Book Review: Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Radium Girls by Kate Moore
ARC, e-Book, 496 pages
Sourcebooks
April 18, 2017
★★★★ ½☆

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Received via Netgalley for review

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives...

As soon as I saw Radium Girls up on the Netgalley platform I knew I NEEDED to read it. While I had never done extensive reading on these girls I had heard of them in passing while reading various other non-fiction works, especially when taking a class on social reform and women’s rights. However, after having received the book, life happened and like so many other things, it quite literally was shelved for awhile. But I still knew I WANTED to read this. So when a weekend arrived where I wasn’t feeling great and was going to be spending my time on the couch, it was time, finally, to pick up the book! And I absolutely devoured the pages in the course of the weekend!

What immediately caught my attention in this book was the girls themselves. The author doesn’t focus on just one of two key players, but quite the handful of women who endured a lot at the expense of radium. These women were fleshed out and their reasons for working at the various radium dial painting factories and the effects of the radium on their lives and bodies were detailed in full. Each woman had different reasons and different ailments and this book gave the full picture. Not something you want to be reading while eating, it can be gross at times as the author pulls no punches, but it was very appreciated because I could truly identify with these women and the pain they endured even while fighting their battle legally.

Even the companies themselves, the author dug under the covers and we are treated to what they knew and the lengths they went to in order to hide what they knew about the effects of the radium. What shocked me was how these women underwent exams by the company doctors, but were not given access to the results and the company men already knew they were suffering from radium’s effects early on.

I also appreciated the legal process that the author took us through as the women struggled to find anyone that would be willing to go up against the industry or assist them with their case. These were women who suffered some horrible workplace injustices, but at the time the jobs they were doing were considered to be top of the heap and THE jobs to be had, which made for considerable backlash. This reminded me to some extent of some of the garment workers in NYC, how those jobs were better than many others that women could have and there was high competition for the jobs, and the only way that their workplace situations were improved was unfortunately through a major fire that killed many women (at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory).

Oh and let me not forget to mention, that although this is a non-fiction book, it certainly doesn’t read like one. While the material might be heavy in concept, the writing style is fluid and reads more like a novel, seamlessly moving from one thing to the next. An excellent book that I would highly recommend.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Flashlight Commentary
• Atomic Fangirl

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Kate Moore:

Felix the Railway Cat

Find Kate Moore: Website | Twitter

Copyright © 2018 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
Unabridged, 10 hr. 48 min.
Simon & Schuster Audio
Joy Osmanski (Narrator)
October 18, 2016
★★★★ ½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received audiobook download for review from publisher

A stunningly ambitious and beautiful debut novel, perfect for fans of Sarah’s Key and All the Light We Cannot See, the story of a twelve-year-old girl’s harrowing experience fleeing Nazi-occupied Germany with her family and best friend, only to discover that the overseas asylum they had been promised is an illusion.

In 1939 before everything changed, Hannah Rosenthal lived a charmed life. Her family moved in Berlin’s highest social circles, admired by friends and neighbors. Eleven-year-old Hannah was often taken by her mother for an afternoon treat at the tea room of the beautiful Adlon Hotel, both dressed in their finest clothes. She spent her afternoons at the park with her best friend Leo Martin.

But, in an instant, that sunlit world vanished. Now the streets of Berlin are draped with red, white, and black flags; their fine possessions are hauled away, and they are no longer welcome in the places that once felt like home. The two friends make a pact: come what may, they promise to have a future together.

As Hannah and Leo’s families desperately begin to search for a means of escape, a glimmer of hope appears when they discover the Saint Louis, a transatlantic liner that can give Jews safe passage to Cuba. After a frantic search to obtain visas, the Rosenthals and the Martins depart from Hamburg on the luxurious passenger liner bound for Havana. Life aboard the ship is a welcome respite from the gloom of Berlin—filled with masquerade balls, dancing, and exquisite meals every night.

As the passengers gain renewed hope for a bright future ahead, love between Hannah and Leo blossoms. But soon reports from the outside world began to filter in, and dark news overshadows the celebratory atmosphere on the ship; the governments of Cuba, the United States, and Canada are denying the passengers of the St. Louis admittance to their countries, forcing them to return to Europe as it descends into the Second World War. The ship that had seemed their salvation seems likely to become their death sentence.

After four days anchored at bay, only a handful of passengers are allowed to disembark onto Cuban soil, and Hannah and Leo must face the grim reality that they could be torn apart. Their future is unknown, and their only choice will have an impact in generations to come.

