The strength of friendships and the vital role that we can play in others' lives through straightforward acts of support, and by listening to each other. The revelations about Flora and her purpose, and about a strange, very old, book that enters the story along the way, come in due course. The ending is spot on and the whole enterprise was for me an entirely uplifting (in a non-maudlin way) and satisfying experience.
Until now I have been one of those stupid idiots who had never read any of Louise Erdrich's novels. Finally I rectified that by reading her much acclaimed 2021 novel, The Sentence. Given this book's 91 reviews on LT so far, I'd say that nobody needs a long review of this book at this late date from the likes of me. But here's what I will say: all the acclaim is warranted. This is a good-hearted book about community, friendship, love and identity. It is a book about a bookstore, and so brought me back quite vividly--and in a good way--to my own days of bookstore ownership. The story centers around a group of Native American women living in Minneapolis who together run the aforementioned bookstore, as well as the husband of one of the women, Tookie, our narrator. There is also Flora, a regular customer. Flora is a white woman who, sometimes to the amusement but also often to the annoyance of the store's employees, identifies strongly with Native American culture. Well, but this identification often takes the form of acts of kindness and positive action, so how annoyed can they be with her. But early in the novel, Flora dies and soon thereafter begins haunting the store, in particular targeting Tookie for her increasingly unwelcomed attention.
Then Covid hits, and everything is turned upside down. And then George Floyd is murdered and, since we are in Minneapolis, the world explodes. Erdrich does an astoundingly good job of recreating the feelings of uncertainty, fear, isolation and dread of those early Covid days, events which already, only a few short years later, have faded from my memory, or have at least lost their vivid, horrifying intensity. And then stir in the turbulence, anger and regret of the George Floyd protest and the violent, repressive response of the police.
But ultimately The Sentence is, as I said at the beginning, a book about community and reconciliation. The strength of friendships and the vital role that we can play in others' lives through straightforward acts of support, and by listening to each other. The revelations about Flora and her purpose, and about a strange, very old, book that enters the story along the way, come in due course. The ending is spot on and the whole enterprise was for me an entirely uplifting (in a non-maudlin way) and satisfying experience.
11Jackie_K
>10 rocketjk: I'm not too bothered about the novels, but I hope to read some of Erdrich's non-fiction, I've heard lots of good things about her NF books.
12rocketjk
Book 2: The Ploughmen by Kim Zupan
The Ploughmen is a very effective but dark dual-character study about the springing trapdoor of loneliness and the sly banality of evil. The novel begins with a heartless murder in rural Montana. Soon it becomes apparent that we are going to spending a lot of time in this novel with the murderer. He is John Gload, orphaned in his early teens, who has learned soon thereafter that he is able to kill without remorse or revulsion. Very quickly, Gload has been captured and is sitting in a jail cell in Copper County. There he encounters Deputy Sheriff Valentine Millimaki, the book's main protagonist. The police have Gload dead to rights on this murder; they're certain of a conviction. But at the same time they are fairly sure that Gload, already in his 70s, has killed before, and often. He seems to respect Millimaki, however, so Millimaki's boss asks him to remain on night shift weeks past his regular rotation for that duty should be up, to see if he can get Gload talking about past crimes.
And so we watch the two men interact and develop, not a friendship, but an eery closeness. Gload is a man devoid of decency yet still beholden to his own sense of propriety. Millimaki is a decent man trying to maintain balance, and keep his marriage from falling apart, alone in his cabin while his wife works by day and walking the hallway between jail cells at night.
So, as I mentioned above, this novel is pretty dark. But it is also beautifully written, especially when Zupan goes about describing the Montana countryside. Sometimes these descriptions enhance our sense of foreboding, but often they serve as a palliative and as a ray of hope. This is not an easy read, as we spend a lot of time in very gloomy places. But my personal opinion is that overall this is quite a good psychological study and therefore a fine book.
The Ploughmen is a very effective but dark dual-character study about the springing trapdoor of loneliness and the sly banality of evil. The novel begins with a heartless murder in rural Montana. Soon it becomes apparent that we are going to spending a lot of time in this novel with the murderer. He is John Gload, orphaned in his early teens, who has learned soon thereafter that he is able to kill without remorse or revulsion. Very quickly, Gload has been captured and is sitting in a jail cell in Copper County. There he encounters Deputy Sheriff Valentine Millimaki, the book's main protagonist. The police have Gload dead to rights on this murder; they're certain of a conviction. But at the same time they are fairly sure that Gload, already in his 70s, has killed before, and often. He seems to respect Millimaki, however, so Millimaki's boss asks him to remain on night shift weeks past his regular rotation for that duty should be up, to see if he can get Gload talking about past crimes.
