Close To Shore
Juvenile nonfiction
I'm sure if I were to hum a few notes, DUM dum dum dum DUM dum
dum, you would probably imagine a huge grey head, mouth agape showing
a fearsome array of teeth, popping suddenly out of the water. Since
Peter Benchley's Jaws appeared on the big screen quite a few of us
overestimate our danger of becoming shark chow. The concept of the
rogue shark with an insatiable hunger for human flesh has become well
intrenched in our collective consciousness.
Can you believe that in the opening decades of the twentieth
century people believed the opposite--that human eating sharks were
merely an artifice of old fisherman's tales? (Would those be marine
legends?) Things changed in July of 1916 when four people were killed
and one severely injured by a monster from the deep off the New Jersey
coast. Michael Capuzzo's Close To Shore with its wealth of period
photographs and drawings takes readers back to that long ago summer
when scepticism gave way to terror among both natives and
vacationers. This is a fascinating narrative but not for kids to whom
it might give nightmares.
Actually, as Capuzzo acknowledges in the end, sharks are more in
danger from humans that we ever were from them. There is, for
example, a huge market for shark fins. Procuring one involves
removing a body part without anything for the pain which must be
terrible and then tossing the maimed and unable to swim shark into the
water to suffocate or be devoured alive. Can you say cruel and
inhumane?
What is it with humans and our overfearing the unlikeliest
dangers while not giving the far more probable ones their due? Any
one of us is far more likely to be killed in a car crash with a
distracted driver than to be devoured by a denizen of the deep. (Does
my penchant for alliteration get annoying sometimes?)
On a personal note, I have found a way to get my sweet tooth under
control. I realized I had fallen into the pattern of sweets as
rewards. Mom gave me ice cream for being good at the dentist, dessert
for eating supper... I started substituting non sweets rewards such
as a phone chat with one of my kids or a friend, a cuddle with Joey
cat, scented hand lotion, a few minutes for cross stitch... It is
working for me.
A great big shout out goes put to the marine scientists who help us
gain new knowledge about sharks and other ocean dwellers.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, March 23, 2015
A Baby Elephant In The Wild
A Baby Elephant In The Wild
Children's Nonfiction
My introduction to elephants was in the very artificial
environment of the Ringling Brothers Circus. The wrinkly grey
behomoths would lumber around the ring and do tricks when cued by
their human handlers. I had no idea then how truly wrong forcing them
into this human mandated slavery was. If there had been anything like
Caitlin O'Connell's A Baby Elephant In The Wild around back in the day
I would have been protesting rather than applauding.
O'Connell's picture book with its intimate pictures takes
readers to Namibia for an up close look at the early life of Liza who
was born weighing 250 pounds after her mother's two year pregnancy.
The exigencies of food gathering mean that within her first week she
must be walking ten to twenty miles a day with her close knit family.
She learns from her extended family what foods she should eat when she
is weaned, how to take mud baths to protect against sunburn and
parasites and other important pachyderm survival skills. Did you know
40,000 muscles are involved in the simple act of drinking water
through the trunk?
The extended family is necessary in the life of Liza and her
mother. Alone they could be taken down by a pride of lions. Adults
are very fierce about protecting their young. Babies within the clan
enjoy the companionship of age mates. In nature elephants live almost
as long as people, spending a life time in the same clan.
So can we say it's not such a good idea to seperate individual
elephants who are capable of grief from their families in order to
enslave them in an existence style that goes against every instinct in
their nature?
A Baby Elephant In The Wild is a good way for parents and
teachers to introduce children to these fascinating creatures while
learning more themselves like I did. :)
On a personal note, just two more days until I participate in
Bearfest. It's a twelve hour dance marathon to raise money for
medical care for children. It's my second year. This time by rocking
around the clock I'll be bringing in $107 worth of sponsorships.
A great big shout out goes out to all those who will rock around the
clock with me and the people who work so hard to make the event happen
every year.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Children's Nonfiction
My introduction to elephants was in the very artificial
environment of the Ringling Brothers Circus. The wrinkly grey
behomoths would lumber around the ring and do tricks when cued by
their human handlers. I had no idea then how truly wrong forcing them
into this human mandated slavery was. If there had been anything like
Caitlin O'Connell's A Baby Elephant In The Wild around back in the day
I would have been protesting rather than applauding.
