THE LOST WIFE

The adage “truth is stranger than fiction” is proven in The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman.  She has succeeded in blending both for an unforgettable reading experience.

Ms. Richman’s mother was an artist and taught her to look at the world with the eyes of an artist, so it was natural that her first novels’ protagonists were painters (The Mask Carver’s Son and The Last Van Gogh). Richman was also an art history major in college and wanted her next novel to be about artists who continue to create during the most difficult of circumstances.  What circumstance could be more difficult than the Holocaust?  In spite of her agent’s discouragement and warning that this would be a difficult sell, Richman pursued her idea, but didn’t know how she was going to frame the story. 

Fate stepped in at, of all places; a hair salon where she overheard a true story which she knew immediately would be the opening scene and framework of her book.  The improbable story:  at a wedding rehearsal dinner the grandmother of the bride and the grandfather of the groom were introduced for the first time.  He kept insisting that she looked familiar. Something about the eyes.  By the end of the evening he politely asked if she would raise her sheer dress sleeve and let him see her wrist.  He was looking for an identifying birthmark, which as he suspected beyond his wildest belief, was there -- as well as a tattooed number from Auschwitz.  She was indeed the wife who had been separated from him for over sixty years. Through the horrors of war-torn Europe, each believed the other had died.

This is not a plot spoiler—it is the opening scene of the book-in fact it compels you to read on like a reverse mystery.  How did they get separated?  What choices did they make that caused them to get separated?  Who did they eventually marry?  How did they both end up in New York in the year 2000? What follows is their individual stories in alternately seamless narration—hers primarily from the concentration camp and his in America.

Lenka and Josef first meet in the 1930’s in Prague where she is an art student and the daughter of a prominent artisan glassblower.  Josef is a medical student and son of a doctor. They fall in love and rush to marry hoping to escape Czechoslovakia before it is attacked by the Germans.  Although separated by the tragic circumstances of war, their achingly beautiful love story continues throughout the book and is felt deeply through lyrical writing, such as the description when Lenka first meets Josef. “He laughs. And in his laugh I hear bliss.  I hear feet dancing, the rush of skirts twirling.  The sound of children. Is that the sign of first love? You hear in the person you’re destined to love the sound of those yet to be born?”

The Lost Wife, however, is much more than a love story.  Richman’s four years of research including interviews with concentration camp survivors is historical fiction at its finest, portraying actual places and including real people alongside the fictional characters. The setting is Terezin, a concentration camp I had not heard of until this book. Terezin (just outside Prague) was less of a death camp and more of an authentic work camp.   Many Jewish artists were sent there where their skills were utilized to draw blueprints for the Germans or to copy masterpieces onto postcards which were then sold.

If one Googles Terezin, they will read,  Hitler told the world he built a city for the Jews to protect them from the vagaries and stresses of the war.  A propaganda film was made of this “showcase” community spruced up for the Red Cross visit.   Bakery windows and shelves were suddenly overflowing with baked goods and bon bons the inmates had never seen during their time at Terezin.  Inmates were given decent clothing to guide visitors along flowered walkways.  Thousands of inmates were deported to Auschwitz  to give an impression of space and comfort.  Immediately after the film and Red Cross visit, all these embellishments disappeared and life returned to normal. Normal was a ghetto housing a population of 55,000 Jews for a community that comfortably held 5000. Normal was the death of 97,297 Czech Jews at Terezin, including 1500 children.  Only 132 children were known to have survived. 

What also survived, however, from Terezin was the artwork that notable Jewish artists of the day buried in the floors and walls, depicting life as it really was.  This underground artist movement was done at great risk to their lives.  They also smuggled art supplies which they gave to the children, resulting in some 6000 artworks by Jewish children who were incarcerated at Terezin during the years 1942-44. For these children, drawing opened up the path to memories of the world from which they had been uprooted, transporting them from a harsh reality to a world of fantasy and imagination where good prevailed over evil. Their drawings expressed the constant hope for a safe return home, often featuring highways and crossroads with signposts to Prague. These artworks were hidden and later retrieved, now on display at Prague’s Jewish Museum, in Israel and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C. They also resulted in a book entitled, I Never saw Another Butterfly.

The Lost Wife is a story that will immerse you in a time in history that is horrific, yet paradoxically, the writing is beautiful. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the lasting power of first love, the strength of family loyalty, and the mystery of memory.  In the author’s words, it validates that the human spirit and the artistic spirit cannot be extinguished. Lenka’s and Josef’s story will haunt you long after you read it.