And so we watch the two men interact and develop, not a friendship, but an eery closeness. Gload is a man devoid of decency yet still beholden to his own sense of propriety. Millimaki is a decent man trying to maintain balance, and keep his marriage from falling apart, alone in his cabin while his wife works by day and walking the hallway between jail cells at night.
So, as I mentioned above, this novel is pretty dark. But it is also beautifully written, especially when Zupan goes about describing the Montana countryside. Sometimes these descriptions enhance our sense of foreboding, but often they serve as a palliative and as a ray of hope. This is not an easy read, as we spend a lot of time in very gloomy places. But my personal opinion is that overall this is quite a good psychological study and therefore a fine book.
13curioussquared
>10 rocketjk: I have that one on my shelves; glad to see you liked it! I have The Night Watchmen on my list of books to get to this year; that will be my first Erdich.
14rocketjk
>13 curioussquared: I hope you decide to read The Sentence, Natalie. I'll be very interested to learn what you think of it.
15atozgrl
Hello Jerry, I'm returning your visit. I made it over here more quickly than I thought I would.
>10 rocketjk: I have to admit I haven't read any Erdrich yet myself. Looks like I need to add The Sentence to my ever growing TBR pile. It sounds like a great book.
>10 rocketjk: I have to admit I haven't read any Erdrich yet myself. Looks like I need to add The Sentence to my ever growing TBR pile. It sounds like a great book.
16rocketjk
>15 atozgrl: Welcome, Irene, and thanks for dropping in. Yes, The Sentence is a wonderful book. I would recommend to just about anyone. Hope you read it and review it. I'm interested to know what you think of it. Cheers!
17atozgrl
>16 rocketjk: Thanks! I don't know how quickly I'll be able to get to it, but I'll certainly write something up whenever I do.
18rocketjk
Book 3: Inheritance by Lan Samantha Chang
Inheritance is a novel that takes us through three generations of a Chinese family, from the beginning of the 20th century up through the late-1980s. The narrative takes us through the Chinese Revolution of 1911 through the gathering threat of Japanese imperialism, the Japanese invasion and occupation, the Chinese Civil War and the calamity (from the point of view of our protagonists) of the Communist victory and the family's exile to Taiwan. The focus is primarily on the women of the family, told often through the point of view of Hong, the daughter of narrative's central figure, Junan. Although narrative is often in the third person, we understand that the perspective is Hong's and that she is relating the family history as it has been told to her or as she has pieced it together or sometimes even conjectured. This somewhat shifting narrative strategy I found to be largely effective. And as importantly, or perhaps even more importantly as the historical events the family lives through, and are often drastically effected by, the novel takes us through a near-century of shifting and evolving attitudes and expectations of the roles and duties of women in Chinese society, from Hong's grandmother, who had spent 6 years with her feet bound before "the practice went out of fashion," to Hong's adulthood as a professional woman in the United States.
I found Inheritance very much worth reading, offering an interesting (if necessarily limited in focus) picture of Chinese society during extremely turbulent times, with memorable characters throughout. As a first novel, I'd say it's admirable indeed, and I will be keeping an eye out for Chang's subsequent works.
Book note: This book has been on my shelves since March 2021, though I have no recollection of where I bought it.
Inheritance is a novel that takes us through three generations of a Chinese family, from the beginning of the 20th century up through the late-1980s. The narrative takes us through the Chinese Revolution of 1911 through the gathering threat of Japanese imperialism, the Japanese invasion and occupation, the Chinese Civil War and the calamity (from the point of view of our protagonists) of the Communist victory and the family's exile to Taiwan. The focus is primarily on the women of the family, told often through the point of view of Hong, the daughter of narrative's central figure, Junan. Although narrative is often in the third person, we understand that the perspective is Hong's and that she is relating the family history as it has been told to her or as she has pieced it together or sometimes even conjectured. This somewhat shifting narrative strategy I found to be largely effective. And as importantly, or perhaps even more importantly as the historical events the family lives through, and are often drastically effected by, the novel takes us through a near-century of shifting and evolving attitudes and expectations of the roles and duties of women in Chinese society, from Hong's grandmother, who had spent 6 years with her feet bound before "the practice went out of fashion," to Hong's adulthood as a professional woman in the United States.