Decades later in New York City on her eleventh birthday, Anna Rosen receives a mysterious envelope from Hannah, a great-aunt she has never met but who raised her deceased father. In an attempt to piece together her father’s mysterious past, Anna and her mother travel to Havana to meet Hannah, who is turning eighty-seven years old. Hannah reveals old family ties, recounts her journey aboard the Saint Louis and, for the first time, reveals what happened to her father and Leo. Bringing together the pain of the past with the mysteries of the present, Hannah gives young Anna a sense of their shared histories, forever intertwining their lives, honoring those they loved and cruelly lost.

Like many historical fiction readers I have enjoyed my fair share of novels set during WWII; there are so many on the market that it is difficult to not run into one. What I loved about the premise of The German Girl is it takes the reader somewhere new and explores an oft overlooked event during the early days of the war. This is not a novel that will feel familiar or a rehash of events that you have read before, but it will pull at your heartstrings.

The story is told through a dual narrative – sort of. There are two distinct timelines: that beginning in 1939 and following Hannah Rosenthal and also that of Anna Rosen in 2014. These two timelines do come together in 2014, and it is early on when Anna meets her great-aunt Hannah, and then we get the story from 1939 forward as Hannah tells Anna and her mother the story of how she fled Germany in the early days of the war. I was certainly more committed to the 1939 story line. This was the fascinating and new part for me. I had never heard of the Saint Louis and the plight of the passengers who had fled Nazi Germany aboard it only to find extreme difficulty upon arriving in Havana, Cuba. The 2014 storyline and references to events during Anna’s life during the 2000s really held no interest for me. Because of this, I found the earliest chapters a little bit of a slog because I didn’t really care about Anna, her mother, or how her father died. I think that the novel could have held its own just fine being told only from the historical storyline without the distractions of the present. That being said, I do understand why the author chose to include the present-day narrative: it allowed him to draw character parallels between Anna now who is learning what happened to her family and Hannah then at the time the events were transpiring as she was the same age as Anna is now. And that worked just fine.

The historical narrative can be divided into three distinct segments: Berlin, the trans-Atlantic crossing aboard the Saint Louis, and then Cuba. The part set in Berlin gives the reader a perspective of what life had been like before the Nazi regime took over as Hannah describes the life her glamorous mother had led. You also witness events like Kristallnacht through the eyes of a young girl who doesn’t understand at all what is going on. I don’t believe she ever uttered the word “Nazi” and instead calls them “the ogres” when describing what was happening. All of this escalating terror and destruction is juxtaposed against childhood fancies and games, such as hiding outside a man’s window to listen to the radio and running around with her friend, Leo. It gave it all a sort of surreal perspective. The same can be said about the experience aboard the Saint Louis. The passengers viewed it as a successful escape from the clutches of the Nazi and both children and the adults thoroughly enjoyed their voyage, until they reached Cuba to find out very, very few of them would actually be disembarking the ship – among them Hannah and her mother. Cuba takes a decidedly depressing turn as the family struggles to figure out what has happened to their family and friends and decide what to do in this country that doesn’t want them and in which they do not want to be. We also witness Cuba later in the throws of its revolution and Hannah draws uncomfortable parallels between it and what they lived through it Germany.

This was a fantastically written novel. Even with my misgivings about the present storyline being a little superfluous I would enthusiastically recommend this book to any historical fiction or WWII fan. You will love the characters and the passion for the subject shines through the writing. It will open your eyes to niche experiences beyond the typical stories of WWII. I would also be remiss if I didn’t point out that I think that this could certainly be a novel read by young adults; it is something I would have read if it was available when I was 12-15. The two girls through much of the narrative are young teens that many could relate to. The material is heavy at points, so as a parent you might want to decide for yourself if it is something your child should read, but there are no violent scenes, romance/sex, or foul language (there might be one scene where someone is beat up during the Berlin portion, but I can’t remember if it was onscreen or off, and there is a scene during the rebellion in Cuba, but either way it isn’t graphic).

★★★★☆

One of the things that I always note is how well the narrator pronounces phrases when there is foreign language used throughout a novel. As one might expect, there is German in this novel, but also Spanish as they spend extensive time in Cuba, as well as French. While I know very little German and am far from fluent in Spanish or French, I feel that the narrator handled these segments well. They sounded good to my ear and enhanced my enjoyment of listening to a book and made it feel more accurate (because let’s face it, if I was reading the print version I would have butchered those parts in my head). Ultimately I think I would have appreciated having 2 narrators, one for Anna and another for Hannah, just to make it easier to differentiate the two in case you do not stop at a chapter header. The pace of the reading was very even, however it sometimes bordered on being too slow and I felt the need for the pace to be picked up. The narration overall, however, is strong.

You can get a feel for this audiobook by checking out this excerpt from the production.

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Man of La Book
• Worn Pages and Ink

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Find Armando Lucas Correa: Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies

The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies

ARC, E-Book, 418 pages

Crown Publishers

September 13, 2016

★★½☆☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Requested for review from the publisher via Edelweiss

Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother.

