Category: Reviews

Lynne Olson has already established herself as a vivid reporter of the politics and diplomacy of World War II as they involve the governments of the U.S. and the U.K. Troublesome Young Men focussed on the rebels in England who pressed for Winston Churchill’s leadership. Citizens of London gives an unforgettable picture of that city in the blitz, as well as the Americans who stood with Britain in her darkest hour.

In this new book, Olson gives a closeup of the two men representing opposing sides in her own country, the U.S. These were President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who wanted to help England stop Nazi Germany, and the famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, who went across the country preaching isolationism.

In Those Angry Days Olson has done new and fascinating research on the years 1939-1941 leading up to Pearl Harbour. It makes for an exciting book and shows, as one reviewer points out “a great democracy rallying to a great debate.”

Lynne Olson lives with her husband, historian Stanley Cloud, in Washington, D.C. She has written two books with him, as well as Freedom’s Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830-1970.

Review by Anne McDougall

Donna Morrissey, author of The Deception of Livvy Higgs, grew up in a small fishing outport in Newfoundland. Her descriptions of fights between the French and English in the heyday of the Maritime shipping industry on the French shore of Newfoundland form the best part of the book, along with vivid descriptions of life in war-torn Halifax, where Morrissey now lives.

These memories are the background of Livvy Higgs’ life. She suffers from fierce hurt from her proud, greedy father. Her grandmother is equally ruthless toward Livvy and her connections. Between them the child leads a lonely, sorrowful life.

This book tells how, at the end of her life, she tries to piece together the cruelty done toward her. A neighbour, with problems of her own, comes to her rescue. But it is altogether a rather grim story, only slightly relieved by a happy – though childless – marriage on Livvy’s part.

Morrissey is the author of a number of prize-winning novels, and has recently written a children’s book, illustrated by her daughter.

Review by Anne McDougall

Donna Leon was born in New Jersey but has lived in Venice for thirty years. She loves the city and has set her mystery series with Commissario Guido Brunetti there.

Readers have come to love the intrigue she conjures up, not only in the cases Brunetti tackles, but in the police office life, and also his family life, with a clever wife and two endearing children. In this book Brunetti himself brings Venice to life. Standing on the deck of a ferry Leon writes: “entranced, as he so often was, by the casual, unending beauty of it. Stone, sky, gold, marble, space, proportion, chaos, disorder, glory.”

The story in The Golden Egg goes far beyond Brunetti’s initial assignment and into a world of aristocratic family abuse. A mentally handicapped man in his forties has died of an overdose. When Brunetti investigates the death, he can find no birth certificate, no passport, no driver’s license, no credit cards. As far as the Italian government is concerned, he never existed. It makes for an intriguing story of discovery, what The New Yorker calls “an unusually potent cocktail of atmosphere and event.”

Review by Anne McDougall

This is a skilful, troubling book about art and the world of forgery. It is well-written by novelist B.A. Shapiro, who teaches fiction writing at Northeastern University and lives in Boston.

It tells the story of Claire Roth, a young artist living in Boston’s south end in a Bohemian area filled with other artists. She makes her living copying masterpieces which are sold, legally as reproductions. She also paints her own works, and is hoping to have a show.

She is visited one day by a well-known gallery owner who has a proposal concerning one of the painting stolen in 1990 in the notorious theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This book delves into the fascinating world of forgery and Claire’s doubts and difficult decisions. One of the reviewers wonders whether we can feel the same beauty looking at a forged painting. It is altogether a very good book and reads like any mystery thriller with an unusually good grasp of its subject.

Review by Anne McDougall

With China more and more in the news everyday, politically and economically, this book opens up a whole new aspect of that country: its social and moral scene.

Tie Ning is a well-known author in her own country and also widely translated in other countries, European and Asian. This is the first book, however, to appear in English. It is named after a painting by Cezanne, and is the story of four women who grew up together, survived the Cultural Revolution and are coping with brand new relationships and values.

There are fascinating glimpses of the old China, as when someone breaks into song about Chairman Mao. But the women are struggling with the problems the West has faced: careers, sibling rivalry, love affairs, time for marriage and motherhood.

Tie Ning has published ten books – collections of short fiction, essays, and novels. She is also president of the Chinese Writers’ Association, the youngest writer and first woman to be honoured this way.

Review by Anne McDougall

Ross King is a Canadian historian, now living in England, who has brought to life certain periods of art history through the portraits of famous men. These include “Brunelleschi’s Dome,” “Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling,” and “Defiant Spirits,” on the Group of Seven.

The latest one is “Leonardo and the Last Supper” and it gives an exciting new account of the creation of this famous painting. Leonardo was born in Vinci, a small town near Florence. His father was a well-known notary, but the son preferred drawing, filling notebooks with sketches, including landscape which wasn’t much done in those days. He moved to Milan where his art teacher became Andrea del Verrocchio and he was soon doing work for the duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. The era included many famous artists: Donatello, Massaccio, Fra Angelica. Leonardo got plenty of commissions, many of which, including a huge bronze horse sculpture, he didn’t finish.