I have read so many good books lately I couldn’t decide which one to review.  It was a toss up between The Secret Keeper by Kate Norton and The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood.  (I don’t know about you but any title that contains the word “secret” draws me like a magnet---maybe it was that early Nancy Drew conditioning.)

Then I realized these two books have several common elements.   Both tell the story from two points of view spanning many years and generations; both are fiction yet

use specific historical events as their framework; both are passionate love stories dealing with loss and grief; both contain deathbed confessions between mothers and daughters; and both would make great book club choices, especially multi-generational discussions.  Oh, did I mention murder and unfaithfulness?  Sure to spice up any discussion. 

In the Obituary Writer, the narrator is twenty- three-year-old Vivian, telling her story in 1919 after she survived the Great San Francisco Earthquake. She kisses her lover David good-bye as he leaves for work on the morning of April 18, 1906 at 5:00 A.M. Twelve minutes later, her world is turned upside down in two ways.  Not only does the city crumble; it sends Vivian on a thirteen-year quest for David, who she wholeheartedly believes survived the earthquake and is wandering around with amnesia from an injury, possibly a blow to the head.  During these years, she discovers she has a gift for writing obituaries that capture the true essence of a person beyond their vital statistics.  She is sought out by many who come to her in their grief to pay tribute to their loved ones. Perhaps it is her own sense of loss that allows her to be so compassionate and empathetic.

The alternating story chapters in Obituary takes place 2000 miles away in Virginia and forty-two years later, 1961.  The narrator is Claire, early twenties, married to Peter, one of the few civilians working at the Pentagon. Kennedy has just been elected president and author Hood so effectively portrays the hopeful tone of the country and the fervor caused by America’s infatuation with Jackie.  In suburbia, Claire’s friends are hosting inauguration day parties with contests like who can choose the color Jackie will wear at the inauguration ceremony.  One review says the author dropped a few too many product names in her effort to re-create the 60’s, but having been Claire’s age myself at that time I found it authentic and pleasantly reminiscent.  For younger readers, I think it gives an accurate picture of the times.  But more importantly, this novel deals with the barriers women faced in the early 1900’s as well as the 60’s.  Both periods are on the brink of great changes for women and the country.

As Claire’s story opens, she too experiences a seismic shift in her life when the kidnapping of a young boy in their upscale “protected” neighborhood causes something in her to snap. She succumbs to an affair, jeopardizing her marriage to Peter and supposedly “perfect” life with their three -year old daughter.   

The alternating chapters flow easily with two very different yet believable and sympathetic characters, both searching for love and meaning in their lives. Although years and miles apart, their stories bind and unite them in an unusual twist.  No plot spoilers here, of course, but I will say that one of the reasons I recommend this as a book discussion is because I think the author leaves the ending open to the reader’s interpretation.

An extra bonus are quotes from Emily Post’s Etiquette as chapter markings on how to soothe the life of a grieving person.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Norton also has dual narrators.  The first is Laurel, age sixty-six, a successful and well-regarded actress in London in the year 2011.  When she visits her dying mother, Dorothy, to celebrate her 90^th birthday, a childhood memory is invoked by unusual remarks her mother makes in her dementia state.  She is also clutching an old Peter Pan playbook with an inscription from a friend and a childhood photo of two girls Laurel has never seen before.  Laurel becomes obsessed with discovering her mother’s life before she became the mother of five children with a bucolic existence in the English countryside...and with uncovering the real story behind a disturbing memory her parents asked her to keep secret from her siblings.

Laurel, at age sixteen in 1961, witnessed a shocking event from her perch in their garden tree house while the rest of the family gathered for a picnic birthday celebration at the nearby pond.  Mother returns to the house, carrying Laurel’s baby brother, to retrieve the special knife decorated with a red bow, used specifically for the cutting of the birthday cake.  This day however, her mother, knife in hand, brutally kills a man who appears on their front porch. Laurel is the only witness to the murder which the authorities conclude was self-defense as there had been a wanted pervert reported in the area in recent months. The parents convince Laurel that it is best not to discuss this with her younger siblings and the event is never mentioned again.  Laurel told the police what she saw, but it is years later that she recalls she left out one important thing she heard. The intruder called her mother by name as though he knew her well.

The alternating story in this event is mother Dorothy’s and the WWII years during the London Blitz.   Through these flashbacks, amidst the bombings and escapes to air-raid shelters, we learn of Dorothy’s friendship with Vivian, her love affair with Jimmy, and a wicked blackmail plot that goes terribly wrong.  Norton’s characters are fascinating and her plot line so engrossing, we find ourselves totally immersed in that time period yet easily shifting to Laurel’s present-day personal investigation, trying to piece little clues together.  There is no shortage of twists and suspense, bringing us to a culmination of Dorothy’s story and Laurel’s search.