But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected. The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous. And there are clues to the past - a dusty trunk of dresses, an overgrown gravestone in the grounds - that her husband refuses to discuss.

Just as Gwen finds her feet, disaster strikes. She faces a terrible choice, hiding the truth from almost everyone, but a secret this big can't stay buried forever . . .

Oh where to start with this one…

So, this book started out as a “buddy read” with my fellow blogger friends Erin, Stephanie, and Magdalena, it ended for all of us as a solo read because about two-thirds of the way through it bogged us down so much that no one really wanted to read any further. What was once a promising read at the very beginning and generated much discussion at the possibilities of what the resolution would be to the mystery that is introduced in the first pages, lost its way entirely somewhere around half-way. I hung on through the end because I really wanted to see how the mystery would play out and was left disappointed by the anticlimactic answer.

Let me start with a discussion of what I think the author succeeded in with this book. Prior to reading this book the most I knew about tea planting/harvesting was from a Snapple commercial where a little old man told me that “you pluck” tea leaves not pick them. I didn’t even have any idea where Ceylon was – that was the first thing that I needed to go look up with this book! By the end, I had a fairly clear idea of how a tea plantation would have been run during this time, some of the problems that they would have faced with the native laborers and their growing demands for change, and how they might have been effected by the Great Depression. I could envision how a plantation might look and to some extent draw the lines between the way the laborers/natives would have lived and how the British colonizers would have lived (although the native took less of a robust shape).

I have the idea that the author wanted to flesh out these divisions between the British and the natives as well as the civil unrest occurring between the Sinhalese and the Tamil, but this was less successfully done. The most significant takeaway that stands out in my mind was the upheaval over which language would be taught in school – which didn’t have anything to do with the story. We hear a lot about the improvements that are needed for the laborers or the demands their unions are making through conversations between Laurence and his overseer, but it never means a lot to the reader as we don’t experience it – tell less, show more. The only time we witness anything related to these issues are when two riots happen and out main cast just happens to be there, for the most part. We are left very distant from these issues and thus they don’t feel all that important.

My biggest struggles with this book were with regard to the characters and the basic forward movement of the plot in general. I literally found every character infuriating, especially the main character Gwen. She moves through most of the book in a distant state or at other times so overwrought and in her own world that I just could absolutely not connect with her in any way. Her sister-in-law, Verity, I wanted to smack several times. I wanted to shout for her to grow up and let go of her brother. Verity and Laurence (Gwen’s husband) always felt a little off to me – that something was being hidden was obvious and I changed my mind as to what it was many times.

The plot was boring and I hate saying that because based on the book blurb and the earliest chapters I didn’t think it would be that way. Right off the start we find out about the deaths which occurred earlier of two people close to Laurence, but everything is cloaked in mystery regarding what happened. No one wants to talk to Gwen about it, but she keeps finding little reminders of these people throughout the house and its grounds. There are so many questions and possibilities of what happened to these people and if someone had anything to do with their deaths (directly or indirectly) – but the author only briefly touches on these elements, it’s never a main plot point, which I think was a missed opportunity. Instead, we have Gwen existing at this plantation home, fighting off the sister-in-law who doesn’t know her place, trying to raise a son (sort of), and keep the attention of her husband who may or may not have a wandering eye. But the problem is, my description in the last sentence comes off even as more exciting than that plot actually was. Even with super short chapters, I was often bored to tears and would put the book down for days (and even weeks!) at a time before picking it back up. Our read-along came to feel as a chore to get the chapters done because we had nothing to discuss!!! At 98% of the way done with the book, I was sure that we had totally lost track of that mystery that began on page 1 and that I was not going to get any kind of resolution (which by that point was the only reason I was even still reading). Well, it had a resolution – a nice, quick, tied-with-a-bow resolution, that left we thinking, “that’s it?!? That’s what I read 418 pages for?!” I wanted SO much more from this plot – it felt like a husk that was missing the meat of the storyline.

Overall, I don’t think that I can comfortably recommend this book to others – I would hate to have them upset over the resolution as I was and to be blamed for sending them after the book in the first place. I only have myself to blame at this point. We quit reading this as a group somewhere around the two-thirds mark; to date 3 of the 4 of us have finished reading the book – you can read their take on the book at their sites, linked below.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers (The ladies that I “buddy read” this with):

•  Flashlight Commentary (Erin)
•  A Bookahaulic Swede (Magdalena)
• Layered Pages (Stephanie) – Review to Come

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia


Also by Dinah Jefferies:

The Silk Merchant’s Daughter

The Separation


Find Dinah Jefferies: Website | Facebook | Twitter

 
 


Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein
Paperback, 400 pages
W. W. Norton & Company
January 13, 2014
★★★★★

