Quicksand

Quicksand / Nella Larsen
NY: Penguin, 2022, c1928.
192 p. 

I read Larsen's Passing a couple of years ago and thought it was very good; the ending was unexpected and the story has stuck with me. I finally picked up Quicksand, and found it quite a different book - a little more focused on the interior life of its main character, Helga Crane, and told quite straightforwardly in style. 

Helga has a white, Danish mother (now dead) and her father, a black man, left them when Helga was young. This sense of otherness, of not belonging in either white or black society, shapes Helga's life and the many choices she makes in her restless search for a place to belong. 

We first meet Helga as a teacher in a Black school in the South, as she's deciding to resign, feeling stifled by the school's focus on attaining white standards for their students. She can't stand the hypocrisy of the school so heads back to Chicago where she is from, but there her white uncle doesn't want her - his new wife doesn't want Helga associated with the family. Helga finds it next to impossible to find work as an educated black woman; she could work as a domestic if she had references though. Finding a role as a rich woman's assistant, she ends up going to New York, drawn in by the lure of Harlem's dazzling society. But even there she eventually finds that her white side creates issues of not belonging. She's given a potential change when she's invited to live with her Danish Aunt Karin, who says she's always wanted Helga. Denmark is a dream, for a while; she's feted, treated like a celebrity, attracts notable figures, even one who wants to marry her. But she realizes that she is an oddity, an outsider, in Denmark and will never really belong even if she can exist freely there. And she suddenly misses America a lot, and the man she left behind as well. 

But like most of Helga's decisions, it's the wrong one at the wrong time, and the man she left behind has quite happily taken up with a friend of hers - they are getting married. In Helga's distress, she wanders the streets and has a religious epiphany at a storefront church. I have to say I did not see this one coming. This leads to her final choice, one she can't escape.

I must say that this read was depressing. Helga can't seem to find happiness, in fact her attempts all seem to sour and turn out in the worst possible way. There is the fact of her being someone living between two worlds, not really fitting into either one fully, and all the difficulties that causes for her both practically and emotionally. And the fact that she's an educated woman, and there isn't much place for her in that role either. She can't seem to find a way to compromise and find a way to create a space for herself if things aren't perfect; one hint of hypocrisy or any less than ideal options and she's off again. 

I felt for Helga, and thought her circumstances in the end were sad, but made sense in light of her character and how she had reacted to everything previously. Although she had many opportunities she could have taken advantage of, she turned away from so much, and only got what was left over, in the end. I tried to like Helga, and to understand her, but she's quite a prickly character and we don't get a lot of introspection in the writing, mostly just her frustrations and feelings in one moment before she leaps on to the next. I thought this was an important read, and one with a lot of potential for a lively discussion. But, I found Passing a bit more memorable and thrilling to read. 

The Silence of Trees

The Silence of Trees / Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Chicago: Wolfsword Press, c2010.
334 p.

Another story of Ukrainians in America for today's post. This one is from 2010, and it is about the Ukrainian American experience, even though the older characters recall their WWII and post war experiences throughout, and the effects on them are still clear. 

But their children, born in America, and their grandchildren, now completely American, do not have the same connections to their Ukrainian past or the longstanding distrust of Germans and Russians that their grandparents do.

However, this story is centred around Nadya Lysenko, 70 and living in Chicago, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. And around her secrets, many dark ones that she has kept from her family, and even husband, for decades. 

At 16, Nadya snuck out of her house to visit a fortuneteller in the woods; when she returned home, her family was dead, and home destroyed, by soldiers. Overwhelmed with survivor guilt, she flees, and eventually ends up in a DP camp in Germany. These traumatic experiences are revisited throughout the book, along with her time at the DP camp, where she also met her husband. 

The story investigates family, history -- both personal and wartime history -- and the power of folklore and myth in retaining a culture as well. The narrative weaves between present-day Chicago and Nadya's past in Ukraine and Germany, and shows how the wounds she suffered leave her with strong reactions to present day events, like when her granddaughter brings a boyfriend to dinner, who is of German descent. This causes a family furor. 

This is a meditative and reflective story, though, looking at how the events in a life shape a person, how not all of these events can be chosen or avoided. And it looks at the presence of the past in the current day, a preoccupation that I am always drawn in by in my reading. I thought this book was a fascinating combination of the past - war, tradition, myth, superstition, family, and a woman's examination of her own life. And beautifully written. Really loved it. 