So there you have it.  Two books, four main characters in four different time periods, I think they represent historical fiction at its best—vivid portrayals of the times told through riveting personal stories. Final ironic trivia--both books have a main character named Vivian and both stories have mothers celebrating a significant birthday (one 80, one 90) which serves as the catalyst for the unraveling of their past lives.

This is Kate Norton’s 4^th novel and Ann Hood has been writing short stories and novels since the late 80’s.  If these two books are any indication, I am looking forward to some good reading, catching up with their earlier writings.

Wrap bundles of raw green beans with strips of bacon.  Melt some brown sugar with some butter and pour over bacon bundles.  Bake until bacon is crisp.  I think about 375 degrees.  (One piece of bacon can be cut to wrap several bundles...once around is enough.)

A wonderful recipe for Beef Bourguignon. Some things take a lot of time and effort....but are so worth it.  Here I am channeling JuliaChild from Mastering the Art of French Cooking...not sure I mastered it, but it was delicious.  So full of robust flavor. And makes such a large portion that easily serves 8-10.   Some things are just worth it.  Bon Appetit!

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

6 oz bacon-cut into small pieces  (I use kitchen scissors—cuts thru easier than a knife)

3 lbs lean beef stew meat  (I cut the meat in smaller pieces than you normally get in a package of stew meat)  A few of the pieces might have some fat which I trim off when cutting into smaller portions)

1 carrot-sliced in thin pieces

1 onion-sliced in thin pieces

salt pepper

1 T flour

3 cups of full bodied red wine or a chianti

2-3 cups beef stock  (I use beef broth or consume in cans—all on soup aisle)

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic  (or you can use minced garlic from a jar—about 2 T)

¼ tsp thyme

crumbled bay leaf

18-24 small white onions  (I use 1 frozen package-I thaw them before I put in stew-sometimes the outer skin needs to be slipped off...just squeeze or pinch them after defrosting and it comes off easily)

1 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms sauted in butter

                                                Assembly

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In deep Dutch oven or very large sauce pan, saute the bacon in oil over medium heat till lightly brown. (Do not want to burn the oil as we will use it again for carrot and onion)Remove bacon to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Next is browning the meat in the oil leftover from bacon.  The bacon should have left some additional oil in pan.   Dry the meat between paper towels first. It will not brown if it is damp or moist on outside. Also, brown it in several bathes –not all at once.  You don’t want the meat to be touching each other in the pan.  Remove beef with slotted spoon and add to bacon.

To the same fat, add the carrot and onion.  When they are browned slightly, discard the fat.

Now return the beef and bacon to pan with onion and carrot and toss with salt and pepper to taste.  Then sprinkle on the flour and toss and coat the beef lightly.  Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.  Toss the meat and return to the oven for 4 minutes. 

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and enough beef stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered.  Add the tomoto paste, garlic,  and herbs.  (You may have to tie up bay leaf in a cheesecloth so it is easy to remove before serving.)

Bring to simmer on top of stove and then place in 325 degree oven for 3 hours.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms and set them aside.

(defrost onions and peel away outer skin if necessary)

brown mushrooms in butter

When casserole is done, remove from oven and stir in mushrooms and onions.

Put back in oven for about 20 minutes at a low temperature.

Can be served over noodles or rice....or just plan as a stew with crusty bread.

You can make this all ahead and refrigerate until needed.  Reheat slowly in the oven.  It seems to improve with a little age so it’s perfectly okay to make a few days ahead.

As you can see, it is a lot of preparation but so worth it.  This recipe serves about 8 quite generously.  Could possibly serve 10 if smaller portions.

Enjoy..and please call if you have any questions. 

A wonderful recipe for Beef Bourguignon. Some things take a lot of time and effort....but are so worth it.  Here I am channeling JuliaChild from Mastering the Art of French Cooking...not sure I mastered it, but it was delicious.  So full of robust flavor. And makes such a large portion that easily serves 8-10.   Some things are just worth it.  Bon Appetit!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

February is the month we glorify  “love” and The Fault In Our Stars is a glorious love story.   A love story not just between a boy and a girl, but with life itself. You’ll find this book in the Young Adult section but don’t let that keep you from reading it; its message is universal to all ages because it is about living each day to the fullest, as if your days were limited. 

