Book Review- Alexander McCall Smith's Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind

Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Alexander McCall Smith’s short story collection, Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind, in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and I was thrilled to have the chance to review his latest short story collection. In Piano and Flowers, Smith uses vintage photographs ( shown at the start of each story) as an inspiration for his fictional tales. The concept is interesting and a majority of the stories went a completely different direction than I anticipated.

I enjoyed the story about a woman living and working in London, who has an instant connection with a man that she meets. She gives him her address and when he fails to contact her, she leaves notes at an Egyptian statue that he mentioned as a spot he loves to visit. Time passes and she becomes engaged to a stable, yet far less exciting man, yet she never loses hope for the brief encounter that sparked so much passion. This beautiful story has a tone of longing and hope.

The other stand-out story involves a friendship between two boys that carries them through World War Two and adulthood. The opening of the story shows the boys at a hunting lodge that belongs to the family of the wealthier of the boys. We see the expectations that are placed on this child, yet the boy is very sensitive and uncertain. He is able to share this intimate aspect of his personality with his friend, the only person with whom he can truly let his guard down. It’s quite touching.

Overall, I was disappointed with the collection. A majority of the stories failed to hold my interest. I was considering why and I think it may have to do with the very thing that makes me love The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and its protagonist, Mma Ramotswe, which is a certain touch of sweetness that borders on unrealistic. Sure, Mama Ramotswe handles difficult cases and personal issues that are not trite, yet her stories usually end on an upbeat note, leaving readers happy. In Pianos and Flowers, Smith wraps up several of his stories in a similar manner, and in the short story format it felt rushed or too neatly resolved.

If you’re a fan of Smith’s you will want to read Pianos and Flowers, however, if you are new to his work, I would encourage you to start with one of his series. He is an excellent storyteller and master of creating memorable characters. I usually finish his stories feeling delighted, but I’m sad to report that Pianos and Flowers was not his best work.

Book Review: Johanna Garton's Edge of the Map: The Mountain Life of Christine Boskoff

Thank you to Johanna Garton for providing me with a copy of her biography of mountain climber Christine Boskoff, Edge of the Map: The Mountain Life of Christine Boskoff, in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up in the small-town of Appleton, Wisconsin, Christine Boskoff didn’t get her first taste of mountain climbing until she was in her 20’s, working as an electrical engineer in Atlanta. That first taste of the sport would soon have Boskoff traveling the world in search of higher peaks and incredible challenges.

Eventually, Boskoff left engineering to devote her life to climbing with her husband, fellow climber, Keith Boskoff. The Boskoff’s purchased the Seattle-based company “Mountain Madness” when one of the founders, Scott Fischer, died while climbing Everest. After Keith’s death, Christine kept running the company, while chasing greater climbing challenges. She eventually found love again with Charlie Fowler and the two went missing during a 2006 climb of Genyen Peak in China.

Garton pays tribute to Boskoff’s incredible life, which includes being the only American female to reach six different 8000m peaks. Boskoff’s achievements included many firsts and she proved that she was equally capable, often more capable, than many of the top male athletes in climbing. The sport is certainly not without risks and Boskoff lost many friends due to avalanches and other dangers, yet she was an intelligent athlete who had a deep understanding of the terrain and how to navigate it. She led many people to fulfill their climbing goals and achieved her own dreams without the sponsorships and media fanfare that many of her peers courted. Boskoff was modest, talented and loved by many.

I’m not athletic or particularly “outdoorsy,” yet Garton’s writing allowed me to understand Boskoff’s love of mountain climbing. I could appreciate her passion and I was swept up by her excitement. The world of elite climbers is small and the athletes involved are not household names to the general public. However, Boskoff’s accomplishments are extraordinary and should be an inspiration to anyone who has any type of dream that they are chasing.

I read that Garton was inspired to write Edge of the Map, when her mother told her of Boskoff’s death. Although Garton and Boskoff did not know each other, they had attended the same high school in Wisconsin. Garton heard more about Boskoff’s accomplishments and felt that her story should be shared. I certainly feel that my life is richer from having learned about Boskoff.

I’m unlikely to try my hand at climbing, but, I was nevertheless, fascinated by Edge of the Map. This biography is intense, heartbreaking, and exhilarating. Garton transports the reader to remote locations around the world and on risky expeditions where the difference between life and death is razor thin. I was gripped!

Book Review: David Stuart Maclean's How I Learned to Hate in Ohio

Thank you to Abrams Books and The Overlook Press for providing me with a copy of David Stuart Maclean’s novel, How I Learned to Hate in Ohio, in exchange for an honest review.

Barry Nadler is a kid trying to navigate high school in rural Ohio during the 1980’s. His father is an adjunct philosophy professor at a nearby college, who is discovering that his once bright future, has become stagnant. His mother works for a major hotel chain and is away for months at a time on business trips to foreign countries. At school, Barry is relentlessly bullied and socially isolated.

Barry’s life changes when a new student named Gurbaksh arrives at their school. By all accounts Gurbaksh, a Sikh who wears a turban, should be the new target of bullying; he is a foreign kid in a town where being different is not valued. However, Gurbaksh, who changes his name to Gary, quickly gains acceptance. Gary befriends Barry, allowing Barry a peripheral access to the popular crowd.

Initially, Barry is happy with his new friend, but things change when Barry’s parents file for divorce and his mom begins a relationship with Gary’s father. Barry’s home life goes down the toilet, with a despondent father and a mother who is still absent, although rather than traveling internationally, she has moved-in with Gary’s father a few blocks down the road. Barry begins to realize that Gary might not be a loyal friend and that popularity is a false sense of security.

I have to confess that I started reading How I Learned to Hate in Ohio, thinking that I was reading a memoir. I was about half-way through the story, where things start taking a very chaotic turn, when I double-checked and was relieved to discover that it is a novel. Relieved, because Barry has one hell of a horrible life, particularly the intense bullying at school. It’s horrific and immensely uncomfortable to read.

I wasn’t bullied much in school. I was a shy kid, who was neither popular nor unpopular. However, Maclean’s descriptions of the many ways that Barry is bullied is very uncomfortable to read. It is uncomfortable because it rings true and doubly uncomfortable, because I, like many people, bore witness to it and most of the time, felt powerless and was gutless to stand against it. Maclean shows the results of what happens when “good people” don’t stand up to bullying.

I felt shamed reading How I Learned to Hate in Ohio. I grew up in the same era that the novel takes place and although we were taught that bullying is wrong, we were not given the tools to know how to stand against it. Not just bullying, but also other issues such as misogyny and sexual harassment. As in the story, teachers and adults got in on the bullying or turned a blind eye. I hope ( and think) that kids today are more equipped to stop bullying and other damaging behaviors. I vow that as an adult, I will do better to fight against them. In the past year, we have seen the rise of the BLM movement and even more recently, violence towards the Asian community. How I Learned to Hate in Ohio is a very timely story as it deals with similar issues. It shows the tragedy that happens when we don’t stand against hate.

How I Learned to Hate in Ohio is an engrossing, unexpected, and important novel. It’s certainly not an easy or comfortable read, but It should be added to your shelf.