O'Connell's picture book with its intimate pictures takes
readers to Namibia for an up close look at the early life of Liza who
was born weighing 250 pounds after her mother's two year pregnancy.
The exigencies of food gathering mean that within her first week she
must be walking ten to twenty miles a day with her close knit family.
She learns from her extended family what foods she should eat when she
is weaned, how to take mud baths to protect against sunburn and
parasites and other important pachyderm survival skills. Did you know
40,000 muscles are involved in the simple act of drinking water
through the trunk?
The extended family is necessary in the life of Liza and her
mother. Alone they could be taken down by a pride of lions. Adults
are very fierce about protecting their young. Babies within the clan
enjoy the companionship of age mates. In nature elephants live almost
as long as people, spending a life time in the same clan.
So can we say it's not such a good idea to seperate individual
elephants who are capable of grief from their families in order to
enslave them in an existence style that goes against every instinct in
their nature?
A Baby Elephant In The Wild is a good way for parents and
teachers to introduce children to these fascinating creatures while
learning more themselves like I did. :)
On a personal note, just two more days until I participate in
Bearfest. It's a twelve hour dance marathon to raise money for
medical care for children. It's my second year. This time by rocking
around the clock I'll be bringing in $107 worth of sponsorships.
A great big shout out goes out to all those who will rock around the
clock with me and the people who work so hard to make the event happen
every year.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Because They Marched
Because They Marched
Juvenile nonfiction
These days a lot of Americans don't vote. Some people don't
think they can make a difference with both parties being so bought and
owned by big bidness. But the vast majority of the voters seem to
just not care. Things weren't always this way. My mother was a
toddler when women won the decades long struggle for sufferage. My
life encompases a time when for a black person in the South the most
courageous possible act was to enter the town courthouse to register
to vote. In the 1960's people lost their jobs, their homes, even
their lives for asserting their desire to have a say in the affairs of
their nation.
For reasons I will explain at the end of this review, I find
this state of affairs to be dangerous. I think we and our children
need a look into the not so distant past. Russell Freedman's Because
They Marched is a good place to start. Freedman wrote the book to
commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the march for voting rights
from Selma to Montgomery.
Back in the early sixties Jim Crow was the law of the land in
the South. Education was built around racially separate and far from
equal. Facilities like hospitals, churches, movie theaters, buses,
eating places, and pools were also segregated. One boy is quoted as
wondering what white water tastes like. Blacks had to be subservient
toward whites or face the brutal consequences..even if they were
children.
Not everyone was happy with this state of affairs. Black
parents wanted decent schools for their beloved children. World War
II veterans were treated like second class citizens in the nation they
had risked their lives defending. Eventually people decided the
condition of black people would not improve until the majority of them
had and exercised the right to vote. Southern whites were big fans of
the status quo, however, and willing to do whatever it took to prevent
change.
The text covers this tumultuous period nicely. But the
photographs steal the show:
A robed Ku Klux Klansman showing off a hangman's noose through the
window of a truck;
Dazed people sitting on the grass near their firebombed bus;
A minister looking at the ruins of his church;
Children holding hand made signs asking for their parents to be
allowed to vote...these pictures are worth far more than the
proverbial words and great starting points for discussion.
We need to be having these discussions. Even now in the twenty-
first century people want to take these hard earned rights away. Only
now they're using legal manipulations instead of attack dogs, clubs,
hooded outfits and nooses, and threats. And we can't let this
happen. In my opinion, most of us could stand schooling each other in
the lessons of civics and history.
On a personal note, as I write this gusts are howling around my home.
The few sturdy wind chimes I still have out are like dancers on
amphetamines. And the weather is cold. I lost feeling in my fingers
just taking the trash can to the curb even while wearing gloves. Well
yesterday I walked back from Orono only to realize the lock on the
screen door would not open and my husband who could fix that was still
to work. I was so glad to have my storage shed. Even unheated it
blocked the wind. First thing I did later when I got in the house was
put on water for tea.
A great big shout out goes out to all the people like trash collectors
and public works folks and construction workers who put in eight or
ten hour days under those brutal conditions. My heroes!!!