A Sea of Gold

 

A Sea of Gold / Patricia Polacco
New York : Simon & Schuster, c2024
86 p.

I picked up this recent picture book in my library, for obvious reasons. It's about a family in Ukraine who are displaced by war, ending up in the US Midwest with relatives. 

But it's really not so simple. It focuses on three generations a family living in Cherinovska, Ukraine, who are sunflower farmers. The first generation marries and sets up a new farmstead; their daughter then marries and does the same. But their daughter ends up traumatized by war, only speaking again once she is in America with her great-uncle, once again planting sunflowers. 

This book started out just okay for me; the writing style is dense and expository, much like Polacco's other books, which I think are suited for older readers or for parent-child reading experiences. The illustrations are instantly recognizable as Polacco's work, with the loose linework and bright colours that are her hallmark. Really engaging, especially with all of the historical content around weddings and rituals - great opportunity to show off finery and colour. 

But what I didn't expect was the growing emotion in the story; by the last few pages I found myself unexpectedly moved. It was a powerful ending, to what is a pretty tragic story. After the men in their family do not return home when Russians bomb the nearby village, the three generations of women flee, eventually finding refuge with the grandmother's brother in America. But there is still their shared history to carry them through. 

I think this is a timely read, showing the lengthy history of war and trauma experienced by Ukrainians at the hands of Russians, happening now once more. But there is also the love of family, and hope that finishes off this story - based on Polacco's own Ukrainian heritage through her grandmother. Really touching. 

The Days of Miracle and Wonder

The Days of Miracle and Wonder / Irene Zabytko
Wheat Street Productions, c2020.
143 p.

I was pleased to recently find this book in my library's ebook collection. Zabytko is an American writer of Ukrainian descent, and this is a collection of stories, many of which are set in Ukraine or deal with Ukrainian characters. I really enjoyed it. 

I read one of her first novels years ago, and didn't really warm to it, but this collection shows the development of her writing, at least I think so. I found the variety in theme interesting, and there were some great settings and characters who came to life in just a few pages. There are 9 stories, most dealing with post-Soviet Ukraine, so not cheery tales overall (although one about a cowboy was quite funny!). But many of them reflect the bitterness of political upheaval, as seen in individual lives. There are a range of characters, from an embittered cosmonaut, an Elvis impersonator, or a former swimmer, to the trick rider already mentioned, and even the Devil himself. Most are realistic or slightly hyperbolic stories, often told by a narrator who is an observer, just outside of the main action. And this technique feels immediate, like someone is talking right to you, telling you stories about things that really happened - or that they want you to believe really happened! I liked this style. 

The one story that stands out as a bit different is The Midwife's Tale, an historical piece about a Slavic midwife who ends up helping Mary deliver Jesus. I thought this was well-paced, engaging, a wonderfully creative re-imagining of the Christmas story, and of course very seasonal, which was a pleasant surprise to find here! I believe this story has also been published as a standalone, which would be great to reread around the holidays each year. 

I thought this was an excellent collection and I would definitely reread it. Such a great find. 

Jamaica Ginger & Other Concoctions

 

Jamaica Ginger & Other Concoctions / Nalo Hopkinson
San Francisco: Tachyon, c2024.
224 p.

Another short story collection, but this time it's modern and speculative! I enjoy Nalo Hopkinson's books, and was pleased to see this new collection appear in my library. Hopkinson has a unique magic in her work, her imagination and clarity make something special out of her short stories. (and her novels, which I've also loved). 

This book pulls together stories from across her career, with a couple that have appeared elsewhere, and some that are hard to find, being special occasion publications. And before each one, there is an author's preface, where she talks about the story, maybe how it came to be or why she wrote it, and a little assessment. This is really neat, and I enjoyed these prefaces almost as much as the stories. While you don't need these to understand the stories, they do add an extra level to the reading. 

This is a mix of very short stories (one is only 2 pages) to much longer ones, notably "Broad Dutty Water". I really enjoyed that one! I did find that I enjoyed the whole collection, each story had something new to investigate. Hopkinson uses Caribbean vernacular in many of the stories, and makes it easy to understand, while grounding her fiction in place. Many of them also investigate climate change and the effects of rising ocean levels on island communities, as well as directly addressing racism in a variety of forms. There is anger and pointed commentary alongside humour and some engaging characters. The intriguing title story is co-written with Nisi Shawl, which is an interesting idea, giving something extra to the book - including the intro about the co-writing experience. 

