Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Review by Gerti

I recently finished re-reading Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” in order to get a feel for those iconic characters again before reading her latest, “Go Set a Watchman”. That recent book shocked all those who thought Harper Lee had only one book in her, even if it was a classic of American literature! However, since its publication, GSAW has been criticized endlessly because its author took a hallowed figure in American lit, Atticus Finch, and “made him a racist.”

The original book was set in 1935, and involved two children, Scout and Jem Finch, who grew up with their widowed Southern attorney father. In the original text, he does what few southerners do at that time in history, defend a black man against charges that he raped a white woman. Atticus doesn’t win his case, but even being the man’s attorney means he faces criticism and even death threats from his less Christian neighbors. In short, Atticus emerges as a hero, even if he accomplishes little, as the man he defends ends up dying in jail during an escape attempt. But in several scenes of TKAM, the black community shows respect for Mr. Finch for trying to help, and all the while, the Finch kids grow up – horrified to learn that the world is not fair, and that justice does not always prevail.

Fast forward about 20 years, where Scout has grown up and moved to New York. She now calls herself by her real name, Jean Louise, even though she preferred her tomboyish nickname growing up in Macomb, Alabama. Her brother Jem has died, and Lee explains that it was the weak heart he inherited from their mother than did him in. Father Atticus has aged and become very arthritic, but his sister Alexandra is living in the house and helping him. But it is a new house – the house Scout grew up in was turned into an ice cream parlor and parking lot.

A man named Henry Clinton, or Harry, has become her father’s assistant, and Scout’s boyfriend. He wants to marry her, but just as the last book discussed the struggles Scout had fitting into the mold of a proper Southern girl child, she now has trouble becoming a southern woman, and can’t seem to agree to marry him and move back to town. Several scenes illustrate how different she is from both the older generation of ladies in Macomb, like her aunt, as well as the younger generation of women. She is unique and has nothing in common with either set.

Atticus does take part in a local meeting that includes a white supremacist speaker, but as her father points out, that man is allowed to speak because he asked to. Atticus tries to explain to Scout why he is acting as he is, but she is outraged and refuses to listen to him. The point of the novel for me is stated most clearly by its title, as Scout learns that every man must set a watchman for his own actions, and this spiritual guide alone keeps one true to his own moral code. We can’t tell others what they should feel, no matter what our relationship to them is. This book is not a great classic like TKAM and even drags in places, but it still has some great writing that made Lee famous decades ago. RIP Ms. Lee.

Nighttime Is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark

Review by Gerti

Mary Higgins Clark has written a large number of books very well. However, this novel, “Nighttime Is My Time,” is not one of them.

It tells the story of protagonist Jean Sheridan who is called back to her hometown of Cornwall-on-Hudson in New York for a class reunion. She is one of the famous alum’s from Stonecroft Academy, and is therefore one of those being specially honored by that school during the reunion. Unfortunately, many of the girls she used to sit with at her lunch table have since died, and that’s pretty unusual.

It takes a long time for players in this story to realize that a killer called “The Owl” is on the prowl. He is on a mission of revenge against the girls who used to laugh at him in school (predictable), and no amount of money or success after high school can lure him away from the madness of murder. The problem is, the evidence points to one of the honorees being the killer, but which one is it? Mark Fleischman, Gordon Amory, Robby Brent, Jack Emerson, or Carter “Howie” Stewart? The author leads you on a wild dance of red herrings as she makes each of them look guilty. And then you have to learn the names of the five murdered girls and their back stories, and where they ran into the killer again… and then you’re introduced to other non-Stonecroft victims, because the killer has knocked off other vulnerable women besides those from the school during his career because he just likes killing. It all gets to be TMI – too much information.

While I liked the premise and the story Clark weaves, the cast of characters here was just too huge for me. Her writing is always a pleasure to read, and I liked protagonist Jean, but there were just too many suspects to keep everybody straight. I am a huge fan of MHC, but I read her books for relaxation. I don’t want to treat them like college assignments, taking notes about the character’s different backgrounds or putting together a flowchart to figure out how everyone is related, and that is what I’d have to do here with NIMT to keep things straight. I simply want to be entertained when I read Clark’s novels, and this mystery, clever as it is, requires too much heavy lifting for me to follow along easily. I’d skip this one, Clark fans. 

