The Town

This book was such an enjoyable book after the last few that I have read.  It had nothing to do with the military and was about the frontier.  I do love me a good frontier book.  This book is the third in a trilogy; the other books are The Trees and The Fields.  Someday I'm going to read all of them. I really liked this book.

It is a story about the Wheeler family and their role in settling a new town.  The town originally was named Moonshine Church, but they wanted to be the county seat and so decided a new name would be better and came up with Americus, Ohio.  Mr. Wheeler was an attorney and later became a judge.  He came from a wealthy family in the East and for some reason or another (we never really find out) he had to leave his family and come West and that's where he met Sayward who became his wife.  They had 9 children:  Resolve, Guerdon, Kinzie, Huldah, Libby, Sooth, Dezia, Massey, and Chancey.  There are stories that go along with all of them.  One becomes the Governor of Ohio; another brother is accused of killing his wife's lover and has to go on the run; one daughter runs away and is found by a man across the river and lives with him for a couple of days before her mother comes and gets her; but the one that is spoken of the most is Chancey.  Chancey was born rather sickly and never really comes out of it.  Instead of running with the other children he usually is found sitting in his father's office looking out the window.  He seems to have some heart troubles and so can't be really active. 

My favorite story that they tell about Chancey is the time his father was helping a newlywed couple with some legal trouble and they were invited to sleep at the Wheeler's house.  Whenever someone was invited to sleep at their house (and this happened often) they slept in the same bed as Chancey.  Before the couple come up to bed, Chancey's older brothers tell him he needs to sleep in the middle or else the bed will flip over so Chancey plants himself in the middle of the bed.  Chancey's mother also tells the couple that Chancey has heart problems and can't be bothered while he's asleep or it could kill him.  So the couple goes up on their first night together with a little boy in the middle.  The husband keeps trying to reach over to his bride and she makes him stop because she's afraid they're going to kill the little boy.  The husband finally gets so frustrated he sleeps outside on a bench and the bride stays in the bed.  It becomes a joke that Chancey slept with the new bride.  There are other stories to do with Indians coming and taking Chancey away to raise him that frightens the boy out of his wits.

As Chancey grows up he meets a girl named Rosa.  They become very good friends.  Rosa is actually Judge Wheeler's daughter from a time when he took advantage of the school teacher.  Nobody talks about it and Rosa is banned from the Wheeler house.  Judge Wheeler doesn't even take notice of her and he doesn't do anything to help care for her.  The school teacher becomes a shut in.  She was once very beautiful but now she doesn't ever leave her house, all she does is stay inside and read.  She is married and has other children, but they live very poorly while the Wheelers live very well.  Chancey knows the secret, but Rosa never finds out.  Chancey and Rosa become very good friends and eventually fall in love with each other.  Many things are done to try and keep them separate and tragedy happens  so they cannot ever be together.  Chancey grows up to be a very bitter and hateful young man and does everything he can to ruin his relationship with his family.

Chancey moves away to Cincinnati and writes for a paper that goes against everything his family believes and even writes mean things about his brother, the Governor.  He has a secret subscriber that keeps his paper going, but then the money stops at the same time his mother starts to get very ill.  In the end of the book Chancey's paper runs out of money and he is forced to move back home to help take care of his mother.  It shares his insights into who he thinks his mother is and it's all wrong.  He then finds out that his mother is the secret subscriber and that she alone has helped run his paper for many years.  He then realizes that his views of the world are all wrong and tries to figure them out, but it's too late for him to ask his mother anything because she can't speak or hardly move.

Overall, even though there are sad parts I really enjoyed this book.  I love the writing style of Conrad Richter, it's almost poetic.  He doesn't have to give all the little details, but through dialogues you find out everything you need to know.  This was a relief after the last few books I've read.  I found this book to be an enjoyable read. It has humor and sadness and at the end of the book I felt sad that I wasn't going to be a part of the Wheeler family any more; to me that is a measure of a good book.

