The Book of Lost Names

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is a beautiful tale of resistance. 

Eva Traube Abrams is a Florida librarian. At the age of 81 she see an article in the newspaper with the photo of a man holding a book she has not seen in sixty years. This man is in Berlin, his life's work trying to reunite books with the people from whom they were stolen during World War II. This book seems to contain some sort of code. 

In 1942 Eva and her mother fled Paris after her father was arrested along with thousands of other Jews. A man who had been paid to help them if anything happened, gave Eva blank documents and pens, telling her to create papers for her and her mother. 

Arriving a small village along the mountains, Eva's papers attract some attention - by the network of people trying to save Jewish children fleeing the Nazis. Her skills at copying and drawing stamps can be used by the resistance.

Harmel has written a beautiful book of hope. Read it.

Harmel, Kristin. (2020). The Book of Lost Names. New York: Gallery Books.

The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich is a beautiful story of people working together to stop politicians from steamrolling over them. 

Based on family stories of her grandfather, Erdrich tells of the 1953-54 Turtle Mountain tribe of Chippewa campaigning to defeat a bill before congress that would eliminate status of their tribe - dissolving the reservation in order to sell the land.

Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing factory on the reservation. During his quite nights he also takes care of tribe business and writes letters. 

His niece, Pixie, works at the plant. Women are better at the small, detailed work involved. Pixie would rather be called Patrice. When her sister who has been relocated to the city via a program for Indians goes missing, she tries to find her. 

Wood Mountain, a local boxer, agrees to a rematch to raise funds to send representatives to a hearing in Washington. 

Erdrich's novel is filled with memorable characters. Her writing is poetic and beautiful. After reading this, I will be reading all of her other works!

Erdrich, Louise. (2020). The Night Watchman. New York: Harper Collins.

Pet

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi is a young adult novel of how to tell the monsters from other people. 

In the near future, after the revolution to get rid of the monsters, in the city of Lucille a young person named Jam lives with their parents. 

When their mother creates a painting, it seems to want to come alive. And Pet accidentally lets what looks like a monster out of the canvas. But the creature is actually a monster hunter. But what monsters? They were all gotten during the revolution.

Emezi's layered book looks at justice and identity. How do you save the world if no one will admit the monsters exist? (A very important question for our time!) A tender look at a society in denial by a brilliant poetical author.

Emezi, Akwaeke. (2020). Pet. New York: Make Me A World.

The Warmth of Other Suns

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson is a Pulitzer Prize winning title about black lives in the United States.

Starting around 1915 during World War I and going until 1970, more than six million black Americans moved from the South either north or west. An often overlooked factor in the history of the US, this migration influenced everything about our world today.

Following three people who represent some of the common stories of migration, Wilkerson tells of the reasons why people left the South and why they chose where to settle. 

In 1937 Ida Mae Gladney left Mississippi for Chicago. 

In 1945 George Starling left the orange fields of Florida for Harlem.

In 1957 Robert Joseph Pershing Foster left Louisiana for California.

These and many others, including the author's own mother, left the South to make a better life for themselves, to (hopefully) be treated like human being and citizens in their own country. The slow but huge exodus forced the South to address laws like Jim Crow that were causing people to flee. In the North, blacks were not welcomed with open arms - being forced into specific neighborhoods and jobs - creating tensions between them and European immigrants they were competing with for space and livelihood. 

This fascination part of our history should be taught in school. This book fills in the gaps in our education system. 

Wilkerson, Isabel. (2010). The Warmth of Other Suns. New York: Random House.

A Longer Fall (Gunnie Rose #2)

 A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris is the second book in her alternative history western featuring Gunnie Rose - a bodyguard and guide through the wild lands of North America.

Joined by a new crew, Gunnie Rose is escorting a crate from Texoma to Dixie. 

When the train is derailed, she is sure is it to seal the crate. Rose and the other gunnie, Lizbeth, try to defend their cargo against whomever is coming for it. 

Harris has created a wonderfully enjoyable series that is part western, part fantasy and part historical. Rose is as followable a character as her Sookie Stackhouse was in the vampire South.

Harris, Charlaine. (2020). A Longer Fall. New York: Saga Press.

Movie: The Biggest Little Farm

The Biggest Little Farm is a beautiful documentary about a couple who dreamed of having a farm and wanted to do it right. 

Following Molly and John Chester for eight years, this is the uplifting story of starting from scratch - or even before that since they started with barren land - and creating a sustainable, integrated farm where the pants and animals work together like nature intended. 

Each conflict or setback becomes an opportunity to look at the situation from all angles and unlock or uncover a biodiverse design that will further the strength of the land.

I love this movie. I have now watched it three times and have recommended it to everyone I know. Go watch it!

A film by John Chester.