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review as part of HFBRT blog tour

“In this evocative and thrilling epic novel, fifteen-year-old Yoshi Kobayashi, child of Japan's New Empire, daughter of an ardent expansionist and a mother with a haunting past, is on her way home on a March night when American bombers shower her city with napalm--an attack that leaves one hundred thousand dead within hours and half the city in ashen ruins. In the days that follow, Yoshi's old life will blur beyond recognition, leading her to a new world marked by destruction and shaped by those considered the enemy: Cam, a downed bomber pilot taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army; Anton, a gifted architect who helped modernize Tokyo's prewar skyline but is now charged with destroying it; and Billy, an Occupation soldier who arrives in the blackened city with a dark secret of his own. Directly or indirectly, each will shape Yoshi's journey as she seeks safety, love, and redemption.”

I love reading about WWII and I have always, for some reason, been most intrigued by the stories set in the Pacific theatre. I think this partially stems from the fact that it wasn’t taught as much as the German front while I was in school. Not only does Gods of Heavenly Punishment cover one event in the Pacific theatre, but the way in which it does that is so different and unique, that I LOVED every minute of the reading experience.

In this novel we follow the events proceeding, during, and following the firebombing of Tokyo – and we see it from many different angles, both Japanese and American. You get a taste of the home-front in both Japan and the United States, as well as the war-zone. I think that Epstein really captured very well what I envision “the old boys club” of WWII would have been like as well as the fears and anxiety that would have existed leading up to these events. I was captivated by all of the characters, their stories, and how they all came together and tied up the various narrative strings. As I read, I kept wondering how different strings were going to come together, as they seemingly wound around each other but didn’t have an obvious connection at all times.

Modern Japan is a very new setting for me; Japan in general is a very new setting for me. Epstein’s experience living in Japan helped evoke the essence of the locale and made it very accessible to me as a reader. The actual scene of the fire-bombing was intense, terrifying, and tear inducing.

The book jumps across various locations with several years passing by in between each chapter. There were huge breaks in the knowledge we have of each of the main character’s experiences. While there were times that I felt that I would like to know some more about what happened since the last time we were with that character, it didn’t really matter in the end. There was always enough given to keep you connected with their story thread and to prevent the reader from being confused by what was transpiring.

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. The prose was beautiful and read very quickly. For once the title and cover made great sense with the book (although I truthfully liked the hardcover version better). Pick this book up!

Author Jennifer Cody Epstein also has written The Painter From Shanghai. You can visit Jennifer’s website or blog for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out these excerpts from the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• From Left to Write
• Amused by Books

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour by visiting the HFVBT website or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #GodsHeavenlyPunishmentTour.

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: City of Hope by Kate Kerrigan

City of Hope by Kate Kerrigan
ARC, Paperback, 355 pages
William Morrow Paperbacks
June 25, 2013
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review as part of TLC Book Tours

An uplifting, inspiring and heartwarming story of a woman truly ahead of her time, City of Hope is the heart-rending but inspiring follow-up to Ellis Island

It is the 1930s and when her beloved husband, John, suddenly dies, young Ellie Hogan decides to leave Ireland and return to New York. She hopes that the city's vibrancy will distract her from her grief. But the Depression has rendered the city unrecognizable-gone is the energy and atmosphere of fun that Ellie fell in love with ten years before.

Plunging headfirst into a new life, Ellie pours all her passion and energy into running a home and refuge for the homeless. In return they give her the kind of love, support and friendship she needs to try and overcome her grief. Until, one day, someone she thought she'd never see again steps through her door. It seems that even the Atlantic isn't big enough to prevent the tragedies of the past from catching up with her.

City of Hope is the follow up to Ellis Island released in 2009. Again we see Ellie leaving Ireland behind to move to the Big City in America. Again we deal with some culture shock, but in a slightly different way that before because this time around Ellie is coming over as a wealthy woman to a Depression Era New York City. When we first begin to meet characters that we met in the first book I began to worry that it was going to be a sort of re-hash of the first book- however again I was surprised by the fact that I ended up getting a story I didn’t expect.

There is a LARGE cast of characters here – and while you may not remember who is who exactly, you get the feel of the large community that Ellie creates around her. Some characters came and went too abruptly for me to really connect with them or care about what ended up happening to them, but there were certainly those you could care about and connect with. Having such a diverse cast (diverse in SO many ways) allows there to be something for almost any reader. But Ellie is a hard character to read – I thought I knew where she was going but was disappointed with her choices toward the end of the book. I felt like everything had been leading up to this big decision and established the reader’s commitment to that decision and then she does a complete turn-around at the end – I’m not really sure she grew as a person after all of that. I don’t know that I was disappointed with her choice, per se, but more so with her wishy-washy-ness and how I felt that there was character development that didn’t really do much for me. I was actually really into Ellie’s story until about the last two chapters.