Way West

I was kind of excited to read this book, I really enjoy stories of pioneers and thought this one would be like others I have read; I was wrong.  It was an unusually written book, written in first person, but skipping from character to character.  There were many times I wasn't sure who was thinking or speaking, especially in the beginning.  It was really like a Charles Dickens book, where you don't understand what the people are saying and then about 1/3 of the way into the book all of the sudden you realize that you're actually understanding what is going on.  The book is about a group of people who leave Missouri in hopes of finding a better life in Oregon.  Each of the families is different.  The main family is a man, Lije Evans, his wife and their teenage son.  The other members of the party had all kinds of views, and many of them weren't really cut out for traveling in covered wagons and were more fit for cities and politics.    Lije Evans soon leads the train and does a great job and learns that he is a leader, something his wife knew all along.  Just a warning at the beginning there are parts where you delve into some of the minds of the older men looking at a beautiful young lady; it's not real bad, just enough to make me a little uncomfortable.

They of course meet with many dangers and sad events, one time loosing a young child, (which was an extremely sad part) and an act of adultery.  Soon you see how tough the people are and even though I didn't think it was possible in the beginning, you come to care for the families that finally made it to Oregon. 

The Evans' friend Dick Summers was probably my favorite character.  He was a rough, tough, true cowboy.  He had lived many years as a trapper and knew the land and territory and also the Indians well.  He gave up that life and married and settled down in Missouri.  His wife died (this part was a bit confusing) and so he decided to help the group travel to Oregon.  While on the trip he realized that he wasn't ready to give up that lifestyle and continues on after the other people in the group settle.

Overall, it wasn't my favorite book ever.  It was good, but I felt it dragged on a bit.  It felt like we were forced to hear what happened everyday, even though it gets a bit monotonous.  

Guard of Honor

What is another word for boring?  I just looked it up and some of them that fit this book are tedious, dull, mind-numbing, wearisome, uninspiring and tiresome.  Can you see how much I enjoyed this book?  I almost stopped reading it in the middle and thought about writing in my review that I just couldn't read on.  When I reached page 100 and knew I had 531 pages to go it felt like I was fighting an uphill battle.  The thing is this book had so much potential to become something interesting and to have a plot, but then it would falter.

The book is mostly about the behind-the-scenes of the military during WWII.  It focused on the AFORAD army base in Ocanara, Florida and mostly centers around the general of the base.  I'm not sure what AFORAD stands for, something about the Air Force Operations, it doesn't really exist.  The book starts out on a flight back to Ocarana with lots of characters, almost too many to keep track of.  I couldn't keep one apart from the other, except the one woman, Lieutenant Turck.  As they come in to land they almost run into another plane that is landing at the same time.  This other plane happens to be flown by an African-American bomber group coming to the AFORAD base as an experiment in integration. Unfortunately one of the officers from the original plane gets upset and hits the African-American pilot.  Because of this incident a lot of racial problems occur, but it doesn't really go anywhere and there really isn't a resolution; it just kind of hangs there in the background.  If this book centered on the racial tension in the army (the army didn't officially discriminate against black soldiers, but segregation was still culturally normal) it would have made for an interesting story. Instead it was just like a teaser.  The book would talk about it and then switch gears and focus on something else.

There is also talk of a big celebration taking place  on Saturday-  I think it's to celebrate the general's birthday.  I should take this time to let you know that this book happens over three days.  That's right, three days .  Thursday goes from page 1 to 88, Friday from page 89 to 286 and Saturday from 287 to 631.  Those are some long days.  And those days are spent in meeting after meeting with so many different characters you easily lose track of which officer is which and which rank is which.  I think that if someone had served in the military, especially during this time period, then they might find it interesting to read about all the meetings they had and all the conversations that took place.  Unfortunately, I have never served in the military or have a real knowledge of how military life is and so I found it dull.

As the General's birthday celebration approaches there is some more racial tension when the  African-American bomber group decides to go to the Officer's Club and they are not welcomed in.  They get arrested and they have to figure out how to cover it all up because some of the leaders in Washington, D.C. aren't happy.  Thus follows more meetings to figure out what to do and who was there when it happened and what their stories are, and blah, blah, blah.  Admit it you're even bored just reading my review, aren't you.

After the celebration commences there are some guys who jump from the planes to make a big show.  A group of officers are watching close by so they can write about it and see one of the soldiers break both his legs when he lands.  Then they notice about seven more soldiers land in a lake.  They weren't wearing life jackets and so they are assumed to have drowned.  Of course, we never find out if they were drowned and who was responsible for the soldiers not wearing life vests because this book is all about not having any resolution. 