All Dressed in White by Mary Higgins Clark

Reviewed by Gerti

This is the second novel I’ve read where famed mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark teams up with Alafair Burke, and I must say, it’s better than their first joint effort! I have to praise “All Dressed in White” for not suffering from an overabundance of characters, with all those presented pretty clearly delineated. The plot is also less than simple, even if the villain in the end turns out to be less than plausible.

In the series, Clark and Burke are writing mysteries for a character named Laurie Moran to present in her Under Suspicion television specials. Each show in the series is supposed to be about a cold case, generally about wealthy, beautiful people, and this case is no different. It’s about “The Runaway Bride”, a woman named Amanda Pierce, who survived cancer to end up at the altar, planning to marry a poor-boy turned lawyer who wants to become a public defender. The wrinkle in the fairy tale is this – her maid-of-honor Meghan also had a crush on this fellow, named Jeffrey, and Amanda’s parents suspect he may be the man behind her disappearance and murder.

Laurie and her wacky team of producers dig up his past, learning that Jeffrey was also pictured with a girl from their college days who disappeared. Is he a serial killer? Or is it his crazy stalker wife behind both murders? The plot takes you in one direction, and then another, as Laurie and her team are helped by her retired NYC detective father to track down clues to the real identity of the person who took Amanda away all those years ago.

Add to the suspect list Amanda’s older sister, who inherited her place in the successful family business thanks to Amanda’s untimely disappearance. Charlotte is, as described in the book, “a weed growing next to a rose” in the family’s eyes, and both mother and father give her short shrift. Amanda’s mother is still obsessed with her one daughter’s disappearance, and that has led to a rift between the long-married couple, since the dad is tired of all the stress and just wants them all to go back to their normal lives, under the assumption that Amanda was dead, or if not dead, wanted to go missing, so probably happier after she ran away.

This book provides little sexual tension between TV producer Laurie and her sexy show host, the famed lawyer Alex, and that makes this book a little less exciting than the previous edition, since there is virtually no romance in this novel. Still, the mystery is good enough to hold your attention, and the twists and turns will keep you guessing. I applaude “All Dressed in White” for being a good effort by this writing duo, although not the best book Clark has ever written. And as I mentioned before, the villain, when unmasked, seems implausible. I’d have chosen the wimpier of the pair of friends to be the one with deep-seated psychological problems. 

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

Reviewed by Gerti

I’m already a huge fan of Mitch Albom, so it was no surprise to me that I enjoyed his latest offering, “The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto.” The novel tells the heart-breaking story of a young boy born in Spain under the most trying of circumstances – his mother being killed during the Spanish Civil War. A young woman spirits him away from the burning church where he was born, but eventually tosses him in a river when he won’t stop crying.

With such an inauspicious start, you’d imagine that Francisco (Frankie) would not have had a very good life. And yet this boy has been blessed by the spirit of Music itself, and so many magical things happen to him, including being rescued (from the river, at least) by a hairless dog, and then raised by a wife-less man. Yes, many details from this magical life are implausible, but that doesn’t make them any less dramatic.

Frankie’s early affinity for music is so strong, that his adoptive father, Baffa Rubio, the man who owns the local sardine factory, takes him to a blind guitar player so the boy can learn to play. The two, Frankie and El Maestro, form a very close bond, so close, that when the boy’s adoptive father is falsely imprisoned during the Franco regime, El Maestro helps the boy recover, and eventually, enables him to flee the country.

The book is filled with heroes and villians, all of them interesting, and all of whom shape Frankie just as he impacts them. Like Forrest Gump, there are cameos here from some of musics greatest names: Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, Lyle Lovett, and KISS, to name just a few. Frankie is at Woodstock, Frankie appears on the Tonight Show, Frankie lives a life as a successful musician despite his childhood traumas, but drugs and alcohol get to him, as it has to so many famous people.