This book is full of photographs of his work, as well as the details of painting The Last Supper. Italy was at war with France with the result that funds for art work were often turned over to armaments. It is a fascinating period altogether and King has done wide research to bring it to life.

Review by Anne McDougall

There are not many lively books written about the aftermath of grief. Lisa Moore, the Newfoundland novelist, does this in February.

In 1982, the oil rig “Ocean Ranger” sank off the coast of Newfoundland, killing all 84 men aboard. Helen O’Mara lost her husband, Cal, with whom she had a very close marriage and four children. She carries on, letting the children grow up, take chances, make mistakes, her only approach to parenting being “Because I said so.” When her son’s girlfriend becomes pregnant, however, she tells him: “There’s nothing to know – just come home.”

The book is funny as well as touching. Helen is stood up in a bar one evening after joining a dating service. She is realistic about her need to be close to someone and frightened about gradually learning not to be. One reviewer writes: “You’ll be surprised at this novel’s ability to uplift.” The happy ending is convincing and, like the rest of the book, totally unsentimental.

Lisa Moore won world prizes for an earlier novel, Alligator. She lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and writes short stories. This is a paperback edition of February which came out in 2009.

Review by Anne McDougall

“February” was named the winner of Canada Reads 2013 on CBC radio.

Julia Child was an American who became known world-wide as The French Chef. Dearie gives a lively account of how this happened.

Julia grew up in a rich family in California, moving East to graduate from Smith College, work for a while in New York in publishing and taking off during World War II to join a spy agency, posted to Ceylon, later China. Here she met Paul Child, a member of the U.S. diplomatic corps. They discovered a love of food and explored Chinese dishes. They were married and posted to Paris, where this love of food continued. “I was not much of a cook when we were married”, Julia admits. She joined Le Cordon Blue, however, and later, with two friends, ran her own cooking school.

Back in the U.S., Julia and Paul set up house, where they entertained a lot and Julia worked on a cookbook which would be called “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. She also went on television, an educational program of PBS, in black and white, and was an instant success. People related to her frankness, her direct way of speaking to them, her lack of embarrassment when the roast chicken fell to the floor and she carried on as if nothing had happened. And eventually she got her own program, called “The French Chef” and became a legend in countries around the world.

“Dearie” really tells the story of America’s coming of age, from the Depression Era to the turbulent sixties and the eventual greening of the American kitchen. But this book is fun to read because of Julia Child’s own charm. It is almost like watching her again showing us a recipe.

Review by Anne McDougall

This is an interesting look at eight famous women photographers – what made them famous and the conflicts they faced in pursuing their careers, love, marriage and children.

Whitney Otto covers the 20th century, as well as a number of countries: the U.S., Germany, Mexico. Although she divides the book into eight sections, she turns it into a novel because many of the women met each other in the course of their work. Cymbeline Kelley, for instance left Seattle when her hired help burned her photography studio; working in Dresden, l909- l9l0, she met other women photographers. Clara Argento’s interest in photography as well as socialism took her to Mexico, to photograph the revolutionaries. There is considerable danger in the book; Lenny Van Pelt is in London during the Blitz. There are tough scenes in Germany when a number of the photographers, who were Jewish, faced Nazi threats and lost their homes and livelihoods.

It is an ambitious look at women’s conflicts as they face up to being Career Women, as opposed to traditional wives and mothers. Whitney Otto, who lives in Portland,Oregon with her husband and son, tackled this subject in an earlier bestseller, “How to make an American Quilt” (which was made into a feature film).

Review by Anne McDougall

This is Maeve Binchy’s last book (she died in 2012), and it is surely one of her best.

The beloved Irish writer published sixteen books of fiction before this new one, “A Week in Winter”. Records show more than 40 million books sold. The Winnipeg Free Press defines her success: “Binchy is a skillful writer who combines the strong storyline of popular fiction with well-developed characters found in serious literature.”

What that means in “A Week in Winter” is that we get the stories of ten visitors to a picturesque building called The Stone House, high on the cliffs of Ireland’s west coast, as well as the story of the building itself. It belonged to three sisters who loved it but could not keep it up. Another woman of the village, Geraldine (Chicky) Starr had left Ireland for a long period in New York City, where she worked in a tough boarding house. After many trips back to Ireland, she decided to buy The Stone House, and turn it into a hotel. The run-down mansion got a big, warm kitchen and log fires, with a long table where guests could get together.

These guests tell their own stories in Binchy’s skillful book and the reader is drawn in to their hopes and dreams. Chicky Starr’s kindness, combined with sharp business sense, pull the stories together. It makes for a fine read, and altogether excellent book for Christmas.

Review by Anne McDougall