I enjoyed the new view on the Depression. Normally you see people really down on their luck, and you do see that here, but they actually try to find ways to build themselves out of it and the way they did so was interesting. The author creates a unique feel to the environment that they are living in.

The one thing I found hard to buy into was that Ellie has this endless supply of money from businesses that she built up in Ireland – but I didn’t really feel it was believable. How did what was considered a lot of money in a rural community in Ireland in pre 1930 equate to lots of wealth in New York City (even during the Depression the kinds of things she was buying would still have been expensive comparatively)?

I enjoyed the book, but wouldn’t say I loved it. I will likely read the upcoming third book because I want to know where her “big decision” ends up taking her – but I was sort of hoping it was going to resolve itself in book two.

Author Kate Kerrigan also has written Ellis Island and the third book in the series will be upcoming, Land of Dreams. Outside the series, Kerrigan has written Recipes for a Perfect Marriage. You can visit Kate Kerrigan’s website for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

My reviews of other books by this author:

• Ellis Island

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Tina’s Book Reviews
• Books in the City

You can check out the rest of the stops on the TLC Book Tour for City of Hope (I am the last stop I think).

 

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore). 

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

Angel Island: The Experience and Virtual Tour

Until recently, I did not know anything about Angel Island and its role in the immigration story of the United States. After reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See I learned a lot about the experience at Angel Island and wanted to know more and to share some of it with you.

Angel Island served as the initial stopping point for immigrants who wanted to enter the US from the west. The Immigration Center was active from 1910 to 1940. The experience there was much different than that at Ellis Island in New York. Angel Island’s purpose was to determine those who were coming under legal reasons and deport those back to their country of origin who could not answer the interview questions adequately.

Upon arriving at Angel Island the immigrants would be subjected to a series of interviews where they would need to correctly answer ever increasingly obscure questions about their families and hometowns. Their answers would be compared with others who had come over with them or who had come over previously and look for discrepancies. You can watch this video I have included below which shows a recent recreation of a couple of these immigration interviews. It is quite long but you can watch a portion to get an idea of how ridiculous these interviews would have been. I don’t think I could have passed these interviews myself.

Reenactment of a series of Angel Island Interrogations

While waiting to pass the interview process the immigrants would have to stay in the dormitories – sometimes for as little as a week, or sometimes for as much as a year. These were not the most comfortable arrangements. In the video below you can take a tour of the dormitories as they would have been during the active years of Angel Island.

Virtual Tour of Angel Island Immigration Station and Museum

If you happen to be traveling to the San Francisco area or live in that area, you can visit Angel Island today. It has a great number of opportunities for hiking, biking etc as well as a little historical tour. The Immigration Station now houses a museum. The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11-3 and is $5 admission for adults and $3 for youths. There are 1 hour lecture tours available for an additional $7. You can learn more about the state park here.

Most people who know of Angel Island know of it as the immigration center – but it had a history both before and after that period. It served as a military center, a quarantine station, camp for prisoners during WWII, and as a state park. Here is a timeline of Angel Island history.

If you want to hear first-hand stories of the Angel Island experience you can read or listen to some of these interviews.

Or if you are looking for some reading recommendations, check out some of these:

• Barde, Robert Eric. Immigration at the Golden Gate: Passenger Ships, Exclusion, and Angel Island. Westport: Praeger, 2008.
• Fanning, Bramwell and Wong, William. Images of America: Angel Island. Arcadia Publishers, 2007.
• Lee, Erika and Judy Yung. Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Or you can get a more complete listing here.

Have any of you been here before? Do you know anyone that had to pass through Angel Island to immigrate here?

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Unabridged, 13 hr. 29 min.
Random House Audio
Janet Song (Narrator)
May 26, 2009
★★★★½☆

Genre: Historical fiction

Source: Downloaded audio from my local library

“In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.

As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discrimination, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown’s old ways and rules.

At its heart, Shanghai Girls is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. Along the way they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are–Shanghai girls.”

I have adamantly avoided novels set in Asia because I have never had that much interest in the part of the world. Not because I have any negative opinions of the people or the history of this area, but the lifestyle is outside of my typical comfort zone of the European sphere. Shanghai Girls made this transition to Asian settings painless for me because Shanghai in the 1930’s is very metropolitan, Westernized, and modernized.

This book is a family story. It is the story of two sisters (as well as various extended family members and false family members) and the things that they will go through and do for each other. I don’t have any siblings so I can’t personally connect to the sibling experience, however the author makes the sister relationship so tangible that you can connect with it. You get to see the family dynamics of new immigrants, old immigrants, and subsequently the generations born in the United States. I absolutely loved the characters that Lisa created – all of them, even the ones I didn’t like were so well written that they hang around with you for a long time after finishing the book.