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
These days a lot of Americans don't vote. Some people don't
think they can make a difference with both parties being so bought and
owned by big bidness. But the vast majority of the voters seem to
just not care. Things weren't always this way. My mother was a
toddler when women won the decades long struggle for sufferage. My
life encompases a time when for a black person in the South the most
courageous possible act was to enter the town courthouse to register
to vote. In the 1960's people lost their jobs, their homes, even
their lives for asserting their desire to have a say in the affairs of
their nation.
For reasons I will explain at the end of this review, I find
this state of affairs to be dangerous. I think we and our children
need a look into the not so distant past. Russell Freedman's Because
They Marched is a good place to start. Freedman wrote the book to
commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the march for voting rights
from Selma to Montgomery.
Back in the early sixties Jim Crow was the law of the land in
the South. Education was built around racially separate and far from
equal. Facilities like hospitals, churches, movie theaters, buses,
eating places, and pools were also segregated. One boy is quoted as
wondering what white water tastes like. Blacks had to be subservient
toward whites or face the brutal consequences..even if they were
children.
Not everyone was happy with this state of affairs. Black
parents wanted decent schools for their beloved children. World War
II veterans were treated like second class citizens in the nation they
had risked their lives defending. Eventually people decided the
condition of black people would not improve until the majority of them
had and exercised the right to vote. Southern whites were big fans of
the status quo, however, and willing to do whatever it took to prevent
change.
The text covers this tumultuous period nicely. But the
photographs steal the show:
A robed Ku Klux Klansman showing off a hangman's noose through the
window of a truck;
Dazed people sitting on the grass near their firebombed bus;
A minister looking at the ruins of his church;
Children holding hand made signs asking for their parents to be
allowed to vote...these pictures are worth far more than the
proverbial words and great starting points for discussion.
We need to be having these discussions. Even now in the twenty-
first century people want to take these hard earned rights away. Only
now they're using legal manipulations instead of attack dogs, clubs,
hooded outfits and nooses, and threats. And we can't let this
happen. In my opinion, most of us could stand schooling each other in
the lessons of civics and history.
On a personal note, as I write this gusts are howling around my home.
The few sturdy wind chimes I still have out are like dancers on
amphetamines. And the weather is cold. I lost feeling in my fingers
just taking the trash can to the curb even while wearing gloves. Well
yesterday I walked back from Orono only to realize the lock on the
screen door would not open and my husband who could fix that was still
to work. I was so glad to have my storage shed. Even unheated it
blocked the wind. First thing I did later when I got in the house was
put on water for tea.
A great big shout out goes out to all the people like trash collectors
and public works folks and construction workers who put in eight or
ten hour days under those brutal conditions. My heroes!!!
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, March 12, 2015
30 Lessons for Living
30 Lessons for Living
Adult Nonfiction
If you've passed the age where getting older is something that
happens to other people (I remember when my generation was not
supposed to trust anyone over 30) aging is likely to be one of your
bigger fears...sort of the adult bogeyman. Probably people even older
would be terrified of that which gives us the heebie jeebies. Right?
Wrong. And that is only one of the revelations in Karl Pillemer's 30
Lessons for Living: Tried and True advice from the Wisest Americans.
Pillemer realized that in a society of "experts" giving advice
on just about any problem a lot of people are feeling serious angst.
"We live in the midst of plenty but always seem to want more. We feel
that we do not have enough time, and yet we waste the precious time we
have on video games, text messaging, reading about the lives of
talentless celebrities, or earning more money to buy things we don't
need. We always seem to be worrying--about our health, our children,
our marriages, our jobs."
Spurred on by his own 50th birthday, Pillemer realized he wanted
to make the most of his remaining years. He sought advice from those
experts traditionally seen as a source of wisdom but these days
considered out of it. "Older people have one unique source of
knowledge that the rest of us do not: they have lived their lives.
They have been where younger people haven't."
One of the most exciting things the experts tell us to do is,
rather than deny or dread aging, find the magic in it. Edwina (94)
had thought she would be sitting in a rocking chair watching the world
go by. Happy to be wrong, she said, "...You should enjoy your life.
Grow a little. Just because you're getting older doesn't mean that
you have to stop growing...". Many of the people interviewed actually
find themselves happier than at early stages in life.