I found Inheritance very much worth reading, offering an interesting (if necessarily limited in focus) picture of Chinese society during extremely turbulent times, with memorable characters throughout. As a first novel, I'd say it's admirable indeed, and I will be keeping an eye out for Chang's subsequent works.
Book note: This book has been on my shelves since March 2021, though I have no recollection of where I bought it.
19rocketjk
Book 4: Collier’s Magazine - May 10, 1941
Read as a "Between Book" (see first post). This is another publication from the stack of old magazines I've accumulated on the floor of my home office closet. This one is fascinating in that it was published just 7 months before the Pearl Harbor attack finally pulled the U.S. into World War 2. But the debate between FDR, who wanted to support the Allies as strongly as possible, and the isolationists was going full throttle. Colliers, as per this edition, had a very strong pro-Allies editorial stance. There are several short pieces and photography essays about the U.S. military and its drive toward preparedness. The centerpiece of this editorial policy is the long essay by Republican Wendell Wilkie. Interestingly, Wilkie had recently lost the 1940 presidential election to Roosevelt. He ran against Roosevelt's New Deal policies, but he refused to break with Roosevelt on his European policies, much to the chagrin of the isolationists, who dubbed him, iirc, "Me Too" Wilkie. At any rate, Wilkie's essay in this Colliers is titled, "Americans, Stop Being Afraid: The Dangers of Isolationism." There are also three or four fun short stories (by authors I've never heard of), and one very interesting feature on the famed race horse Exterminator by Bob Considine. All in all, a very interesting time capsule.
A note that this is the last of the magazines that I brought with me from California for our year in NYC, so my old magazine reading will be on hiatus from the "Between Book" lists until we get back to the west coast. At that point, we'll be packing up to move here permanently, and I guess most of the remaining magazines will get bundled up for the move.
Read as a "Between Book" (see first post). This is another publication from the stack of old magazines I've accumulated on the floor of my home office closet. This one is fascinating in that it was published just 7 months before the Pearl Harbor attack finally pulled the U.S. into World War 2. But the debate between FDR, who wanted to support the Allies as strongly as possible, and the isolationists was going full throttle. Colliers, as per this edition, had a very strong pro-Allies editorial stance. There are several short pieces and photography essays about the U.S. military and its drive toward preparedness. The centerpiece of this editorial policy is the long essay by Republican Wendell Wilkie. Interestingly, Wilkie had recently lost the 1940 presidential election to Roosevelt. He ran against Roosevelt's New Deal policies, but he refused to break with Roosevelt on his European policies, much to the chagrin of the isolationists, who dubbed him, iirc, "Me Too" Wilkie. At any rate, Wilkie's essay in this Colliers is titled, "Americans, Stop Being Afraid: The Dangers of Isolationism." There are also three or four fun short stories (by authors I've never heard of), and one very interesting feature on the famed race horse Exterminator by Bob Considine. All in all, a very interesting time capsule.
A note that this is the last of the magazines that I brought with me from California for our year in NYC, so my old magazine reading will be on hiatus from the "Between Book" lists until we get back to the west coast. At that point, we'll be packing up to move here permanently, and I guess most of the remaining magazines will get bundled up for the move.
20rocketjk
Book 5: Robert Owen by Joseph McCabe
This is a short, clear biography of visionary English social reformer, Robert Owen, written by Joseph McCabe, who was himself, 70 years later, a prominent Rationalist writer and lecturer. (McCabe's wikepedia bio here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCabe)
Robert Owen was a British industrialist in the early 19th century who spent his life and a major bulk of his money attempting to improve the lot of the British working class in a multitude of ways, including promoting shorter work days (the standard at the time was 14 hours per day), raising the minimum age of factory employees from 7 years old to 10 or 12, creating schools for children and even day care at company and/or public expense and full equality for women.
Owen spent his long life trying to set up enlightened industrial town and factories and agitating for his ideas, first in the English Parliament and then, giving up on the politicians, among British society as a whole. He never gave up on trying to replicate his success in Scotland, and in trying to point out the ultimate justice and economic advantages of improving the lot of factory workers, including champion and financially supporting the early English labor union movement. Not surprisingly, his pleas fell on deaf ears among British industrialists and politicians.
