Curious, Healing

Books about healing, business, and fun

fun

“Beck House” by Janie Hopwood

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Recommended to me by: a friend in Tifton, GA.

Janie Hopwood creates a colorful panorama of characters and events in this historical novel about her grandmother Rena Beck’s boarding house.

When Rena Beck’s husband died, leaving her a house but nothing else, she decided to take in boarders in order to provide for herself and her three unmarried daughters. With courage, perseverance, help from family members, and a lot of hard work, she built a successful business which operated for many years.

I recommend this book for historical details, depth of characterization, laugh-out-loud dialogue, and a sure touch with stories about hard times.

The book is self-published through Indigo Publishing, and this article is all I found online. You’ll need connections in Tifton to get a copy.

Update: Now Available at bookshop.org.

“Moominland Midwinter” by Tove Jansson

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Recommended to me by: childhood memories

After reading Finn Family Moomintroll recently, I was inspired to seek out Moominland Midwinter, which I also vaguely remembered from childhood.

It’s a quick read, and contrasts quite a bit with the earlier book. The mood is bleaker, as befits a northern winter, and the relationships between characters are more superficial and troubled. The kindness is still there, even when they don’t understand each other very well.

I am relieved to report that there are several strong, independent female characters in this book, including brave little My, careening about on skis.

My favorite character is the troll ancestor, who holes up in the porcelain stove and sends the occasional flake of soot down as commentary.

Available at bookshop.org.

“Finn Family Moomintroll” by Tove Jansson

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Recommended to me by: Ursula Le Guin, while reviewing “The True Deceiver”

I stumbled across Finn Family Moomintroll in my elementary school’s library as a child, and didn’t really know what to make of it, but loved the image of the snow falling, and the creatures curling up safely for the winter.

Re-reading it now, I still love the first chapter where everyone is settling in to sleep for the winter. I also noticed and appreciated this unusual beginning which seems like an ending.

“Everyone” includes Moomintroll, a small endearing creature with a round belly and a big nose, his parents Moominmamma and Moominpappa, and a varied assortment of long-term visitors. When spring comes, they have adventures that always turn out well, in part because of their kindness and positive assumptions about everyone they meet.

The complex household personalities and relationships shine throughout the stories, lightly shown in every interaction. Aside from the occasional scuffle over personal agendas, they show each other great care and tolerance for quirkiness, demonstrating the best of communal living.

The book was first published in Finland in 1948, and was translated into English in 1958. For the most part it has aged beautifully, but its treatment of females is archaic. Moominmamma is primarily concerned with feeding everyone and with keeping track of her handbag, which contains “dry socks and sweets and string and tummy-powder and so on.” The only other female character, the Snork Maiden, does not have her own name (she is the Snork’s sister), and her main activities are flirting with Moomintroll, and getting emotional and irrational about her appearance.

On the positive side, the Hemulen is male, but wears a dress, and no one has a problem with that. Interestingly, I clearly remembered the Hemulen as female from reading the book as a child.

Perhaps my memory gave more weight to the author’s detailed pen and ink illustrations than the pronouns. The map of Moomin Valley at the beginning shows tiny objects and events from each chapter’s adventures. The drawings throughout the book complement the multi-sensory descriptions in the text.

I’m looking forward to reading “The True Deceiver,” which is Tove Jansson’s just-published book for adults. I’m hoping that in the intervening years she has changed how she writes about women.

Available at bookshop.org.

“The Conquest” by Yxta Maya Murray

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Recommended to me by: Cofax

This layered novel combines plot-driven swashbuckling adventure with a more cerebral battle over the contents and authorship of the historical record.

In the first layer of story, Sara, a proficient rare-book restorer, is absorbed by her work on a sixteenth century manuscript allegedly by a Spanish monk, to the point of ignoring the military man she intends to marry someday. She is convinced the manuscript is historical rather than fictional, and sets out to prove her theory.

The second layer of story is the manuscript itself, describing the adventurous and amorous life of “Helen”, an Aztec princess who is captured during the destruction of her city by Spanish explorers.

The double stories explore the consequences of colonialism on both the national and personal fronts, and bring refreshing perspectives on race and homosexuality.

While swashbuckling adventure and romance are not my favorite genres, the deeper layers made this book well worth reading.

A typesetting footnote, in a book about books: Since I don’t spend a lot of time looking at a book’s cover while I’m reading it, I often find that I don’t remember the title or author’s name a few months later. This book had the author and title at the bottom of alternating pages throughout. Great idea!

Available at bookshop.org.

“Tales from Rhapsody Home – Or, What They Don’t Tell You about Senior Living” by John Gould

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John Gould, prolific columnist and writer from small-town Maine, expounds on his life in a retirement home as a nonagenarian.

The textured Maine vocabulary and speech rhythms come through clearly, whether he is documenting his efforts to get some fresh air at night in his new home, or recounting stories from his childhood.

The sense of times gone by is supported by frequent price quotes. 7 cents for a fresh loaf of bread, 6 cents for a stale one for stuffing. An elegant horse-drawn buggy, said to have been custom-built for $700, bought by John Gould’s grandfather for $3 at an estate auction.

Present-day costs at the Rhapsody Home are “steep” and subject to unexpected surcharges. The staff makes no effort to accomodate the elderly residents.

The book is a quick read, funny and bitter by turns. The underlying theme of adjusting to change can apply at any age.

Available at biblio.com.

“The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman

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This story of young Bod Owens growing up in a graveyard sparkles with inviting details and action on every page, drawing me into reading it while I was supposed to be doing other things. I enjoyed the gradual revelations about his caretakers, and the sturdy, matter-of-fact ethics that Bod learns from them.

Like any good fairy tale, this book’s underlying themes are about how to be a good person, how to recognize those who are not, and what to do about them when you encounter them.

Available at bookshop.org.