One very important bit of advice is for us to "Act Now Like You
Will Need Your Body For a Hundred Years." Younger people tend to think
bad habits like smoking and leading a sedentary lifestyle will kill
people early. The experts in the book say it's not that simple. The
bad habits tend to lead to chronic diseases like diabetes and heart
disease that can make the last years or decades miserable. Todd (77)
said, "Well, I know this: aging is okay. But if you have to be
pushed around in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank, if there's anything
in life that you know right now that can prevent that, do it..." Those
sound like words to live by, especially for those of us who have
problematic genes.
That is just the tip of the iceberg of treasures you will find
in this book. Who among us couldn't use a little good advice on
marriage, parenting, and work? I can't think of anyone in my life mid
twenties and on I would not urge to read 30 Lessons for Living. It's
a few years old so you may have to get it by inter library loan like I
did.
On a personal note, I will be soon learning whether or not I get into
grad school. If I don't I'll have to decide where to go from there.
Even though I'll still look for part time jobs, I also want to be a
writer. The experts are on my side. They strongly advise taking
risks rather than living to regret not doing so. I so do not want to
find myself thinking, if only I had given writing a real chance.
A great big shout out goes out to the wonderful experts at Orono
Methodist Church including, but not limited to, Charlene, Elaine,
Gwen, Sylvia, and those almost lifetime sweethearts Alma and Fred Otto.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult Nonfiction
If you've passed the age where getting older is something that
happens to other people (I remember when my generation was not
supposed to trust anyone over 30) aging is likely to be one of your
bigger fears...sort of the adult bogeyman. Probably people even older
would be terrified of that which gives us the heebie jeebies. Right?
Wrong. And that is only one of the revelations in Karl Pillemer's 30
Lessons for Living: Tried and True advice from the Wisest Americans.
Pillemer realized that in a society of "experts" giving advice
on just about any problem a lot of people are feeling serious angst.
"We live in the midst of plenty but always seem to want more. We feel
that we do not have enough time, and yet we waste the precious time we
have on video games, text messaging, reading about the lives of
talentless celebrities, or earning more money to buy things we don't
need. We always seem to be worrying--about our health, our children,
our marriages, our jobs."
Spurred on by his own 50th birthday, Pillemer realized he wanted
to make the most of his remaining years. He sought advice from those
experts traditionally seen as a source of wisdom but these days
considered out of it. "Older people have one unique source of
knowledge that the rest of us do not: they have lived their lives.
They have been where younger people haven't."
One of the most exciting things the experts tell us to do is,
rather than deny or dread aging, find the magic in it. Edwina (94)
had thought she would be sitting in a rocking chair watching the world
go by. Happy to be wrong, she said, "...You should enjoy your life.
Grow a little. Just because you're getting older doesn't mean that
you have to stop growing...". Many of the people interviewed actually
find themselves happier than at early stages in life.
One very important bit of advice is for us to "Act Now Like You
Will Need Your Body For a Hundred Years." Younger people tend to think
bad habits like smoking and leading a sedentary lifestyle will kill
people early. The experts in the book say it's not that simple. The
bad habits tend to lead to chronic diseases like diabetes and heart
disease that can make the last years or decades miserable. Todd (77)
said, "Well, I know this: aging is okay. But if you have to be
pushed around in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank, if there's anything
in life that you know right now that can prevent that, do it..." Those
sound like words to live by, especially for those of us who have
problematic genes.
That is just the tip of the iceberg of treasures you will find
in this book. Who among us couldn't use a little good advice on
marriage, parenting, and work? I can't think of anyone in my life mid
twenties and on I would not urge to read 30 Lessons for Living. It's
a few years old so you may have to get it by inter library loan like I
did.
On a personal note, I will be soon learning whether or not I get into
grad school. If I don't I'll have to decide where to go from there.
Even though I'll still look for part time jobs, I also want to be a
writer. The experts are on my side. They strongly advise taking
risks rather than living to regret not doing so. I so do not want to
find myself thinking, if only I had given writing a real chance.
A great big shout out goes out to the wonderful experts at Orono
Methodist Church including, but not limited to, Charlene, Elaine,
Gwen, Sylvia, and those almost lifetime sweethearts Alma and Fred Otto.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Revolution
Revolution
Juvenile historic fiction
I can't remember when I have ever waited so eagerly for a book
to come out. Awhile back I read and reviewed Deborah Wiles'
Countdown, the first in a sixties trilogy. Its format took it a step
beyond a well written novel with a compelling plot and believable
characters. The rich inclusion of periof newspaper clippings, song
lyrics, public service announcements, and other period primary
materials made reading the book a real immersion experience. I
wondered if the second book could live up to the high standard set by
Countdown.