This is a short, clear biography of visionary English social reformer, Robert Owen, written by Joseph McCabe, who was himself, 70 years later, a prominent Rationalist writer and lecturer. (McCabe's wikepedia bio here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCabe)
Robert Owen was a British industrialist in the early 19th century who spent his life and a major bulk of his money attempting to improve the lot of the British working class in a multitude of ways, including promoting shorter work days (the standard at the time was 14 hours per day), raising the minimum age of factory employees from 7 years old to 10 or 12, creating schools for children and even day care at company and/or public expense and full equality for women.
Owen spent his long life trying to set up enlightened industrial town and factories and agitating for his ideas, first in the English Parliament and then, giving up on the politicians, among British society as a whole. He never gave up on trying to replicate his success in Scotland, and in trying to point out the ultimate justice and economic advantages of improving the lot of factory workers, including champion and financially supporting the early English labor union movement. Not surprisingly, his pleas fell on deaf ears among British industrialists and politicians.
21rocketjk
Book 6: This is Murder, Mr. Jones by Timothy Fuller
This is the fourth of the 5-book Jupiter Jones mystery series written in the late 1930s through early 1940s by Timothy Fuller. When we meet Jupiter Jones in the series' first book, Harvard Has a Homicide, he is still a Harvard student who stumbles onto the murder of one of his professors. By this fourth novel, Jones is a Harvard English professor. The year is 1943 and our hero is about join the Navy to fight in the war. Since there have been three previous books, you'll not be surprised to learn that Jones has already solved three baffling murder mysteries. So we're not surprised to learn that Jones, along with his wife, Betty, has been invited to be a guest at a radio broadcast from an old, deserted mansion in the Massachusetts countryside where, 100 years ago, a still-unsolved murder had taken place. Furthermore, you will not be astonished when I tell you that, once cast, crew and assorted guests are gathered at the house, a brand new murder takes place forthwith. Luckily, our man Jones is on the scene, as usual a step or two ahead of the local police. These mysteries are far from classics, but they are fun, with enough gentle, self-deprecating humor to keep things light, and an interesting time-piece of their era.
I've had this fourth entry in the series on my shelves since my LT "big bang" in 2008. I took it down from the shelf to read a few years back, only to realize it was part of a series. So, given my predilections, I had to go back and read the first three Jupiter Jones books in order before attending to this one. There's one more in the series, which I'll be attending to sooner or later.
This is the fourth of the 5-book Jupiter Jones mystery series written in the late 1930s through early 1940s by Timothy Fuller. When we meet Jupiter Jones in the series' first book, Harvard Has a Homicide, he is still a Harvard student who stumbles onto the murder of one of his professors. By this fourth novel, Jones is a Harvard English professor. The year is 1943 and our hero is about join the Navy to fight in the war. Since there have been three previous books, you'll not be surprised to learn that Jones has already solved three baffling murder mysteries. So we're not surprised to learn that Jones, along with his wife, Betty, has been invited to be a guest at a radio broadcast from an old, deserted mansion in the Massachusetts countryside where, 100 years ago, a still-unsolved murder had taken place. Furthermore, you will not be astonished when I tell you that, once cast, crew and assorted guests are gathered at the house, a brand new murder takes place forthwith. Luckily, our man Jones is on the scene, as usual a step or two ahead of the local police. These mysteries are far from classics, but they are fun, with enough gentle, self-deprecating humor to keep things light, and an interesting time-piece of their era.
I've had this fourth entry in the series on my shelves since my LT "big bang" in 2008. I took it down from the shelf to read a few years back, only to realize it was part of a series. So, given my predilections, I had to go back and read the first three Jupiter Jones books in order before attending to this one. There's one more in the series, which I'll be attending to sooner or later.
22Jackie_K
>20 rocketjk: Owen's New Lanark in Scotland is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's very interesting seeing the housing and school etc that he built alongside the mills.
23rocketjk
>22 Jackie_K: " It's very interesting seeing the housing and school etc that he built alongside the mills."
I bet it is! So sad, though not surprising, that Owen got so much resistance, scorn and worse from not only his fellow industrialists but also from the church.
I bet it is! So sad, though not surprising, that Owen got so much resistance, scorn and worse from not only his fellow industrialists but also from the church.