Eventually, Frankie and the love of his life Aurora, find a little girl of their own to adopt, and she becomes Frankie’s guiding star when all else fails him. He drops out of the limelight and starts to teach music himself, not realizing until the end the relationship he and the Maestro of his youth actually had. Tying it all together are the magic strings on his guitar, given to his mother by a gypsy family, which have the power to change lives. Frankie does that several times, and while I’m not sure this book has the power to change your life, it is a fabulous tale told brilliantly by one of the most unique voices in American fiction today. I can’t tell you how many times I cried while reading this epic (500 pages!) work, but that just shows how much heart it has, and how invested I was in these characters. “TMSOFP” will take you on a magical journey, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I highly recommend it, although I probably enjoyed Albom’s more famous “Tuesdays with Morrie” more.   

The Making of a Lady movie

Reviewed by Gerti

You surely know author Frances Hodgson Burnett from her book “The Secret Garden”, which is a beloved children’s story and has been adapted for the screen several times now. This is one of her lesser known works, originally called “The Making of a Marchioness” which the filmmakers changed to “The Making of a Lady” since no one here in the United States would know what a Marchioness was. This is the story of educated but penniless British orphan Emily, who is trying to make her way in a world which has only caused her misfortune so far. She is played brilliantly by unknown to me Lydia Wilson, and her first employer is Joanna Lumley of “Absolutely Fabulous” fame. While not playing a man-crazy drunk here, Lumley as Lady Maria is a terrible person who is withholding her wages until she can sack Emily after she switches place cards at a dinner party.

You might think Emily is finally getting a break when Lady Maria’s widowed nephew, devilishly handsome in his army uniform Lord James Walderhurst, falls for her and offers to marry her and take her away to his family estate. But Emily has more to endure, for when James patriotically decides to rejoin his regiment in India, her husband’s good-for-nothing nephew Alec Osborn and his Indian-born wife Hester come to stay at the manor house, with a letter they say James sent them, asking the couple to look after his friendless young wife.

Things go from bad to worse for Emily, who soon discovers she is pregnant (yes, she and James have fallen in love!), but Hester’s calls her old ayah from India to the house to doctor her. That is, she comes to poison her, as Alec and his wife will inherit the estate if James is killed without an heir, and that is exactly their plan! Thankfully, Emily had her friend Jane from the big city come to work as her lady’s maid, and while Alec tries to seduce the girl, she remains (mostly) true to Emily, and eventually has to shoot Alec to keep him from killing them both. Emily has not been getting James’ letters to her, thanks to the conspiring couple, nor has he been getting her letters (same cause), and so she doesn’t know he is on his way home to save her. When he arrives, the Indian servant says Emily is already dead and Hester confirms it until she breaks, telling James the truth in enough time for him to keep the nanny from smothering Emily with a pillow.

The “saved by the bell” storyline is old-fashioned, yes, but the drama is real. This is a beautifully shot story filled with all the tension of a gothic romance, and the gorgeous costuming of a BBC period piece. Made in 2012, it boasts breathtaking sets and first-rate acting from the entire cast, and the men aren’t bad to look at either! Hero-husband Linus Roach made my heart go pitty-pat and evil wastrel James D’Arcy is also a pleasant eyeful, even if I as a viewer was not fooled by his act of friendship as was the good-natured Emily.

Written with intensity by Kate Brooke and directed by Richard Curson Smith, this movie should not be missed by mystery lovers or those who love a gothic yarn. 

Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell

Reviewed by Gerti

I love cooking. I also love cookbooks, since I’m not one of those “whip it up based on what’s in the frig” types of cooks. But my personal “cookbook God” is James Beard, not Julia Child. FYI James was actually the first to have a cooking show on TV, but Julia is the one who is best remembered, mainly because of the hilarious skits lampooning her voice and cooking skills on Saturday Night Live.

Perhaps my feelings would have been different if my name was Julia. That connection is why Julie Powell, author of this autobiographical book, always related to the overly tall woman who co-authored “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” so long ago. I saw the movie when it came out and found it amusing, even if I didn’t like the salty language (I know. What a prude!) so it seemed natural when I found the book to read it.

