Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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Seven Days in May (book review)

I’ve just enjoyed a fresh new slice of historical fiction, one I highly recommend you snag and enjoy for yourself. It is Seven Days in May by Jennifer Luitweiler, the same author who penned Run With Me which I reviewed about a year and a half ago.

Seven Days in May by Jennifer Luitweiler
Seven Days in May by Jennifer Luitweiler

Once again, Dinner Club With a Reading Problem was dazzled and blessed to receive Jen as our guest of honor. Last Friday night she endured our girlish antics, warmed the room with her smile, and shed wonderful insight to this newly released book, her most recent labor of love.

Jen Luitweiler and me. (Look! DCWRP is so fancy we have t-shirts!)
Jen Luitweiler and me. (Look! DCWRP is so fancy we have t-shirts!)

Seven Days in May is a quick (237 pages) but absorbing read about the 1921 race riots in Tulsa, Oklahoma, including ramp-up action before that. It was an interesting and tumultuous time right between Emancipation and World War II, a time when race inequality, violence, and the oil boom in this part of the country both revealed and tested social norms.

Tulsa was the Magic City that erupted from the soil just like the oil that could make anyone, regardless of color or creed, a millionaire. With rapid prosperity come major growing pains. With so many people spilling into this boom town, we may guess that the riot was inevitable. It is against this setting that our story begins.

This novel tells the stories of several people, two families in particular, living the ground-level realities of this churning social atmosphere. Luitweiler does a wonderful job tethering the historical facts to completely relatable human nature. She illustrates cold, hard headlines with colorful personalities, family drama, and character background that, if they don’t make you sympathetic to the villains, at least make you step back to see them as part of a whole. Her storytelling makes it impossible to read about race division with a cold heart. The emotional landscape of the book is not only believable; it’s palpable. Absolutely engaging.

The two main characters are coming-of-age girls named Mercy and Grace. These names, by the way, are just perfect for their respective characters. One is white, one is black, and their families are intertwined in both common and fascinatingly uncommon ways. One of the elements of this book I most enjoyed was the author’s skill at so fully plumbing the feminine depth. The way these girls and their mothers relate to each other, especially their non verbal communication, was a long, soft poem to the reader.

In our conversations with Jen we learned that the feminine angle was a strong motivator for writing the book in the first place. Where were the women of this time? Who were the wives and daughters of the men in the newspapers? She did an incredible job conjuring up the feminine energies.

Is Seven Days in May suitable for all young readers? Maybe not. The story keeps its head well above graphic sensationalism, but still it contains violence and even one rape scene. It almost has to, as this chapter of history was not pretty. One thing I want to mention here is the author’s deliberate choice to not write with racially specific dialect. She explained to our book club that since it was not in her natural comfort zone to write it accurately, she did not want to risk using it inappropriately. I respect that. She handled so much delicate material with great care, this included.

Hydrangeas and coconut-lime cake for our guest of honor. xoxo
Hydrangeas and coconut-lime cake for our guest of honor. xoxo

Once again, I am pressed to say that this level of historical fiction is what will get the younger generation to learn from the past. It may also be exactly what gets the older generation to discuss it. (As Oklahomans we were all a bit stunned to realize how little we have been taught on this chapter of our own history.) Happily, we understand that several schools in Tulsa, where the author and her husband are raising their beautiful flock, are circulating the book as an annex to textbook curriculum. They are also accepting Jen as a guest speaker. How wonderful! What an incredible opportunity those classrooms have been given. Let’s all hope together that the material sparks important passions in the students there. Let’s also hope together that this generation learns something important from the hard truths of our communal past.

If you have time for one more hope, let it be that Jen’s work is picked up by the Oprah network. The same week that her book was released, the powers that be descended on Tulsa to collect interviews and do research on the 1921 race riots for a full-blown television special. We are all pulling for her that Seven Days gets exposure, of course, but also that the wide audience Oprah enjoys will benefit from Jen’s hard and loving endeavor.

Anger is the strangest thing. Anger is visiting a horrifying fun house, without the fun.
It is like wearing glasses in the wrong prescription or walking through life upside down.
It is an ugly mask, a veneer of venom that covers the open sore of hurt, disappointment,
betrayal, or misunderstanding.
Anger is alive and destructive like no war ever was.
~Jen Luitweiler in Seven Days in May
XOXOXOXO

How perfect that Mama Kat invited us to share a book review this week.
Click over to her cool site to see lots of other great posts.
Not the least of which is her own story about easy, comfortable friendship. I loved it.