24rocketjk
Book 7: The Mountains Wait by Theodor Broch
This is the memoir of Theodor Broch, who was the mayor of the far northern Norwegian town of Narvik when the Nazis invaded in 1940. The book begins with Broch getting away over the mountains into neutral Sweden, having escaped arrest for his resistance activities several months after the Nazi's arrival. But then, quickly, we go 10 years back in time to Broch's arrival in the town with his wife. He is a young lawyer intent on starting a practice away from the bustle (and competition) of Oslo. His wife will run the law office. This first third of the book is a charming description of the town, its lifestyle and citizens, many of whom are charmingly eccentric. Imagine All Things Bright and Beautiful, but in an Arctic fishing and mining town on the inner coast of a Norwegian fjord, as told be a lawyer rather than a veterinarian. Broch's law practice is slow going at first, but eventually the couple gains traction. Then, pretty soon, Broch finds himself on the city council, and then the town's mayor. In the meantime, war clouds are gathering over Europe, though the folks of this sleepy town somehow assume they'll be spared.
But, of course, they aren't. In April 1940, German destroyers show up in the fjord. The Norwegian Navy ships on hand refuse to surrender, but are almost immediately sunk. The defeatist (and/or Nazi sympathizing) commander of the local Norwegian Army forces does surrender. The British, during their rather inept and soon to be aborted attempt to help the Norwegians resist invasion, send their own destroyers to the scene and actually win the ensuing naval battle, though the occupation of the town is not lifted. Weeks later, however, Polish, Norwegian, English and French Foreign Legion forces actually do run the Germans out, but only for a short time. Soon, the British decide to abandon the effort to defend Norway, withdrawing their forces to go defend their own island. Out go the British, and back into town come the Nazis. Broch describes all of this quite well, naturally emphasizing the daily lives of the people of Narvik and their experiences under Nazi rule, including his own negotiations with the Germans in his role as mayor as he attempts to placate the occupiers, keep the daily lives of his constituents as normal as possible despite disappearing food supplies and jobs, and keep the morale of the town as high as he can so that defeatism doesn't set in. Things go a little bit easier for the Norwegians than for other occupied nationalities, as the Nazis considered the Norwegians to be Aryans, people to be won over to the New Order rather than to be crushed, humiliated and exploited.
But, finally, Broch's activities in getting information out to the British and other minor acts of resistance are discovered, and he has to flee. Broch eventually made his way to the U.S., where he became active in trying to raise money for the training and supplying of the Norwegian military and government in exile. He travels the country, especially the midwest, where Norwegian immigrants have been settling for decades. when Broch talks to American college students, he is frequently asked how Norway could have let itself be caught by surprise. That's until the Pearl Harbor attack, when those questions naturally cease. Finally we visit an airfield in Canada where Norwegian airmen are being trained. The Mountains Wait was published in 1943, while the war, obviously, was still ongoing. Broch couldn't know that Norway would still be in German hands right up until the end of the war.
This book has been on my shelves since before my LT "Big Bang" in 2008.
This is the memoir of Theodor Broch, who was the mayor of the far northern Norwegian town of Narvik when the Nazis invaded in 1940. The book begins with Broch getting away over the mountains into neutral Sweden, having escaped arrest for his resistance activities several months after the Nazi's arrival. But then, quickly, we go 10 years back in time to Broch's arrival in the town with his wife. He is a young lawyer intent on starting a practice away from the bustle (and competition) of Oslo. His wife will run the law office. This first third of the book is a charming description of the town, its lifestyle and citizens, many of whom are charmingly eccentric. Imagine All Things Bright and Beautiful, but in an Arctic fishing and mining town on the inner coast of a Norwegian fjord, as told be a lawyer rather than a veterinarian. Broch's law practice is slow going at first, but eventually the couple gains traction. Then, pretty soon, Broch finds himself on the city council, and then the town's mayor. In the meantime, war clouds are gathering over Europe, though the folks of this sleepy town somehow assume they'll be spared.
But, of course, they aren't. In April 1940, German destroyers show up in the fjord. The Norwegian Navy ships on hand refuse to surrender, but are almost immediately sunk. The defeatist (and/or Nazi sympathizing) commander of the local Norwegian Army forces does surrender. The British, during their rather inept and soon to be aborted attempt to help the Norwegians resist invasion, send their own destroyers to the scene and actually win the ensuing naval battle, though the occupation of the town is not lifted. Weeks later, however, Polish, Norwegian, English and French Foreign Legion forces actually do run the Germans out, but only for a short time. Soon, the British decide to abandon the effort to defend Norway, withdrawing their forces to go defend their own island. Out go the British, and back into town come the Nazis. Broch describes all of this quite well, naturally emphasizing the daily lives of the people of Narvik and their experiences under Nazi rule, including his own negotiations with the Germans in his role as mayor as he attempts to placate the occupiers, keep the daily lives of his constituents as normal as possible despite disappearing food supplies and jobs, and keep the morale of the town as high as he can so that defeatism doesn't set in. Things go a little bit easier for the Norwegians than for other occupied nationalities, as the Nazis considered the Norwegians to be Aryans, people to be won over to the New Order rather than to be crushed, humiliated and exploited.
