The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

As I read The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon, I had an image of an art deco tapestry slowly unraveling. This novel is set on the East Coast in the 1930’s and is based on actual events: the mysterious disappearance of Judge Crater (a 1930 New York Times newspaper headline about the case is elsewhere on this page). Yet, the author fictionalizes the story, adding perspectives from each of the title characters. We come to know cool and resourceful Stella, hard-working and religious Maria, and show girl Ritzi, each with her own motivations and concerns that somehow seem to intertwine. As readers, we are not only entertained by the ambiance and the many images of dodgy gangsters, corrupt officials and high society, we are also cleverly asked to reflect on the role and varying expectations for women at that time.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you are looking for a fun mystery coupled with plenty of commentary on society plus intriguing twists and turns, pick up the story of The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress.

Tyrant's Daughter by J. C. Carleson

J. C. Carleson, a former CIA agent and author of newly released The Tyrant’s Daughter, describes this book as "the story of a girl grappling with questions about guilt, choice, blame, and identity under circumstances both extraordinary and mundane." I love the voice of that girl, Laila, who moves with her royal family to the United States after a coup. She refers to her younger brother as the "King of Nowhere" and her family as "people who Used to Be."  In trying to adjust to life in America and in a new school she says: "I want an interpreter. Not for language. For life. Someone who can help me understand … lunch lines and …posters in the hallway telling students to wear their pajamas to school for spirit day."

Laila is smarter than her years and yet also naïve at moments… what a great combination to which teens can readily relate. She struggles with choices about friends and boyfriends and her relationship with her mother. At the same time, Laila has to adjust to giving up a privileged lifestyle which included motorcades (in which "the position of Father’s car changed every time so that no one ever knew which car to attack') and instead, she must try to settle into a world where nothing seems familiar, including news reports and comments which describe her father from a totally different perspective.  

I have been talking with teachers (especially from our Senior English "Good and Evil" class) because there is SO much to talk about in this book …

• the ways it mirrors world events (book image and this week's (March 8) Economist cover shown here);
• about assimilation and acceptance in American teenage culture;
• and about our reaction OR indifference to both far away international and very close high school happenings.

Laila’s effort to understand the various communities to which she belongs and to define her identity is a journey worth sharing.

A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Philipp Sendker

I was deeply moved when I read the beautiful love story contained in the international best-seller by Jan-Philipp Sendker called The Art of Hearing Heartbeats which I have recommended as a possible title for our staff book club. In A Well-Tempered Heart, Sendker picks up the story after a hiatus of 10 years. Once again, he combines two stories in one, having Julia Win fly to Burma in an attempt to deal with troubled spirits, both her own and that of a woman’s voice she keeps hearing.  Together with her half-brother, U Ba, Julia travels and learns about the life of Nu Nu and two brothers (Ko Gyi and Thar Thar) and their struggles for survival in Burma.

I enjoy Sendker’s writing and his almost mystical comments, like

• "Our life’s work is to solve ourselves."
• "Why do we so often put off the things that matter most to us?"
• "Not all truths are explicable, and not all explicable things are true."
• "How thin is the wall between us and madness?"
• Or, acknowledging Buddha, "No sorrow can befall those who never try to possess people and things as their own." 
• "People who love are dangerous.  They know no fear. They obey other laws."
• "It is our own flaws that we are least ready to forgive in others."

A Well-Tempered Heart is a book to read in a reflective mode, one to savor, ignoring time, soothing one's own spirit, and opening up to the messages for "the world is full of signs. One needed only to know how to see and interpret them." 

Illegal by Jose Angel N.

University of Illinois recently published Illegalby Jose Angel N. and I am glad to see that it is available to K-12 schools through Follett’s Titlewave and other vendors.  However, I think this book is so important that the publisher and author should work to create an abridged version for high school students (much like Three Cups of Tea prior to the controversy it faced). 

When I teach about Civic Engagement, students are asked to write to their representatives about an issue of concern and many choose to write in support of the Dream Act and “dreamers,” undocumented youth living in the United States. High school students have a high interest in this topic and this book is even more relevant since the author lives and works locally, in Chicago.  Jose Angel N. tells a compelling story as someone who came here illegally, completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree, is working as a translator, but cannot accept a promotion because it involves travel on an airplane.  In fact, he has chosen to not even sign his full name to this book. His academic studies centered on philosophy and his work focuses on linguistics so he shares much of his own musings, and while that promotes empathy from the reader, it will be difficult content for high school students.  They will likely prefer the fictional, more adventure-some aspects of Jaramillo’s La Linnea, for example.  

As a country, we could be doing more to encourage immigration and to provide green cards to students in our universities, whether they are here on a student visa or entered the country illegally as minors. Creating an abridged version of this book would help raise awareness further.

The Martian by Andy Weir

I had been intrigued enough by early reviews of this book to pick up a copy at the public library and suggest that my husband read it. When he realized that The Wall Street Journal’s review described The Martin by Andy Weir as “the best pure sci-fi novel in years,” he agreed to give it a try. I knew the book was exceptional when he was reading it for several hours straight in the middle of the night. Since then, three generations of our family have read the book and are eagerly waiting for the movie (recently optioned by Twentieth Century Fox).

Don’t believe us? There are close to 1,500 5-star reviews on amazon and here’s what the pros say: Booklist: Riveting; Library Journal: a snarky and wise-cracking nerdy hero; Kirkus Reviews: Sharp, funny and thrilling, with just the right amount of geekery. [New Trier Librarians, remind you of anyone?]

I’d like to share more, but I do not want to give away any of the problems (and there are plenty!) with surviving on Mars (low temperature: -225^o F; average distance from Earth: 140 million miles).  You will be surprised and impressed with many of the solutions and with the main character’s efforts to survive.  Whether or not Gravity wins best picture this year, give yourself a treat: grab The Martian by Andy Weir and travel to Mars with stranded astronaut Mark Watney.