My favorite aspect of this novel was the immigrant experience. I have always been fascinated with immigrant stories after hearing my own family’s immigration stories from my grandparents years ago. In this book you are exposed to the total immigrant experience from the logistics of how to get to the United States, what they endured at Angel Island (which was a substantial portion of the novel), what still hung over their heads following arrival, and what the immigrant status meant in the United States. This was the type of depth I was looking for, and thought I was going to get when reading Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan, but didn’t get. I know that the Ellis Island and Angel Island experiences were quite different but I was looking for real stories and that is what I got with Shanghai Girls. You really got the feeling of what it might have been like to have been in their shoes. I also can truthfully say that I learn A LOT from this novel.

This book has some very heavy and dark moments and is certainly not for the light at heart but I feel that it totally captured the experience of the times. I couldn’t put this one down and will definitely be reading Dreams of Joy which is a continuation of this story.

★★★★★

This is a book that I am very glad to have selected to listen to on audio book. The narration was wonderful and added so much to the reading experience. Her voice set the tone for the book and I certainly appreciated being able to hear the pronunciations of the Chinese words. The pacing of the reading was perfect.

Author Lisa See also has written the following novels: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Dreams of Joy, On Gold Mountain, and Peony in Love. You can visit See’s website for additional information about the books. Each book has some awesome features on its page for additional exploration. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

You can also watch this book talk with the author about Shanghai Girls where she provides some historical background and her connections with the novel.  It is quite fascinating and doesn’t give any spoilers that you don’t get out of the book blurb:

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Lara’s Book Club
• Confessions of a Book Addict

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

The WPA and a Little Local History

In the novel Cascade by Maryanne O’Hara there is a lot of discussion about the WPA – Works Project (or Progress) Administration. Several characters in the book variously discuss trying to find jobs as artists in this relief program set up during the Great Depression. Artists were hired to create murals, depict local histories, or simply to beautify local areas. They also employed many laborers to construct various building projects. According to Wikipedia “almost every community in the United States had a new park, bridge or school constructed by the agency, which especially benefited rural and western areas”. These little tidbits brought to mind something I remember my librarian at my middle school telling me – there is a beautiful set of murals in the old middle school library (where I used to attend) that depict the life and time of the American spy during the revolution, Nathan Hale. He was a local hero in our town because he had lived in East Haddam and taught school there prior to the Revolution. I remember her mentioning that these murals were created as a part of the WPA. So now about ten years after that early discussion off I went to find out more about these murals.

The first problem was that I didn’t know the artist’s name, so it made it difficult to Google anything. Secondly, the school was closed about 3-4 years ago when a new school was built, so no one is in there currently that I could contact to get me some information. However, with a little digging, I did find a photo online with the artist’s name, W. Langdon Kihn. He is known for his works about Native Americans and many of his paintings are on display in art galleries. He also lived in my hometown for many years. Below it was something a little more interesting, FERA Project 1935. Now, the next logical question was what is FERA, because I thought this was a WPA project.

Apparently FERA, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, was a precursor to the WPA. It existed from 1933-1935. Like the WPA, they too employed unskilled workers in local and state government jobs as well as employing artists. So my librarian either had the wrong program, or more likely I remembered it incorrectly, but my local school’s murals were created because of these programs.

Below are some of the images that I have found of the murals from various sources (please be advised that none of these pictures are my own). There is currently an effort to try to save these murals because as the building stands empty with no plans in the works for its usage, these important local artworks are being exposed to a non-climate controlled environment. Apparently they are reporting it will cost more than $20,000 to take down the canvasses properly, or $8,000 to do high resolution digital photos of the works to then print on canvas to keep in the historical society. I really hope that they can save these murals because they have always had a place in my heart and are an important piece of local history. If you are interested, you can read more about the local effort to save the murals and how to donate to the cause.

Isn’t it amazing what a book can make you learn about a related topic?

Birthplace of Nathan Hale, Coventry, CT
Photo Credits: Kevin Hotary for the Reminder News

General Scenes from the Life of Nathan Hale
Photo Credits: Kevin Hotary for the Reminder News

The Nathan Hale School House – a local landmark
Photo Credits: Kevin Hotary for the Reminder News

The Capture of Nathan Hale by British Troops
Photo Credits: Kevin Hotary for the Reminder News

Nathan Hale being Led to Execution for Spying
Photo Credits: Kevin Hotary for the Reminder News

Plaque with Artist’s Name: W. Landon Kihn, FERA Project, 1935
Photo Credits: David Winakor

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Cascade by Maryanne O’Hara

Cascade by Maryanne O’Hara
Unabridged, 11 hr. 36 min.
AudioGO
Madeline Lambert (Narrator)
August 21, 2012
★★★★☆ 

Genre: Historical fiction

Source: Received download from publisher as part of Solid Gold Reviewer program at Audiobook Jukebox

“During the 1930s, a conflicted new wife seeks to reconcile her heart's ambitions with binding promises she has made

1935: Desdemona Hart Spaulding was an up-and-coming Boston artist when she married in haste and settled in the small, once-fashionable theater town of Cascade to provide a home for her dying father. Now Cascade is on the short list to be flooded to provide water for Boston, and Dez's discontent is complicated by her growing attraction to a fellow artist. When tragic events unfold, Dez is forced to make difficult choices. Must she keep her promises? Is it morally possible to set herself free?”