 

On Writing, by Stephen King (book review)

My love affair with Stephen King started years before it should have, depending on your perspective. I read my Dad’s copies of his novels when other girls my age were sneaking around with Judy Blume, but we’ve discussed this already, right? With Pamela Ribon? I thought so. One particularly formative reading scene was in a bathtub and  involved a loofah glove. All these years later, I can’t remember the title that held it, but I must have read those paragraphs eight or nine times trying to understand.

Then in my tumultuous college years King and I took a break so I could read Dean Koontz and eat my weight in pecan praline candies, individually wrapped. (In those days I was a waitress at El Chico in Shepherd Mall and spent at least a third of my tips on those luscious sugary things they sold at the register. To this day I cannot see a Dean Koontz paperback without craving a pecan praline.) But King was always there, always frightening and tantalizing me, always marveling me at his use of words and ideas. Of large-scale storytelling and mold-shattering imagination. For this reader there is no one like him. My love for fiction and my appetite for strong language (not just profanity, mind you, but truly strong communication) are owed in large part to him.

Over the next decade and a half I forgot then remembered again how much fun it is to play with words and how important it is to articulate your life experience. Fast forward to present day, albeit several years after On Writing was published. When I heard that the narrator of my adolescence had penned a non-fiction book about my favorite pastime, well, I was stoked. It’s the excitement a fledgling magician might feel to hear of a how-to book written by Chriss Angel. You mean he’s telling us how it’s done? Sign me up!

On Writing by Stephen King
On Writing by Stephen King

King calls On Writing, “a memoir of the craft.” Its 248 pages offer equal parts wisdom and inspiration by telling the story of King’s own life and evolving career. Truly, you guys, I loved every page. I just polished it off on this rainy Monday afternoon, and my mind is reeling. He covers the creative process, how to capture original ideas and soak in genuine inspiration, his thoughts on rewriting and editing, good tips on how to approach agents and publishers with professionalism, just a million great topics!

Her poem made me feel that I wasn’t alone in my belief that good writing can be simultaneously intoxicating and idea-driven. ~said of his future wife Tabitha during college

As if all that isn’t enough, the end of the book is a three page list of suggested reading. King is a big believer that in order to write well you must first have read well. Stay tuned for a posted list. I’d love to know how much of it all my friends have tackled.

Being swept away by a combination of great story and great writing- of being flattened, in fact- is part of every writer’s necessary formation. You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.

I could retell this stuff in my amateur ways all week long, but you need the original magic. If you are passionate about writing and receptive to the voice of experience, please find a copy of On Writing and dive in. Not only will you glean lots of expertise; you will thoroughly enjoy King’s intimate, first-person, purposeful conversation voice. It was transporting.

For now, could we discuss some things, you and me?

  • How many books do you read per year, and how do you distribute your reading time? King reads between 70-80 per year, mostly fiction. He makes no apologies for indulging, and I love that.
  • When you write, how often do you seek input from others? Have you heard of the tenet to write with the door closed, rewrite with it open? What do you think?
  • Do you have an “Ideal Reader?” Please tell me about him or her.
  • What’s you favorite Stephen King novel? Talk to me about its movie translation, if there is one.
  • Where do you write best? In what room or physical setting? On what surface? With ink or a keyboard? I need to know these things. King talks about his writing desks a little, and I found it fascinating.
  • Have you ever taken a writing class or attended a writing workshop? If so, how valuable were they?

I feel particularly fresh and flavorful to have studied this memoir just as summer is beginning. Time to write! Time to read even more so I can write better. I hope you join the fun.

“If you can do it for joy, you can do it forever.” 
~Stephen King
XOXOXOXO

 

 

Whispers in the Tropics (book review)

Misti, a sweet book club friend of mine, was kind enough recently to connect me with a brand new author, offering me this woman’s debut novel to read and review. This is always exciting, glimpsing not just an author new to me but a brand new author! Haven’t you ever read great stuff by someone and wondered what his or her first book was like? How those first writing teeth were cut? Well, thanks to Misti, I have enjoyed an early look at the work by Glenda Potts, Oklahoma native, poet, and now novelist. Congratulations on your first book, Glenda, and thank you Misti for including me!

 

Whispers in the Tropics by Glenda Potts
Whispers in the Tropics by Glenda Potts

 

Whispers in the Tropics is a relatively short novel, a quick and easily read adventure-love story teeming with spiritual messages. Set primarily in the tropical rain forests of South America, as the title suggests, the story follows the earliest weeks of a young couple’s budding romance as well as some relatable life challenges each of them faces.

This is a book you could feel confident handing to the youngest adult readers, as it is clean, not controversial, and basically uplifting. The love scenes are only vaguely suggestive and mild, modest. The relationships are pretty smooth and easy, too; this is not an emotionally traumatic read like so many modern novels turn out to be. Every spiritual or emotional crossroads the characters face points gently but firmly to trusting God and surrendering your fears, no matter how deeply rooted they are.