I really enjoyed Powell’s story of how she was drifting in her life, approaching a milestone age and feeling like a stranger in her own life as a government worker in New York City. Her writing is generally smart, and her stories of wrestling with lobsters and cooking entrails are classic. You could almost see Lucille Ball trying to master the art of French cooking! But again, I found her use of expletives a little unnecessary, even while I appreciated her often clever turns of phrase. I liked her more as an innocent, both in the ways of cooking all the recipes in Child’s magnum opus, and in life itself, than as the jaded, opinionated sailor-mouth she sometimes becomes.

Her cast of supporting characters in her life is also amusing, but I am frequently appalled when she describes the state of her kitchen (filthy) and hold my breath each time she has people come eat her food. I’m pleased that her blog worked out for her, and landed her a career as a writer, and I enjoy the snippets of letters from Julia Child to her husband Paul (and his letters) which pepper the book. It is amusing that the real Julia Child also had a “wild child” streak in her. What I find sad is that Julia Child did not approve of the writer’s food blog, and what a major impact that had on Julie Powell. I like to think it’s because Julia Child was too old to appreciate what it all meant, and suffered from “snarky senility” rather than true disapproval of the young woman’s culinary tribute.

The book – if you can stand the “F-bombs” – is delightful, kind of like eating chocolate mousse even though you know it is terrible for your health. At least a third of the pages in my personal copy have dog-ears because I loved where Powell displayed her self-deprecating sassiness and gift for an artfully turned phrase. I also loved that she used the original French names of the dishes, so it was an educational journey as well, since cooking from the cookbook itself sounds like skiing uphill to me. I will stick with Beard when I want a gourmet meal, but will keep an eye peeled for Powell’s next literary offering.  

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Reviewed by Gerti

My husband says you should never read a “New York Times” bestseller, because you’re bound to be disappointed. I’ve never followed that advice, and this book makes me thankful for it. I found John Grisham’s “Skipping Christmas” to be a flat out delight, even if I didn’t get to read it till after the tree was already on the curb.

Now I’m a huge Grisham fan, but usually he puts out legal thrillers that have me trying to decide whether the jury is rigged or a judge corrupt. That’s why this is such a delightful change. It has all the advantages of a Grisham novel – his ridiculously original characters and brandy-smooth writing – with a whipped cream heavy plot, so it doesn’t require more thinking than say, whether to use bubble bath or not before you engage in a soak.

The principals are Luther and Nora Krank, and since they are sending their daughter off to the third world for Christmas, they decide to forgo their usual holiday rituals (which accountant Luther finds are costing them a fortune) and take a holiday cruise instead. Oddly enough, that will be cheaper by half than buying all the fruitcakes, trees, invitations and custom-made holiday cards and throwing the huge party they usually throw. What is thrilling, however, is seeing how it all goes wrong, for just as they are getting ready to leave, their daughter calls and says “surprise!” she is coming home for Christmas after all, and bringing her doctor fiancé who would really love to see an American Christmas celebration.

Luther has made a ton of enemies with his anti-Christmas stance, and it is heart-warming how his neighborhood, which has turned against him for his resistance to taking part in their theme decorating that year, bands together to bring his Christmas miracle to pass. Grisham’s sense of humor sparkles, and his mastery of clever plot shines as brightly as the lit up “Frosty the Snowman” meant to be mounted next to the Krank’s chimney. He leaves no omission without it’s consequences, and it’s wonderful to watch how all the plot elements gets knit together by the end as tightly as that holiday sweater your grandmother sent you when you were 12.

I loved this book, and felt like a child on Christmas morning that I’ve discovered it at last. Thank you, John Grisham, for giving me and your faithful readers the ultimate gift, tied up in a pretty holiday bow. I’m ordered the movie they made from the book matches the level of wit and merriment of Grisham’s “Skipping Christmas,” but (spoiler alert!) it does not. Read the book for real holiday laughs!