But, finally, Broch's activities in getting information out to the British and other minor acts of resistance are discovered, and he has to flee. Broch eventually made his way to the U.S., where he became active in trying to raise money for the training and supplying of the Norwegian military and government in exile. He travels the country, especially the midwest, where Norwegian immigrants have been settling for decades. when Broch talks to American college students, he is frequently asked how Norway could have let itself be caught by surprise. That's until the Pearl Harbor attack, when those questions naturally cease. Finally we visit an airfield in Canada where Norwegian airmen are being trained. The Mountains Wait was published in 1943, while the war, obviously, was still ongoing. Broch couldn't know that Norway would still be in German hands right up until the end of the war.
This book has been on my shelves since before my LT "Big Bang" in 2008.
25Jackie_K
>24 rocketjk: That sounds fascinating! There is such interesting history related to Norway in the war - I'm thinking of the "Shetland Bus" in particular, Norwegian fishing boats that sailed between Norway and Shetland with supplies for the resistance, and also helped get refugees and fugitives out.
26benitastrnad
>24 rocketjk:
I love a well written memoir and this one sounds like a good'un. I guess that is a BB. And I have taken so many of those lately. My ROOT list will never get smaller at this rate.
I love a well written memoir and this one sounds like a good'un. I guess that is a BB. And I have taken so many of those lately. My ROOT list will never get smaller at this rate.
27rocketjk
>25 Jackie_K: & >26 benitastrnad:
Thanks for the kind words, kids.
>25 Jackie_K: "There is such interesting history related to Norway in the war - I'm thinking of the "Shetland Bus" in particular, Norwegian fishing boats that sailed between Norway and Shetland with supplies for the resistance, and also helped get refugees and fugitives out."
Right, and I know so little of it. I might search out an actual history of these events some time.
>26 benitastrnad: "My ROOT list will never get smaller at this rate."
Ha! Who ever heard of a ROOT list getting smaller?
Thanks for the kind words, kids.
>25 Jackie_K: "There is such interesting history related to Norway in the war - I'm thinking of the "Shetland Bus" in particular, Norwegian fishing boats that sailed between Norway and Shetland with supplies for the resistance, and also helped get refugees and fugitives out."
Right, and I know so little of it. I might search out an actual history of these events some time.
>26 benitastrnad: "My ROOT list will never get smaller at this rate."
Ha! Who ever heard of a ROOT list getting smaller?
28rocketjk
Book 8: Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era by Elizabeth Pepin Silva and Lewis Watts
From the 1930s through the late-1960s, the Fillmore district of San Francisco was an ethnically-mixed working class neighborhood, alive with minority-owned businesses, a with a bustling neighborhood feel where different groups got along as a matter of course. Starting in the early '40s, the Fillmore became a hotbed of blues, R&B and jazz clubs where local musicians flocked and famous musicians came to jam after their paid downtown gigs, blowing until dawn in bars and cellar sessions alike.
The World War 2 years brought a great influx of African American families to the Fillmore, both looking for work in the Bay Area's war plants and navy yards, and fleeing the Jim Crow oppression of the South. And while they certainly found plenty of prejudice and rejection based on race in San Francisco, the Fillmore neighborhood was in many respects an oasis of community and inclusion. The exception was the Japanese population, who were yanked out of their businesses and homes during the war and sent to internment camps. Some were able to return and reclaim their businesses after the war, but most never came back.
Soon, as mentioned above, the neighborhood exploded with music clubs. Harlem of the West is a beautiful collection of photographs from the area's heyday, along with dozens of short oral histories from many of the musicians and other local residents who were still available to be interviewed when the authors were first doing their research in the early 2000s. We are lucky that most of the clubs had photographers who took photos of the patrons and musicians. The middle section of the book goes through the neighborhood, club by club, telling the stories of how each was established, and the colorful characters who ran them and performed in them. A reading of this book is a visit back in time to a wonderful era of jazz and inclusiveness in San Francisco history.