I have to admit that the first thing to catch my attention about this book was the cover- absolutely gorgeous and refreshingly different than most historical fiction on the market today. From there, the setting called out to me – Central Massachusetts in the 1930’s-40’s. Not only is that where I live but it is one of my favorite periods in American history because of the way of life and the onset of the war. And then there is the plot device of a town (like one I grew up in) that might or might not be destroyed because a big city needs more water.

The beginning of the book moved a little slowly for me. The author uses this section well to establish the characters, particularly to get us into the mind of the main character, Dez Spaulding. It is also to establish a connection with the town of Cascade – the daily goings-on and the way of life in a small community. After reading the whole book I can safely say that although it felt slow while reading, it was necessary to make you care about what might or might not happen to Cascade.

Once you reach a little more than half-way the pacing of the novel picks up significantly as we are dealing less with character development and more with what is going to happen to Cascade and all of the events surrounding that decision. For me, the real “ah-ha!” moment was when I realized that this book was loosely based on a real event that happened in Massachusetts in the 1930s – several small towns were completely dismantled to create the Quabbin Reservoir (more on this story to come this week). I also very much appreciated the inclusion of the Works Progress Administration and the desire of several of the artist characters to be a part of it because this is another aspect that hits close to home for me (again, more to come later). Once I engrossed myself in the local history my interest in the story really grew and could not put the book down.

The only thing that bothered me while reading this book was that every now and then there would be a statement that felt out of place, usually in relation to the us being told that “four years from now I would remember…” or something to that effect. It just seemed to clash with the way the rest of the story was written and I didn’t think that it added much to the reading experience.

This is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time after reading it. The characters are well-crafted and do not feel stereotypical or cookie-cutter – they feel like living, breathing, people. The plot is fairly unpredictable – just when you think you have figured out where it is going, it goes in a different direction. There is even a surprise at the end which had me saying out-loud “NOOOO!”. I also liked the ending – despite everything that happens. Cascade is a book that will make you think a little and was another one in which I waited a little while before deciding to write the review because I needed time for it all to settle into my mind.

★★½☆☆☆

I had a few more qualms with the audiobook narration. Frankly, I didn’t really like the narrator chosen for this book. Despite the beautiful prose, the narration was what frequently made me put the book down. For at least the first ¾ of the book the narrator didn’t really have any modulation or tonality to her voice. It all felt very blah – this could have contributed to how slow the first portion of the book felt to me. Toward the end of the book either I was too sucked into the story to notice it anymore, or she changed her manner of speaking because the end was, in my opinion, better narrated than the beginning. When she would voice one of the men characters it was very poor in my opinion – I would have preferred that she hadn’t tried to make male voices and it all sound the same. Also, these voices would often frequently be spoken softer than her typical narration of the main character – I’m not sure if this was a production issue or not, but I had to frequently turn up the volume during dialogues.

This is author Maryanne O’Hara’s debut novel.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

You can also watch the book trailer below.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Reading the Past
• Beth’s Book-Nook Blog

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Find Maryanne O’Hara: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Into the Dust

The Dust Bowl is not necessarily a period of American history that is covered in history classes. It is usually touched upon during a discussion about the Depression but that is usually the extent of it. I honestly don’t think we ever covered it in my classes, but this is a very important event in the discussion of the economic hard times of the Depression. I also tend to focus more on how an event affected the people more so than the political side of things.

The Dust Bowl lasted from 1930 to 1939 (depending on the area of the mid west that you lived in). The hardest hit areas were the Oklahoma panhandle, the northern part of Texas, and areas of New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. These areas were so hard hit because of the farming methods that had been employed since the great migration west: crops were not rotated, the natural grasses that held the soil were plowed under, and basically just wheat was grown. The soil became very, very dry and there was nothing to hold the once fertile soil in place. As large windstorms swept in, the top layers of soil would be lifted away and travel in huge clouds of dust to fall on cities and towns very far away. Soil from the area described above would sometimes fall in Chicago and even cities on the East Coast! During the winter of 1934-1935 there was red tinted snow in New England because of all of the dust particles in the atmosphere.