Revolution did in spades. A young person reading it will get a
good grasp of the time and place in which the characters dwell.
Bibliophiles like me who were alive when the sixties were going on
will get a stroll down memory lane.
Although Sunny and Ray both reside in Greenwood, Mississippi in
1964 they might as well live in two different worlds. She is white;
he is black. Jim Crow is still the law in the South.
As the story starts the Freedom Summer is about to begin.
Believing that meaningful change can not happen until blacks are able
to vote in large numbers, scores of organizers, mostly college
students, are en route to southern cities to help blacks register to
vote, to run freedom schools, and to provide material and legal aid.
The undertaking is highly risky, especially for the local blacks who
attempt to register. Many local powerful white leaders will do
anything, legal or not, to maintain their advantages.
Greenwood is a relatively small city where denizens of both
colors are highly interconnected. In this confusing and tempestuous
time all lives are about to be changed for better or worse.
The underlying historical story line is interconnected quite
nearly with the personal narratives of the two protagonists. Sunny is
coping with the new stepfamily her father has acquired by marriage.
Ray's parents differ sharply on how to respond to the challenges.
Even being seen with an organizer can cost a job and means of
supporting a family or even more.
Like Countdown, Revolution is richly layered with period source
materials. Pictures in particular bring home the reality of the time
and place in which the fictional characters are depicted.
On a personal note, with Eugene at camp and Adam and Katie gone for
the weekend it's just me and Joey cat. Tonight I'll play a DVD or two
and try to forget that we're home alone. I'm about to hike up to
Orono in the cold to find myself human company while library is open.
A great big shout goes out to all who collect garbage and recycle.
The frigid temps and intermittent snow have given us ample cause to
commend their work ethic.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile historic fiction
I can't remember when I have ever waited so eagerly for a book
to come out. Awhile back I read and reviewed Deborah Wiles'
Countdown, the first in a sixties trilogy. Its format took it a step
beyond a well written novel with a compelling plot and believable
characters. The rich inclusion of periof newspaper clippings, song
lyrics, public service announcements, and other period primary
materials made reading the book a real immersion experience. I
wondered if the second book could live up to the high standard set by
Countdown.
Revolution did in spades. A young person reading it will get a
good grasp of the time and place in which the characters dwell.
Bibliophiles like me who were alive when the sixties were going on
will get a stroll down memory lane.
Although Sunny and Ray both reside in Greenwood, Mississippi in
1964 they might as well live in two different worlds. She is white;
he is black. Jim Crow is still the law in the South.
As the story starts the Freedom Summer is about to begin.
Believing that meaningful change can not happen until blacks are able
to vote in large numbers, scores of organizers, mostly college
students, are en route to southern cities to help blacks register to
vote, to run freedom schools, and to provide material and legal aid.
The undertaking is highly risky, especially for the local blacks who
attempt to register. Many local powerful white leaders will do
anything, legal or not, to maintain their advantages.
Greenwood is a relatively small city where denizens of both
colors are highly interconnected. In this confusing and tempestuous
time all lives are about to be changed for better or worse.
The underlying historical story line is interconnected quite
nearly with the personal narratives of the two protagonists. Sunny is
coping with the new stepfamily her father has acquired by marriage.
Ray's parents differ sharply on how to respond to the challenges.
Even being seen with an organizer can cost a job and means of
supporting a family or even more.
Like Countdown, Revolution is richly layered with period source
materials. Pictures in particular bring home the reality of the time
and place in which the fictional characters are depicted.
On a personal note, with Eugene at camp and Adam and Katie gone for
the weekend it's just me and Joey cat. Tonight I'll play a DVD or two
and try to forget that we're home alone. I'm about to hike up to
Orono in the cold to find myself human company while library is open.
A great big shout goes out to all who collect garbage and recycle.
The frigid temps and intermittent snow have given us ample cause to
commend their work ethic.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Little Humans
Little Humans
Picture book
I'm a huge, huge fan of Brandon Stanton's excellent
photojournalism book, Humans Of New York. Last week, much to my
delight, I discovered he has created a picture book version, Little
Humans.