Potts writes in steady, thorough parables throughout the book, guiding her characters with tropical applications of age-old wisdom and Biblical principles.

Holding a glass of orange juice with the chill long gone from it, Tiffany stared into space recalling an article she had read several times that compared a soil garden to a soul garden. Of course, she couldn’t remember the details, but the basic premise was that the crusty earth of a soil garden must be loosened, and rocks, sticks, and weeds removed before vegetable or flower seeds can adhere to the soil and take root. And that in a soil garden, rain, sunshine, and proper pruning help produce vegetables and flowers worthy of harvesting for man’s purposes. Similarly, the hardened human heat of a soul garden must be softened, and indifference removed before seeds of faith in God and His love can adhere and germinate.

Anyone who hangs around the Lazy W for very long knows instantly that I was suckered in by this nature-based metaphor. The book is laced with them. My only hang up is that the metaphors are so directly served up to the reader. To be a work of fiction, I had trouble digesting so much at once, so constantly. It was lovely but ended up feeling more like a long sermonette than a novel.

If you are looking for a sweet, mild, palate-cleansing read to kind of reset your senses and remember that there are good, healthy spiritual messages all around you, then this book is for you. I can definitely see a women’s Bible study or church book club enjoying this as a group. Whispers in the Tropics offers plenty to discuss and is set in an exotic locale that most readers have probably never visited.

I do wish the writing had explored some of the characters with more depth. At times the heavy message delivery trumped the natural flow of conversation so much that I lost track of who was speaking. And Potts has sparked some great characters here! So I was disappointed to not get better acquainted with them, you know, really deep in their thoughts and motivations so as to include the disturbing stuff. Of course, I’m a sucker for dark psychological writing. This book just happened to be a lot cleaner than those I’ve been reading this winter my whole life.

Sincerest congratulations to Glenda Potts for striking out and sharing such a worthwhile set of messages in a new setting. Her first book! I hope you enjoy lots of success with this one, and I hope there are many more to come. And big warm thanks to my friend Misti for introducing me to a brand new novelist!

Read new things, friends. Expose yourself to a variety of styles and don’t let yourself grow stagnant. Cross-pollination is the way to go!

XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

You are One of Them (book review)

This month our famous little Oklahoma Book Club, Dinner Club With a Reading Problem, devoured a novel by young American female author Elliott Holt. You are One of Them was just published last year and is the author’s fiction debut. I LOVED it. I read it in 24 hours, gleaned a ton of understanding as well as new curiosity, and was perfectly satisfied with the ending. THAT is a fabulous reading experience!

You are One of Them by Elliott Holt
You are One of Them by Elliott Holt

 

This novel is almost a bit of historical fiction, following the political and cultural framework of the United States and the Soviet Union from the 1970s to present day. So I loved it for that reason. But it is also a lusciously insightful story of a girl who became a woman and navigated complex female bonds in the same decades I did. Do you know how few books are out there that detail exactly the things I treasured about my girlhood friendships? Not many. I loved it for that reason, too. As if all of that’s not enough, Holt’s storytelling and prose are just as strong and seductive as you’d hope for in a book you read in the final cold days of winter.  The story, after all, takes place in large part in the frozen, daunting landscape of Mother Russia.

There’s something painfully honest about winter: the skeletal trees, the brutal repetition of the cold. There are no empty promises, no hazy humid hopes. It’s reality, lonely and stark.

Side Note: Book club found it really nifty that we accidentally read a novel set in Russia during the Sochi Olympics. Total accident. Very cool.

While the story may be touted as one family’s ground-level experience of the Cold War years, and it certainly is that, I would also describe it as being every bit as much a telling of how a broken little girl becomes a strong, capable woman. I feel like Holt almost uses the Cold War and its risky, duplicitous complexities as a metaphor for how women and girls relate to each other. These can be the most dangerous relationships in life, right? I can totally hear you nodding your head dramatically right now.

At school I learned to catch my sorrow in my throat and then stick my head into my locker and let the tears slide down my cheeks without making any vibration at all.

As I read, I rooted for one thing to happen or another, and I slowly realized that similar bursts of espionage are at play in my own life. The pacifist in me had to admit that I have been resisting peace on some fronts for too long. Not only that; I have also been stubborn in my own sense of rightness. For far too long.

I have come to believe that forgiveness is the key to survival. It does no good to see everything as a struggle between opposing factions. Few things are that simple.

Right?

I so enjoyed this book that I hope you will track it down, read it, and let me know what you think.