When these storms swept in the day would turn to night and visibility would be reduced to a few feet. I have read accounts where chickens would go to roost because they thought it was night time. The worst dust storms occurred on April 14, 1935 – called “Black Sunday”, which caused extensive damage throughout the Dust Bowl area.

Dust would permeate the homes of those living out on the farms – buildings were not as sound and no matter what they did they could not keep out the dust. Food would have dust particles in it and drinks would usually have to be chewed (eww!).

They also had to contend with crops that would not grow. As there was virtually no rain, the wheat that they were still insistent on growing would grow very weak and would frequently be killed off during one of these dust storms, or if it managed to grow, they would have a very small harvest. This left farmers very little to live on – not only to feed themselves but to sell as well. Many lost their farms, houses, farm equipment because of crop failure or decided to up and leave and see what their luck would be like further out west.

There were also the health concerns associated with these dust storms – notably dust pneumonia. The dust fills the lungs and inflames the alveoli preventing the lungs from cleaning themselves out. The results were high fever, chest pain, difficulty breathing, coughing, and almost always death. While there are no statistics as to the prevalence of dust pneumonia throughout the Dust Bowl region – the Kansas State Board of Health reported 17 deaths during 1935 in their region.

The Dust Bowl began to subside around 1937 thanks to some innovations and actions taken by the government. President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the CCC to plant over 200 million trees from the Canadian border to Texas to help break the wind and hold soil in place. They provided information to farmers about planting different types of crops and paid farmers $1 per acre if they would try one of these new methods. They also bought cattle that were unfit for human consumption at rates of $14-$20 per head. By 1938 the level of soil blowing was reduced to 65%. And in 1939 rain began to fall again throughout the Dust Bowl area thus ending this awful decade.

To hear some stories of what it was like to live through these dust storms you can watch this interview video:

You can also watch this episode of the American Experience series online about Surviving the Dust Bowl:





Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Unabridged, 2 hr. 9 min.

Listening Library

Marika Mashburn (Narrator)

April 11, 2006

★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction, YA

Source: Downloaded audio from my local library

“When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it is inspiring. 

Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great Depression. It chronicles Oklahoma's staggering dust storms, and the environmental--and emotional--turmoil they leave in their path. An unforgettable tribute to hope and inner strength.”

I read Out of the Dust for the first time in grade school – maybe 4th or 5th grade - and I remember being so absorbed in the book that I finished it in no time. It has been awhile since I read it and have been struggling to recall any details about the book – but I always had this lingering memory that I had really enjoyed reading it. That in and of itself says a lot – even if you don’t remember the exact details you know that a book touched your heart in some way and left an imprint there to be felt forever. I chose this book on audio this time because I wanted to see if the experience would be different – and I had unfortunately given away my copy of this book several years ago.

I had never before realized that this book was written as free verse poetry – let me rephrase that – I never realized it was written as poetry – because let’s face it, I don’t know the difference between free verse and any other type of verse of poetry. Quite honestly I shy away from poetry because of bad experiences in school and I just don’t “get it” quite like a novel. If I had known originally this was a poem I might have not picked it up purely based on that fact alone. But I couldn’t tell this was poetry. It flowed just like any other novel would have for me. And listening to it, you did not see the form it was written in which would be more of an indicator. So don’t do what I would have done and put this off because it is poetry.

I have read some reviews that say this book might be a little over the heads of its target audience – which according to the publisher is ages 9+. I have to say I disagree with those reviews. You don’t have to really know anything about the Dust Bowl to get valuable information from this book or to enjoy it – I’m sure that I didn’t know about it the first time I read this book. The book focuses on the characters but really creates the world for you. You see the world through the eyes of a 14 year old girl and she describes how hard it is to keep the dust out of the house and how you had to chew your milk. I think these are images that a young reader would be able to imagine. You really get the sense of severity and real depression of these people. Even though it is sparse and you get just the details you need and nothing more – the words chosen pack a punch. This is really an exemplary sample of keeping concise and to the point and being effective at getting your point across.

★★★★☆

The narrator chosen for this book sounds like a teenage Midwesterner which is a perfect fit for Billy Jo. The story is told through her voice in her diary so it really helps you to get into her head a little more. While I thought that the narration was wonderful, I do think that it might be a better choice to read this book in its printed version. As the book is written as her diary, you lose a little bit of the sense of time and connection to her diary. A diary isn’t usually read out loud so a little bit is lost in the art this time.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out listening to this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Becky’s Book Reviews
• Kathy’s Writing Nook

Buy the Book Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia 

Also by Karen Hesse:

Karen Hesse has written many novels, a few of these include:

The Music of Dolphins

Witness

Stowaway

Find Karen Hesse: Website | Blog

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court