There was one character who I enjoyed whenever he would come up, which was often.  His name was Captain Nathaniel Hicks.  He worked in the Public Relations Department and was all around a good guy.  He lived with two other officers, one a devoted husband and one a lady's man.  Captain Hicks was married with children and he talks about in the book how he would never be tempted to cheat on his wife because he loved her and it just felt wrong.  Unfortunately, he doesn't follow this and at the end of the book ends up sleeping with Lieutenant Turck (from the airplane).  I was so disappointed.  He is then called up and ordered to go back to New York (where is wife and kids live) to work on a big project for the General.  I guess he gets what he deserves.

All in all, I'd say stay away from this one.  Of course, I'm sure at this point I don't need to tell you that.

Tales of the South Pacific Review

I was really excited to read this book.  I love the South Pacific and have some ties to it.  My Grandpa served a mission for our church there and then later in their lives my Grandpa went back with my Grandma and served again.  At the same time my Grandpa was there my husband's Grandparents were there serving a mission.  It is a place I feel a connection to and that I want to visit some day.

Tales of the South Pacific are short stories of WWII and people serving in the South Pacific Islands (obviously).  Each story isn't  completely disconnected from the others because there are a few characters that pop up in several of the stories.  One soldier makes appearances through the whole book. 

The stories that tell about army life and what they had to go through to fight battles during the war are so interesting. Those stories speak of what they ate and how many of them didn't have enough to do to pass the time and were very bored and had to find other things to keep their minds sane.  Some of the chapters talked about battles that they fought and how many lost their lives.  Other stories share the personal struggles that some faced as they were away from their families and had seen so much sadness and a different part of the world so foreign to the one they came from.  I think one of my favorite stories is about a small island that they need to build a landing strip on.  The officer who is sent out there to inspect the island and find the right spot gets to know the people there and the history.  It was really neat to hear about these people and how they live on this isolated island away from civilization.  Also on this island there used to be prisons from a previous war and you get a little glimpse of the island's history.  If the book only contained these types of stories I would have given the book 5 balls of yarn, but it didn't.

The stories that shared how men couldn't control themselves with the native women, how they had to clear an entire island of all the women and move them to a separate and more secluded island to save them from the American soldiers raping them, how some soldiers fell in love with the women and then after being intimate with them flat out refused to marry them because of the color of their skin (I know it was a different time and era, but if they could just keep it under control…) and left them behind with a broken heart.  It's these kinds of stories that made me not enjoy the book.  It made me think of something that my Father-in-law shared about the time when he was waiting to be shipped out for the Vietnam War.  The chapel on the base in Southern California where he shipped out from had a sign that said, "War is Hell.  Leave your conscience here and we will keep it safe for you".  I understand that these men were on a secluded island far from their wives or their girlfriends for many, many months, but it did seem that they left their conscience behind and lived for the moment.  I was rather disgusted with these stories and they left a bad taste in my mouth.

All The King's Men Review

I started this book knowing I was going to hate it.  I don't enjoy politics or I should say politics turn me into an ugly, angry person and so I just stay away.  Knowing this book was all about politics made me not anxious to read it and I knew I would not like it.  But as you can see from the number of balls of yarn I gave it I ended up liking it. 

I thought it was going to be mainly about politics but I think it was mostly about human nature and how choices lead our life.  Politics was an underlying theme and did have a lot to do with the book, but I felt that the people in the book and the choices they made were the strong parts.

One of the main characters (Jack Burden - he's the one that is telling the story) began his career as a newspaper journalist and met Willie Stark when he was just beginning his career as a politician.  Willie Stark was kind of a good 'ol boy and was used in an election to distract votes from another candidate.  It fired him up and he became completely involved in politics.  He hired Jack Burden as his right hand man and made it all the way to governor.

You begin to learn about Jack Burden and his view of life.  He tells of a love affair he had with a girl he grew up with and how they were practically engaged and then it just fell apart.  She comes back into the story in a huge way and because of choices made, tragedy happens.

As I said in the first paragraph, the small part of politics that it talks about in the book is the dark side of politics.  Lots of bargaining and threatening so that those on top can get what they want.  I think we all know deep down that this is how politics work, even if we don't want to.  But mostly this book is about people getting caught up in their career and forgetting who they are.  Willie Starks made some rotten choices when he thought life was easy, but when something hard happens to their family he realizes the error of his ways but it's a little too late. 