  • What did you think of the friendship with Jenny?
  • What about the divorce and the estrangement from her father?
  • What about her mother’s fearfulness and distant love?
  • Tell me what you think of the ending!!

Dinner Club With a Reading problem met on Thursday night and  such a great time! I LOVE these girls. For the most part we all agreed that You are One of Them was a good book. The female bonds were interesting and believable. We all agreed the ending was a relief, though I won’t spoil that for you. We also agreed that we never ever wish to visit Russia. Was this the author’s intention? It’s hard to guess, because apparently she worked as a journalist in Russia, much like one of the characters in her book. Interesting.

I give this breakout novel by Elliott Holt 5 stars. I hope you track it down and give it a few days of quietude then let me know what you think.

Happy reading!

“I was tired of straight jacketing my emotions.”

~Elliott Holt

XOXOXO 

The Lonely Polygamist (book review)

   Who recommended this book to me? Was it you, Birthday Girl Julia? Or was it Margi? Or just plain ol’ Goodreads, based on who KNOWS what profile criteria? Anyway, someone sent this title my way, and I am so glad. It is yet another relatively new release I might not have tackled without someone’s prompting.

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
   The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall, The Random House Group, 2010. 
599 pages of pure modern literary blissful torture.

   The experience of reading this book was very much like eating a giant, heavy, extremely tart and juicy, crisp green apple. You know, the kind of apple with a smooth, waxy skin and crunchy green-white flesh that upon being bit causes your right eye to squeeze shut and your neck to tense and you shudder from the tartness, yet the intense sweetness that follows and the juice that runs down your chin are so unmatched that before swallowing that bite you take another? The kind of apple that, though its natural sugars for a while give you that empty-stomach nauseous feeling, you believe may be the perfect antidote to all the junk you’ve been eating lately? The Lonely Polygamist is not entirely a smooth and easy, succulent, buttery, tempt-me-with-your-cheese-and-chocolate read. But it is all of those things once in a while, when it’s not being so tart it’s almost painful. And the sweetness that follows its tartness is priceless. That’s about the best way I can relay the emotional experience of reading this very believable human story.

   The main character is Golden Richards, a middle-aged polygamist living out in the desert with his expanding patchwork family, which happens to be coming apart at the seams. There is an ostrich. There is a brothel. There is a nuclear test site. There is a Mormon church community, though that is more backdrop to the story than focus (I didn’t take this as a religious comment at all). There are tawdry if awkward sex scenes, complicated marital relationships, and absolutely heart wrenching coming-of-age inner narratives. Honestly, the book is so tightly layered and elegantly told that it almost has to be an exact telling of these characters’  real life stories. Or does Brady Udall truly have such a fantastic understanding of the human heart? At several points in the story I was in physical pain worrying about the people. I caught myself praying for one of the wives once and one of the sons several times.

   Are you the least bit curious about polygamy or polyamory? Among so many other surprises, Udall lifts the veil a little to reveal a shining aspect I had never really considered:

At this, she could only smile; he couldn’t have given her a more perfect, watertight answer. Because this, after all, was the basic truth they all chose to live by; that love was no finite commodity. That is was not subject to the cruel reckoning of addition and subtraction, that to give to one did not necessarily mean to take from another; that the heart, in its infinite capacity- even the confused and cheating heart of the man in front of her, even the paltry thing now clenched and faltering inside her own chest- could open itself to all who would enter, like a house with windows and doors thrown wide, like the heart of God itself, vast and accommodating and holy, a mansion of rooms without number, full of multitudes without end.

   What do you think?  I have to admit, this is frighteningly parallel to so many things I have been studying lately, just the open, accepting, unselfish, freeing nature of pure Love. And no, I am not thinking about polygamy; I am just thinking about being less clenched in my own chest.

   I hope you will consider reading this book. It’s not for the faint of heart, unless you are looking for something to embolden you to your own life and help you find the teeth to take control. It’s also not for the  highly opinionated, unless you are in search of something to mellow and stretch out your rigidity. I almost put the book back on my shelf a few times. I had no idea where the story was going, and it worried me. But page after page I was drawn more deeply into the hearts and minds of these characters, and it mattered to me more and more what happened to them. I am so happy to have stuck with Golden and his clan through to the end. Which, it turns out, tastes very much like a weird new beginning. The tartness was followed by so much sweetness, and I am full.

   I gave The Lonely Polygamist 5 stars on Goodreads. Well done Mr. Udall. I will find more of your titles.

“What a gyp!”*
~Rusty Richards, age 11
XOXOXOXO

*This novel is anything but a gyp. But I got such a kick out of one of the son’s frequent use of this phrase, I had to share it.