Hopkinson is great with short stories, and this felt a little like a conversation with her about some of her work, thanks to those author intros to each one. A really good collection, and a good introduction to her work if you haven't tried it before. 

Bliss by Mansfield

 

Bliss & Other Stories / Katherine Mansfield
read by Juliet Stevenson
Naxos, 2008, c1920

I haven't been a huge audiobook fan in the past, but have started listening to books while doing other things like sewing & crafting. I've found a few great ones, with readers I really enjoy. And Juliet Stevenson is one of those narrators -- she is fantastic and I'll listen to anything she reads. Luckily for me, she read some Katherine Mansfield, an author I really enjoy!

This edition of Bliss includes 6 stories: 

• Bliss
• Mr. Reginald Peacock's Day
• Pictures
• The Little Governess
• Feuille D'album
• The Dill Pickle 

The stories are read very well - Stevenson puts so much character into her reading. And since it's Naxos, there is also music added. Just a bit, to separate out the stories. I think this works nicely in a short story collection. It gives you a good sense of the beginning and ending of a story. And the musical choices seem to fit the feel and era of these stories as well. 

I enjoyed each story - Mansfield has a great eye for pathos and relationships. In so many of the stories, we see characters who are great at self-deception, or at keeping secrets from others. The first two in particular focus in on marriage & changing experiences, with the others looking at unexpected encounters or reunions. These are set in England and across Europe, and evoke a sense of the era (20s) in which they were written - especially the social expectations on women and the difficulties of living fully.  

I would listen to this collection again, it was so good. The stories are not always happy, but not fully tragic either  - except maybe The Little Governess, which I always find devastating. Definitely recommend this listening experience. You can listen to samples of this recording by checking out the listing on Naxos as well, if you want to get a taste. 

Six Degrees of Separation – from Sandwich to The Hippopotamus Marsh

Somehow I've just discovered this bookish meme, Six Degrees of Separation, which has been ongoing since 2014! The idea is that the host (Kate at booksaremyfavoriteandbest) selects a book on the first Saturday of each month, and then readers make a chain of six more books that are linked in some way. You can then link it up at her blog. She says:

Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge.

A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the ones next to them in the chain.

This sounded fun, and I looked at a few of the other participants to get an idea of how they do it. Lots of interesting thematic, personal or quirky links, with people ending up with very different books as their final choice.  

This month the initial prompt was Sandwich by Catherine Newman. So here is my chain! 

Sandwich by Catherine Newman is about Rocky, a woman in her 50s who travels to the same summer cottage in Cape Cod every year - this summer it's a whole whack of family in the small cottage and Rocky is thinking about life.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach: this novel also features a middle aged woman in a bit of a life crisis, finding herself in a place by the sea - this time in a luxury hotel among strangers, rather than a cottage with lots of family, but the sense of discovery of self is similar. 

This then made me think of This Summer Will Be Different by Carly Fortune. In this one a younger woman at the start of her life has to make a key romantic decision. Set in Prince Edward Island, near the sea, at a family home that the main character returns to again and again. 

One of the elements of Fortune's book is an homage to Lucy Maud Montgomery, PEI's best known author. So thanks to the evocation of PEI and the Anne industry there, I'm going with Anne of Green Gables as my third link! 

The inspiration writers find from Anne Shirley and LMM's writing makes me think of a biography I recently came across, Anne’s Cradle: The Life of Hanako Muraoka, by Eri Muraoka, about the Japanese translator of Anne of Green Gables. It tells the story of her life and looks at how her translation created the LMM craze in Japan that's still going strong.

The Japanese focus of  Anne's Cradle, plus Anne's well known friendship with Diana, and their storytelling/writing adventures, makes me think of a recent Japanese book, Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa. In this one the narrator Tomoko and her cousin Mina become bosom friends when Tomoko is sent to live with her aunt's family for a year, in Ashiya, on the coast. And Mina writes a lot of tiny stories to share only with Tomoko.

And finally that brings me to book 6, Pauline Gedge's The Hippopotamus Marsh. In Mina's Matchbox, the main character owns a pygmy hippo, Pochiko, who she rides to school - as seen on the cover. Gedge's book in the first in an excellent series about Egyptian dynastic wars and history. But it has hippos in the title! 

From Cape Cod to Egypt, via PEI and Japan, this chain has taken us on quite a journey :)