The main characters, sixteen-year old Hazel Grace and seventeen year-old Augustus (Gus)Waters, live and love that way because they have cancer.  They don’t fall into the trap healthy people do of thinking they have all the time in the world. As one review says, (Gus) was “carpe diem” personified. 

Hazel and Gus meet at a cancer support group which Hazel goes to reluctantly at her mother’s urging because Hazel has few friends these days and prefers the company of books, particularly the fictional An Imperial Affliction by the Dutch author Peter Van Houten. I mention this book and its author because they play a critical role in the plot, both externally and internally.  As Van Houten tells Hazel, “Grief doesn’t change you; it reveals you.”

Also at the support group is Gus’ best friend Isaac.  Isaac loses an eye to cancer and finds solace in Hazel and Gus (and his video games) when his girlfriend dumps him.  So here’s the cast of teen characters: Isaac who is blind, Gus who is in remission from osteosarcoma, which cost him a leg and a starting line-up on the Hoosier high school basketball team, and Hazel, a thyroid cancer patient on a “miracle” drug that can supposedly lengthen her life—a life that consists of having oxygen tubes in her nose 24/7 with a tank she hauls around with the grace of a trendy purse.  If you are thinking you don’t want to read a downer book, let me assure you that although you may shed a few tears, you will also laugh and be inspired as these three banter and face life with amazing courage and valor.  Hazel herself admits on page one, “...cancer books suck.” She is referring to clichés and sentiment that conceal hard truths. The voices of these three characters however ring brutally true with no sugar coating.

Narrated in first person, Hazel’s voice is unforgettable. It could also be described as insightful, honest, witty and genuine.  Hazel’s one normal high school friend, Kaitlyn, provides comic relief but Hazel considers her mother her best friend as she takes every opportunity to be enthusiastic at small occasions, such as half-birthdays and Bastille Day.  Their relationship however is tested when Hazel starts spending most waking hours with Gus, leaving little energy to be with her loving and supportive parents. As Hazel rebuttals, “But you said I spend too much time alone...you wanted me to have friends.” Inside Hazel fears for her parents’ welfare—she would do anything to spare them grief. She read a statistic that half of all marriages result in divorce after a child’s death. As an only child she fears, “What will happen to them if she dies?” This is the same reason she is initially reluctant to go beyond friendship with Gus--to spare him further sadness and angst.  Gus’ persistence however wins her over, especially when he shares her love for An Imperial Affliction and together they take on a mission and journey inspired by the book—with a little help from the Genies (The fictional Make-A-Wish foundation).

The title of the book, according to the author’s blog, is inspired by a line from Shakespeare’s play, Julius Ceaser, where the nobleman Cassius says to Brutus,

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings”.

His blog also tells us that he named the main character Hazel “because it’s an in-between color, and she has an in-between life, in-between health and sickness.”

It’s challenging to comment fully on the beauty of this story without plot spoilers so you’ll have to trust me on this one. Or better yet, trust the millions of readers author John Green has.  Fault In Our Stars debuted in January 2012 as #1 on the NY Times Best Seller list for Children’s Chapter Books and remained in that spot for seven consecutive weeks. It was #1 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list and as of January 2013 had one million copies in print world-wide.  In February, 2012, film rights to the book were optioned by Fox 2000.

Also, an interesting note that speaks volumes of the author’s amiable character as well as his fan loyalty:  On December 21, 2011, Barnes and Noble accidentally shipped 1500 copies of the book three weeks before its release date to people who had pre-ordered the book.  Green released a statement saying, “Mistakes happen. It is not my wish to see any employees vilified.” Many fans who received the book pledged not to read it until its release date as per a request of Green’s to not spoil it for other readers.

As of January, 2013, John Green has three other spots on the New York Times Best Seller list: Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns.  Green is somewhat of a paradox.  All of his novels are about serious subjects portrayed with wit and soulfulness through the eyes of highly intelligent teenagers. Yet his sideline is funny stuff.  He is one half of the Vlogbrothers (youtube.com/vlogbrothers), a popular online video, social media project.  He co-founded a still running public reading series, Funny HaHa when he lived in Chicago. You can join John’s 1.2 million followers on Twitter (@realjohngreen), or visit him online at johngreenbooks.com.

Although these characters have a fault in their stars, when finished with this book you are left grateful that you knew them and that the stars of those you love are healthy.

Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

January. Resolutions. My guess is that at least one of your resolutions falls under the category of being happier in some area of your life.  If so, you might want to take a look at Gretchen Rubin’s new book Happier at Home (2012).  Her previous book, The Happiness Project was #1 on the NY Times bestseller list for months.  Although I hadn’t read that one, I bought her next book as the “perfect” gift for someone. Before I wrapped it I skimmed it a little further than in the bookstore. Soon I was reading each page and knew I had to have my own copy.  This is a valuable and inspirational reference for any individual, family or home--the kind of book you might not read at one sitting or from beginning to end, but snippets on a daily or weekly basis. With a highlighter.

This book is not just Rubin’s personal philosophy which one might think, “Well, how can someone else’s idea of happiness be the same as mine?”  But rather she has studied the field intensively and shared many philosophies. One reviewer calls it a cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love.  I personally think the seven-page bibliography of books and extensive research that she includes is worth the price of the book alone.  The books that have most influenced her life and this project are The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,  (Yale Press), Therese of Lisieux’  spiritual memoir, Story of a Soul, and everything written by Samuel Johnson.

In Happier at Home, Rubin says, “A happiness project is an approach to the practice of everyday life. The key word here is everyday.  Let’s face it...most of our time is spent in “everyday” living, not at DisneyWorld.  What better place to find the joie de vivre than in our daily tasks.  First is the preparation stage where you identify what brings you joy, satisfaction and engagement as well as what causes you frustration or unhappiness? Second is the making of resolutions, where you identify what actions will bring joy and reduce the opposite. Then comes the interesting part: keeping your resolutions.”

Rubin divides her book into nine sections, for the months of September through May, much like a school year with each month devoted to focusing on an aspect of daily living:  Possessions, Marriage, Parenthood, Interior Design, Time, Body, Family, Neighborhood, and Now.  Although those were the months she chose to focus, the principles and ideas could apply to any month or person’s schedule.

As she labored to identify the fundamental principles that underlay happiness, she identified what she calls Four Splendid Truths.

To be happy, I need to think about feeling good, feeling bad and feeling right in an atmosphere of growth.

One of the best ways to make myself happy is to make other people happy.

The days are long, but the years are short.

I’m not happy unless I think I’m happy.  (credit to the artist Delacroix)

I might add a quote here that is credited to Abraham Lincoln: “We’re about as happy as we make up our minds to be.”

Here’s an example of one of Rubin’s suggestions under Parenthood:  Give Warm Greetings and Farewells.  Seems simple enough and we might say, “Well, I do that all the time already”.  But she tells of an anecdote where she ignored her own advice due to life pressures,  and time crunches. The child called her on it, which told her it had become meaningful in her life.  Rubin’s style is not preachy but very real from trial and errors of daily living.

Tolstoy said, “Each time of life has its own kind of love.”  Rubin says she didn’t want the time her young children were at home to slip past, unrecognized and unremembered.  Any parent will appreciate her “bus” incident. It is priceless and confirms, the days are long, the years are short.

I found one of the most interesting sections to be the one on Possessions.  Or as we often call it, our Stuff.  How much stuff do we need? How happy does it make us?

She addresses these issues in a way that causes one to think of their relationship to their possessions.  Her process makes it so much more than a “How To Get Organized” column.

“Cultivating possessions isn’t a simple matter of organization, elimination or accumulation; it is a matter of engagement.  When I felt engaged with my possessions, I felt enlivened by them and when I felt disengaged I felt burdened.”

Engagement can take the form of both use and response.  For example, if every time we walk by a certain photograph we have on display we feel a sense of joy remembering the occasion, we are definitely engaged!  And on the opposite end of the spectrum, the frustration we experience when new gadgets or equipment causes us grief.   As technology rapidly caused the author to master new skills almost on a weekly basis—the DVR, the downloading of ITunes, the uploading of photos, the countless remotes --she realized these possessions were more frustrating than valuable.  Then she applied her first rule:  Identify what causes unhappiness and correct it. Read the manual, the instructions, or else get rid of something we will never take the time to figure out but merely frustrates us each time we see it.

There is an interesting chapter on creating the space we spend most of our time in, be it at work, our office at home, our kitchen, so that it is a pleasurable place to be.

In doing so she discovers a Fifth Splendid Truth.  I can build a happy life on the foundation of my own nature.  I think this resourceful book can help one discover their own true nature as well as more Splendid Truths. 

Rubin has written other non-fiction, such as Forty Ways to Look at JFK, and Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill. She began her career as a lawyer and was working for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and two daughters.  If you’d like to sample her writing, you can visit her daily blog:  www.happiness-project.com.  I bet you’ll be happy you did.