Of course, Golden Eras come to an end, and the Fillmore was done in by the usual culprits, prejudice and greed. Even while Fillmore residents were enjoying what many described in retrospect as great times in their lives, the City of San Francisco's Redevelopment Commission was taking pictures of the buildings and labeling them decrepit and liable for demolition. The buildings were, indeed, old and in need of repair, but the people who lived in the neighborhood loved them. From the mid-60s through the late-70s, whole blocks of the neighborhood were summarily knocked down. Geary Street which runs through the neighborhood was widened into a 6-lane highway as it goes through the Fillmore in order to allow drivers to essentially bypass the neighborhood on their way from the western urban suburbs to their jobs downtown. More houses and businesses were destroyed so that an ugly mall, intended to be a Japanese community center and known citywide as Japantown, could be built. When I lived in San Francisco from 1986 through 2008, Japantown was a dingy affair full of cheesy gift shops and mediocre restaurants. Certainly not worth eviscerating a vibrant neighborhood for. Well, developers gonna develop, I guess.
I should note that this is basically a reread for me. The book was originally published in 2007, and I bought and read it then. Over the intervening years, many folks who had lived the history and/or had photographs to share approached the authors, who decided to use these new stories and photos and expand and republish the book. The original publishers ChronicleBooks, had taken the book out of print, so the authors launched an Indiegogo campaign and republished the expanded version themselves. This new version suffers from some copy editing problems, but those are not enough to lessen the book's overall value, which is substantial.
From the 1930s through the late-1960s, the Fillmore district of San Francisco was an ethnically-mixed working class neighborhood, alive with minority-owned businesses, a with a bustling neighborhood feel where different groups got along as a matter of course. Starting in the early '40s, the Fillmore became a hotbed of blues, R&B and jazz clubs where local musicians flocked and famous musicians came to jam after their paid downtown gigs, blowing until dawn in bars and cellar sessions alike.
The World War 2 years brought a great influx of African American families to the Fillmore, both looking for work in the Bay Area's war plants and navy yards, and fleeing the Jim Crow oppression of the South. And while they certainly found plenty of prejudice and rejection based on race in San Francisco, the Fillmore neighborhood was in many respects an oasis of community and inclusion. The exception was the Japanese population, who were yanked out of their businesses and homes during the war and sent to internment camps. Some were able to return and reclaim their businesses after the war, but most never came back.
Soon, as mentioned above, the neighborhood exploded with music clubs. Harlem of the West is a beautiful collection of photographs from the area's heyday, along with dozens of short oral histories from many of the musicians and other local residents who were still available to be interviewed when the authors were first doing their research in the early 2000s. We are lucky that most of the clubs had photographers who took photos of the patrons and musicians. The middle section of the book goes through the neighborhood, club by club, telling the stories of how each was established, and the colorful characters who ran them and performed in them. A reading of this book is a visit back in time to a wonderful era of jazz and inclusiveness in San Francisco history.
Of course, Golden Eras come to an end, and the Fillmore was done in by the usual culprits, prejudice and greed. Even while Fillmore residents were enjoying what many described in retrospect as great times in their lives, the City of San Francisco's Redevelopment Commission was taking pictures of the buildings and labeling them decrepit and liable for demolition. The buildings were, indeed, old and in need of repair, but the people who lived in the neighborhood loved them. From the mid-60s through the late-70s, whole blocks of the neighborhood were summarily knocked down. Geary Street which runs through the neighborhood was widened into a 6-lane highway as it goes through the Fillmore in order to allow drivers to essentially bypass the neighborhood on their way from the western urban suburbs to their jobs downtown. More houses and businesses were destroyed so that an ugly mall, intended to be a Japanese community center and known citywide as Japantown, could be built. When I lived in San Francisco from 1986 through 2008, Japantown was a dingy affair full of cheesy gift shops and mediocre restaurants. Certainly not worth eviscerating a vibrant neighborhood for. Well, developers gonna develop, I guess.
I should note that this is basically a reread for me. The book was originally published in 2007, and I bought and read it then. Over the intervening years, many folks who had lived the history and/or had photographs to share approached the authors, who decided to use these new stories and photos and expand and republish the book. The original publishers ChronicleBooks, had taken the book out of print, so the authors launched an Indiegogo campaign and republished the expanded version themselves. This new version suffers from some copy editing problems, but those are not enough to lessen the book's overall value, which is substantial.
