Book Review

The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory, and Redemption by Bertice Berry


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Relating the story of her family's past, Bertice Berry realized that she did not fully understand of what that past consisted. It was only at the end of her mother's life that she finally began to listen to the stories told of good white people who owned the farm where her ancestors lived and worked. Before this time she believed her people to be slaves. Her previous novel had castigated the supposed slave owner of her family and with this book she seeks to redeem herself for her misinformation.




Growing up in the 60's as one of seven children, all of different fathers, Ms. Berry tells her family story, attempting to weave the times of slavery into the fabric of the current day. Her life is a crusade of encouraging people of all colors to come to grips with where they have come from and above all, to love and help others in their lives.




A positive reflection of thoughtful writing.




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Book Review

The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Rather distressing, but funny story of two English girls who work at an Italian-run bottling factory. One is being chased by one of the workers that she has no interest in and the other is chasing a worker who is not interested in her. The plot thickens when a long awaited OUTING planned for the workers occurs, with serious consequences resulting.




This book caught my eye at the library as an author I had not read and the story line sounded appealing. It is funny, but sadly so.




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Book Review

An Irish Christmas: Stories by John Brendan Keane


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Do all Irish stories have to include lots of hoisting of drinks and curates who, if not drinkers themselves, implore those who are to curtail their overindulgence?




I'm not sure of the answer, but in this book, lots of both occurs and all set either at or near the Christmas holiday. Although I did enjoy the writing style, it did not fill the bill for wanting a nice comforting book of Christmas short stories.




You certainly have to hand it to the Irish though. Most surely do know how to tip a few pints and also to tell you just exactly how they feel on a subject.




A couple of these tales were fun and bittersweet. Several were strange and some were downright sad.


Words to make you think. One of the points of reading, be ye Irish or not.




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Book Review

The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Quirky and so very funny as only the Brits can be, this book remains as fresh as when it was first written by two brothers in 1892.


Charles Pooter lives a well ordered life, or at least he attempts to, as we travel through his days reading his diary. He does not see in himself the pettiness of others and therein lies the humor. He strives to live dignified days of social acceptance, but pitfalls lurk at every corner. His wife and friends are always there to confound his sense of propriety. His best laid plans often turn to chaos.


A very entertaining read highly recommended.




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Book Review

The Faithful Servants by Margery Sharp


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An old scamp of 80, Jacob Arbuthnot, leaves his estate to be set up as The Copstock Foundation, to benefit faithful servants who can apply for charity only on two days a year. The solicitors in charge of administering this fund are taken in by many who make their appeals.




Although the fund is to be accorded to those of later years who have served well and have been sponsored with papers from either their employer or their vicar, there are many who find their way around such details.




Margery Sharp has a delightful comic way of drawing out the story in her wonderful British style. This story is so entertaining and insightful as well, into the times of 1860-1960 England.




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Book Review

The Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Medicine, Madness & the Murder of a President by Candice Millard


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Imagine a man who does not desire it, not only receiving the nomination of his party, but being elected to the position of President of the United States without having given even one speech or spending one day on the campaign trail. Such was the case in 1880 when James Garfield of Ohio was elected.




Tragically, the lasting mark of his presidency was stolen from us after only 4 months by a deranged man, Charles Guiteau, who said that God wanted him to kill the President.




Were it not for the doctors who used unsanitary and old-fashioned methods of care, he would, no doubt have survived his attack. Joseph Lister, who in England was gaining great success with his methods of antisepsis, and who tried to convince the American medical community of the fact of "invisible germs", was most sadly ignored.




Alexander Graham Bell also figures into this period of history with his invention of a device intended to discover the site of a bullet in the body.




I was amazed to learn that Garfield was a general in the Civil War, afterword elected to Congress and was a dedicated opponent to slavery. He was a devoted family man who had come from poverty and lived his life with great joy.




Oh, to have a Garfield among us today. This book is an amazing account of a time in history that has not been widely taught and I highly recommend it.




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