Little Humans is a compilation of Stanton's favorite photographs
of children, tied together with a poetic tribute. The children are
amazing. Their confidence and joi de vivre just jumps out whether
they're sledding down a hill, playing a huge cello, cradling a puppy,
or just hanging out with friends. Their attire is individual and
distinct, not a mall brand name compilation or catalog copy. A boy
with a baseball in his glove combines a button down shirt, tweed
jacket, and polka dot bow tie with jeans and work boots. A little
girl twirls in a frilly fluffy dress and traditional Islamic head
covering.
Little Humans is a wonderful book to share with the little
humans in your life. Possibly it could inspire older elementary and
middle school students to do photojournalistic projects of their own.
On a personal note, before this year is over I plan to start my own
photojournalist book focussing on couples who have been married 50 or
so years.
A great big shout out goes out to couples who have stayed together for
decades, never forsaking one another. What a beautiful example they
set for the rest of us!
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
I'm a huge, huge fan of Brandon Stanton's excellent
photojournalism book, Humans Of New York. Last week, much to my
delight, I discovered he has created a picture book version, Little
Humans.
Little Humans is a compilation of Stanton's favorite photographs
of children, tied together with a poetic tribute. The children are
amazing. Their confidence and joi de vivre just jumps out whether
they're sledding down a hill, playing a huge cello, cradling a puppy,
or just hanging out with friends. Their attire is individual and
distinct, not a mall brand name compilation or catalog copy. A boy
with a baseball in his glove combines a button down shirt, tweed
jacket, and polka dot bow tie with jeans and work boots. A little
girl twirls in a frilly fluffy dress and traditional Islamic head
covering.
Little Humans is a wonderful book to share with the little
humans in your life. Possibly it could inspire older elementary and
middle school students to do photojournalistic projects of their own.
On a personal note, before this year is over I plan to start my own
photojournalist book focussing on couples who have been married 50 or
so years.
A great big shout out goes out to couples who have stayed together for
decades, never forsaking one another. What a beautiful example they
set for the rest of us!
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Summer Of 42
The Summer Of 42
Adult Novel
I arrived at this review by a truly circuitous route. In
preparation to writing a poem about condoms, specifically how good it
is young people are talking about them, I wanted to contrast this with
the not so good old days when they were considered dirty if not
downright pornographic. I remembered a movie and book in which a
young man had a very memorable conversation with a druggist on the
topic. The only problem was I couldn't recall the name...until I woke
up at 2:00 in the morning with this data. I googled it to make sure
it was right (yes, at 2:00 a.m.) and learned two fascinating bits of
information. The book was written after the movie by the same
author. It was his real life coming of age story. Needless to say I
immediately borrowed both book and DVD by inter library loan.
The story opens at a time America was fully immersed in World
War II. Most males of fighting age were over there. Many windows
bore blue or gold stars. On the home front civilians saved
commodities needed in the war effort, knit socks for soldiers, and
tried in every way they could think of to help.
Hermie and his family are summering on an Maine island, joined
from time to time by the working husband/father. His best friend,
Oscy, and close but not best friend, Benjie, are also there with their
families. Oscy is the extrovert of the Terrible Trio. "Oscy carried
with him an air of mischief, an unassailable warmth, and a private
kind of boyish manliness that presaged a confident and rugged man."
Benjie is Oscy's polar opposite, very much a child and respecter of
adult authority. Hermie is on the fence between them, painfully
unsure what side he would fall on, cognizant of a litany of worries
from diseases of old age to shaving and driving and "how in the world
would he be able to screw and when and with whom, and would the police
break in."
With the possible exception of Benjie, the boys are obsessed
with carnal thoughts. Oscy is determined to get laid. He studies a
book and breaks the process from conversation to coitus into twelve
steps which he insists Hermie join him in memorizing. (He has no hope
for Benjie).
For Hermie the matter isn't quite as simple. A man's first
time, he feels, should be with someone special. He has a deepening
crush on a seemingly unapproachable older woman, one awaiting the
return of her soldier husband. "...nothing, from the first moment
Hermie saw her, and no one who had happened to him since had ever been
as frightening and as confusing or could have done more to make him
feel more sure, more insecure, more important, and less significant."