I did enjoy this book and even though the characters weren't endearing to me like in other books I've read, I was interested in them and their actions made me think.  I think this was and continues to be a pivotal book in American history.

Bell for Adano

This was another of the Pulitzer prize books in the Young Adult section and besides the language I think it is a good one for the genre.  This book is set in a little town in Italy called, Adano.  The United States army comes into the town to help restore it after World War II is over.  Major Victor Joppolo comes into the small town and calls a meeting of the town leaders who stuck around.  The country was led by a fascist, Mussolini, who ran away as their side was loosing the war.  When he asks them what the town needs most to recover there are opposing ideas.  One man says they need food and the other says they need a new bell for the town.  Everything in the town is run by this bell, it is their clock.  The Major decides to try to get them a bell (he also makes sure they have food, of course) to help bring up the moral of the town.  While he is there he meets many people in the town who are great characters; this book has a lot of those.  You really come to love this small town and the people in it.  I think mostly you come to really care about Major Joppolo or as the people in Adano call him, Mister Major.  He is truly full of compassion and wants to help this town so much.

At one point, a man who had had too much to drink was driving his cart along a major road.  This town lived by their carts.  They had carts bringing in food and water, and taking away waste; anything that this town needed was brought on these carts.  Well, this poor man was going so slow he made a US army jeep carrying a man by the name of General Marvin go really slow.  The General has a very bad potty mouth and demands that they kill the mule and so his soldiers have to carry the order out.  The Italian is very confused by this, he knows the Mister Major who everyone in the town comes to love, and yet another person in the same army did a very cruel thing.  The General also demands that no more carts can come on the road anymore.  When Major Joppolo hears of this he overrides the General's orders and allows the carts to come in, otherwise the people of Adano could not survive.

Major Joppolo does so much for this town.  He gets the men fishing again and overall just helps the town become restored.  The people truly loved him.  They threw a big party for him and had the local artist paint a picture of him.  The other officers of the army saw what a great guy he was and tried to hide the fact that the Major didn't follow the General's orders, but the General eventually hears of it and orders Major Joppolo to be relieved of his duty.  This was very sad.  I really admired Major Joppolo and saw that he had a big heart and a strong desire to do his job and help these people.  It was disheartening that the General won out in the end, but not before the Major finds a new bell for the town and hears it ringing as he is driven out of town.  You gain mixed feelings for these two men who are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  The General is a hard, ornery man who cares for no one but himself and Major Joppolo is a kind, generous man whose only care is what he can do for others.  I think this is one of my favorite Pulitzer Prize books that I have read.  It was overall light-hearted and as I mentioned before full of great characters; I just wish that there wasn't so much swearing in it.

Journey in the Dark

.....and I'm back.  Sorry about the absence, it isn't because I haven't been reading, just not posting.  I have several reviews to post on here so keep checking back here often!  Now on to the book review...

  

This book was good.  That's about all.  It was a nice story of a man who came from nothing and built up his wealth, married (and divorced) the girl he had always been in love with, married a girl he had loved for years but never realized, had a son, a big house and then lost it all and realized how he had taken it for granted.  It was an enjoyable story, but for me it was not life changing.  The man made some poor decisions, but it was great to see how he rose above the tough situation he came from to make something of himself.

He was raised in a home with a very loving mother and a strict, unloving father.  He always thought that they were well enough off but one Christmas he wants a nice sled and his sister tells him he won't get it because they're poor.  When he realizes this he feels embarrassed, especially around the girl he is in love with who comes from a wealthy family in the town.

He leaves high school because his mother dies and he has to help support the family. He works his way up to receiving telegrams at the railroad station and delivering them.  He moves on to become a paper salesman and then joins up with a guy who runs a wallpaper factory and makes it a great company.  He retires a multi-millionaire. 

All his life he just wants to be rich and thinks that is all there is to life, but as he looses his second wife and his son leaves him to marry a Jewish girl he realizes that his big house and his property are not important.  After his home burns down, he moves in with his sister and begins to work at an airplane factory building things with his hands and finds great satisfaction in this job.  He reconciles with his son just before he dies in the war, when his plane gets shot down. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable book but neither did it really move me or make me think too deeply.