Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See

Beginning in 1937 and covering thirty years, this is the story of two sisters who were born in Shanghai, “the Paris of Asia”.  We learn about a privileged lifestyle of pre-World War II. When their father loses all his money through gambling, he marries off the sisters to the sons of his debtor. So begins their journey to America. They endure the invasion of the Japanese army, a stay on Angel Island and life in Chinatown/Los Angeles. The story focuses on their relationship and family life in Chinatown. Lisa See is the author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

I think there will be a sequel to this book given the way it ended.

Rating:  **** Very, very good
Reviewed by:  klm

Check our catalog

Remembering Anne Frank

June 12 is the 80th anniversary of the birth of Anne Frank, whose Jewish family was forced into hiding during World War II. Though she lived only until the age of 15, Anne recorded her girlish hopes and her private fears in a diary that has become one of the most widely read books in the world. First published in 1947, it became an immediate bestseller and has since been translated into 67 languages. You can find Library copies in the Children’s Room, Young Adult, and Adult areas, as well as in Large Print, CD and tape. 

To learn more about Anne and her family, the Library owns many biographies and other books about Anne Frank for both children and adults.  Consider such selections as Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped Hide the Frank Family, by Miep Gies, Roses from the Earth: The Biography of Anne Frank by Carol Ann Lee, or Ellen Feldman’s moving novel, The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank.  Or listen to the recording of Elegy for Anne Frank, by Lukas Foss.

You can also visit the website for the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, with information on worldwide events to mark the occasion of Anne Frank’s birth.

The Heretic’s Daughter, by Kathleen Kent

Kathleen Kent’s debut novel tells the story of her ancestor Martha Carrier, hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.  It is told from the point of view of Martha’s nine year old daughter Sarah, who–with her brothers–was also imprisoned.  Sarah and her brothers confessed and were then released; their mother was not so lucky.  Less about the trials than the society in which they occurred (the witch trials don’t make an appearance until halfway through the book), it paints a vivid picture of life  in late-17th century Massachusetts.  As seen through Sarah’s eyes, the harshness, conformity, and cruelty of that life is heartbreaking, but fascinating–I couldn’t put this book down. 

For more on this period, I also recommend In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1892, by Mary Beth Norton, which links the crisis to fears caused by the Indian Wars.  Kathleen Kent recommends this on her website, and it’s clear from reading The Heretic’s Daughter that she is sympathetic to Norton’s thesis.  Another recent book on this topic is Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall, by Eve LaPlante.  LaPlante, a descendant of Samuel Sewall, writes an interesting biography of  the only judge presiding over the Salem witchcraft trials who ever repented for his actions, and later wrote essays supporting gender equality, the abolition of slavery, and humane treatment of Native Americans.

RATING: **** Very, very good
Reviewed by: stc

Check our catalog

Company of Liars, by Karen Maitland

I listened to the book on CD. The narrator was very good, the book not my favorite. One reviewer mentioned “unremitting realism.” It is set during the plague year of 1348, well written and held my interest but with too many characters knocked off for my taste.

RATING: * * OK
Reviewed by:  KH

Check our catalog

Baudolino, by Umberto Eco

A window into the history of 12th century Europe.  Frederick Barbarossa is a main character in this novel as well as some of the fantastic creatures that medieval people believed really existed. Baudolino travels from Italy to Paris to the mythical kingdom of Prester John.

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: KH

Check our catalog

The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway

During the seige of Sarajevo in 1992, 22 people were killed in a bread line; afterward, cellist Vedran Smailovic played at the spot for 22 days.  Inspired by this event, and told from alternating points of view, Galloway’s novel tells the story of four Sarajevo residents who hear the music, and, in different ways, facing various challenges, try to retain their decency and normalcy in a city that is anything but normal.  A powerful story focusing not on the politics of war but on its randomness, and illustrating how ordinary choices are never ordinary in wartime.

RATING: **** Very, very good
Reviewed by: stc

Check our catalog

The German Bride, by Joanna Hershon

To quote Mary Doria Russell on the book jacket, this is “an immigrant tale and a Western, without the Lower East side or cowboys.”  Living in 1860’s Berlin and haunted by unhappiness, Eva Frank tries to escape to a new life by marrying a Jewish merchant and returning back with him to Santa Fe.  But the harsh newness of the West only deepens her sadness, children don’t come, and her husband–unlike his hardworking brother–loves liquor and gambling more than family life.  The characters and Western landscape are beautifully described, and the dust, heat, and sense of isolation Eva feels are palpable.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by:stc

Check our catalog

Ines of My Soul, by Isabel Allende

This is the story of Ines Suarez (1507-1580), the brave, spirited conquistadora who helped found the nation of Chile with her lover, Pedro de Valdivia. I listened to the book on CD and enjoyed the presentation by the narrator, Blair Brown.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

Check our catalog

Dreamers of the Day, by Mary Doria Russell

Set at the end of World War I when the current Middle East was politically and geographically established, this is the story of a 38 year old school teacher who travels to Egypt and witnesses the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference. She meets Winston Churchill, Gertrude Bell and Lawrence of Arabia. She travels with this group to Palestine. There is romance, intrigue and lots of historical events to keep the reader interested. For dog lovers, there is a cute dachshund who travels with her and who steals the show.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: klm

Check our catalog

The Secret River, by Kate Grenville

Like many American readers, I’m more familiar with the history of colonization in North America, so I found this historical novel of Australian settlement–inspired by author Kate Grenville’s own ancestry–fascinating. 

In 1806 London, William Thornhill, a bargeman on the Thames, is powerless and desperate enough that he has to steal to survive. Jailed and then deported to the New South Wales colony with his family, he strives to make the new land his own, and find a place for himself as a trader on the Hawkesbury River. How he achieves the power to do so, in a land of Aboriginal settlers and exiled convicts, is a story both violent and heartbreaking. Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2006.

Rating:  * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by:  stc

Check our catalog