I think this would be a wonderful book club book--not so much
for the plot but the richly detailed ambiance. Some possible
questions to address:
Women fall into two categories: moms who are eternally cleaning,
cooking, and other women who seem to exist for the male gaze and as
potential lays. Males also are dichotomized as real men capable of
fighting and fucking and losers. How much of this rather limited
perspective is due to Hermie's youth and how much due to the times he
lived in?
Both narrator and nation seem on board with the rightness of America's
war involvement. How does this contrast with Vietnan and Afghanistan/
Iraq?
The same person directed both The Summer Of 42 and another coming of
age movie, To Kill A Mockingbird. Can you see similarities,
differences?
Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, said she was glad her
book was published when it was because it would have published as YA
and denied adult readership. If The Summer Of 42 were published this
year would it have been marketed as adult or YA?
On a personal note, we are still cycling through snow storms and
amassing some pretty impressive drifts.
A great big shout out goes out to my Eugene and the other knights in
less than shining loaders and dump trucks who keep streets and parking
lots navigable.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult Novel
I arrived at this review by a truly circuitous route. In
preparation to writing a poem about condoms, specifically how good it
is young people are talking about them, I wanted to contrast this with
the not so good old days when they were considered dirty if not
downright pornographic. I remembered a movie and book in which a
young man had a very memorable conversation with a druggist on the
topic. The only problem was I couldn't recall the name...until I woke
up at 2:00 in the morning with this data. I googled it to make sure
it was right (yes, at 2:00 a.m.) and learned two fascinating bits of
information. The book was written after the movie by the same
author. It was his real life coming of age story. Needless to say I
immediately borrowed both book and DVD by inter library loan.
The story opens at a time America was fully immersed in World
War II. Most males of fighting age were over there. Many windows
bore blue or gold stars. On the home front civilians saved
commodities needed in the war effort, knit socks for soldiers, and
tried in every way they could think of to help.
Hermie and his family are summering on an Maine island, joined
from time to time by the working husband/father. His best friend,
Oscy, and close but not best friend, Benjie, are also there with their
families. Oscy is the extrovert of the Terrible Trio. "Oscy carried
with him an air of mischief, an unassailable warmth, and a private
kind of boyish manliness that presaged a confident and rugged man."
Benjie is Oscy's polar opposite, very much a child and respecter of
adult authority. Hermie is on the fence between them, painfully
unsure what side he would fall on, cognizant of a litany of worries
from diseases of old age to shaving and driving and "how in the world
would he be able to screw and when and with whom, and would the police
break in."
With the possible exception of Benjie, the boys are obsessed
with carnal thoughts. Oscy is determined to get laid. He studies a
book and breaks the process from conversation to coitus into twelve
steps which he insists Hermie join him in memorizing. (He has no hope
for Benjie).
For Hermie the matter isn't quite as simple. A man's first
time, he feels, should be with someone special. He has a deepening
crush on a seemingly unapproachable older woman, one awaiting the
return of her soldier husband. "...nothing, from the first moment
Hermie saw her, and no one who had happened to him since had ever been
as frightening and as confusing or could have done more to make him
feel more sure, more insecure, more important, and less significant."
I think this would be a wonderful book club book--not so much
for the plot but the richly detailed ambiance. Some possible
questions to address:
Women fall into two categories: moms who are eternally cleaning,
cooking, and other women who seem to exist for the male gaze and as
potential lays. Males also are dichotomized as real men capable of
fighting and fucking and losers. How much of this rather limited
perspective is due to Hermie's youth and how much due to the times he
lived in?
Both narrator and nation seem on board with the rightness of America's
war involvement. How does this contrast with Vietnan and Afghanistan/
Iraq?
The same person directed both The Summer Of 42 and another coming of
age movie, To Kill A Mockingbird. Can you see similarities,
differences?
Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, said she was glad her
book was published when it was because it would have published as YA
and denied adult readership. If The Summer Of 42 were published this
year would it have been marketed as adult or YA?
On a personal note, we are still cycling through snow storms and
amassing some pretty impressive drifts.
A great big shout out goes out to my Eugene and the other knights in
less than shining loaders and dump trucks who keep streets and parking
lots navigable.
Julia Emily Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
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