The Books of March 2011

This post has been modified slightly.  My apologies to my readers.

A bit late, but here are the books that I read last month:

• Life in Defiance by She Reads recommended author, Mary E. Demuth.  This is Book 3 in the Defiance, Texas trilogy.  (The two previous books in the series, Daisy Chain and A Slow Burn were reviewed in prior months.)

This book was the completion of the saga about the disappearance of a young girl named Daisy from the small town of Defiance, Texas. And now I can say that I know the whole story.

Mary E. Demuth is a superb crafter of words.  Her choices evoke a sense of presence.  You are in Defiance. And you are one of the individuals frantic for the discovery of the young girl's fate.

The third book in the series is written from the perspective of pastor's wife, Louise Pepper. Ouisie, as she is called, is a repressed soul who carries many secrets.  The first book is written from the perspective of her son, Jed, and the second book is written from that of her friend, Emory Chance.

There was a year's pause between my reading of the first book and the second and third so I had regrettably forgotten a few of the details.  When you begin this saga make sure you have all three of the books on hand so that you can digest the story in its entirety.  This is a story about hurting individuals and God's redemptive love that you'll want to read straight through from beginning to end.    A visit to the author's website reveals that Ms. Demuth is no stranger to suffering herself.  It is most likely her own journey through pain via grace that provides the acute pathos in her writing.  Even though I knew these books comprised a work of fiction I still cried after reading them because I instinctively knew that this was written by a woman who was no stranger to pain.  And let's face it.  At the time I needed a good cry.

• The Inheritance of Beauty by Nicole Seitz.  This is the She Reads book of the month.

Like the Defiance trilogy above, this book is about individuals whose lives hold secrets.  In this case, the individuals have grown old and have kept their childhood secrets hidden deep within them.  What happens when some of them suddenly find themselves residing in the same care facility?  Read the book to find out!

This is a charming story that explores the personalities and heritage of a few individuals from their childhood through to their days in an assisted living home.  Besides the issues of beauty, aging, and the loss of independence, it touches on what can result when people try to hide sin.  More than one generation in this book is guilty of trying to weave deception into truth.

A couple of cultures ride separate tracks throughout the story only to cross at unexpected junctures. We are provided glimpses into the superstitions of the white inhabitants of the town and that of their Gullah neighbors, all residents of the Bible belt. 

We are also afforded a look at the real beauty that emerges from inside a person as their outward beauty fades.  One can only hope that the decency that the caregiver in this novel shows to the residents in her care is mirrored in nursing homes everywhere.  

There are a few fanciful scenes in the story but they work well within the context of mental stability of the elderly and the tricks that the mind can play as a result of trauma and selective memory as well.  I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

• Buckeye Presidents: Ohioans in the White House by Philip Weeks. 

I read this book as part of my study and preparation for the Ohio History class that I was teaching to a group of homeschooled students in grades 4-6.  I found it to be helpful in preparing brief biographical sketches.  This book was published by Kent State University so I am assuming that Mr. Weeks is a professor and fellow Ohioan.  It was refreshing to read about Ohio's contributions to the Presidency by someone who knows Ohio, her politics, and her people.  Frankly, some of the other works I consulted were broad-spectrum presidential tomes that barely scratched the surface on the topic and I understand that a manuscript that covers the complete period of U.S. government of necessity must be brief.  I, on the other hand, wanted to provide my students with meatier tidbits than the appetizers afforded in the other books.  Buckeye Presidents helped me give them some pieces to chew on.

• Oddball Ohio by Jerome Pohlen 

Ah, yes!  More Ohio research.  This "odd" volume provided a bit of levity along with history.  It is also an unofficial tour guide of some of the stranger places in Ohio.  The author's humor is a bit, um, risque in places so I edited judicially whenever I read something aloud to my students who otherwise were appropriately amused by both the author's humor and the tawdry places he was extolling.

• Adam Bede by George Eliot.

It took me a lot longer to listen to this classic novel than what I intended.  But once I was well into it I kept going.  There were things about the story that I enjoyed (the clear presentation of the gospel) and things I didn't (the ending, for one).  Yes, I know that Eliot was a woman and that she embraced agnosticism, but she still managed to have several sermons preached by a few of the story's characters.

I didn't think much of the book's ending.  Since this is a classic there is surely no "spoiler alert" in effect so I'll just wade right in.  The fact that Adam married his brother's longed-for love at the end to make what Eliot saw as a happy ending didn't make me happy at all.  I suspect that in real life it would not have made Adam's brother, Seth, happy either even if Seth did get to be the doting uncle to several fine children.  Really?  I waded all the way through the story just to feel like the author gave up and slapped any old convenient outcome on as the ending?  Why yes, I did.

I have never read Silas Marner and am now wondering if I should do so.  Or perhaps, that is the story I should have read in the first place.  Anyone else have an experience with the writings of Eliot and care to share your opinion?

• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. 

This was one of the audio books that I downloaded through the Ohio eBook program.  Like all of the Narnia saga that I've read (actually heard) so far, I liked the story.  Lewis's wit and humor (should I spell it h-u-m-o-u-r) are especially evident through the voice inflections of the British individuals who have so far been utilized to narrate this chronicle.  Like all the Narnia tales, I found this one to be engaging and easily digested in a day's time.  The brevity of the eBooks (4 hours on average) make for a fine afternoon of "reading" while doing housework.  The fact that this book has not been made into a movie meant that it was all new material to me also.

• Lady in Waiting by She Reads author, Susan Meissner.

This historical novel by one of the Christian authors whose works I've recently encountered thanks to the efforts of the She Reads ladies is probably my favorite of her works.  Like The Shape of Mercy and White Picket Fences this story is based upon a token object that ties the past with the present.  In this case, it is a ring with an inscription, including the name Jane, that sets the story in motion.  The present-day Jane is intrigued by the discovery of her name in an antique ring and sets upon a journey to solve the mystery of the long-ago Jane's identity. 

There are actually two mysteries in this story.  Besides the owner of the ring, there is the puzzle of the modern day Jane's marriage.  The confusion over the broken marital relationship seemed believable as did Jane's relationship with her parents, sibling, and coworkers.  Life really isn't two dimensional, is it?  Most of the characters were sufficiently complicated and rounded.

The plot providing the historical theme is a fictitious account of the life of Lady Jane Grey, a niece of King Henry VIII.  If you are familiar with that period of world history then you are aware that many of the people surrounding Henry and his offspring were unusual indeed if they died natural deaths.  I enjoy studying the period but am mighty glad not to have lived in it!  The peasants and gentry alike were likely to suffer cruelly as the world experienced religious and monarchical upheaval.

March was a good reading month for me.  So far, April is proving to be even more promising!  And I'm ever so grateful to the fine folks who make eBooks available to me.