Women Unbound Reading Challenge -- COMPLETED!

With the completion of Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, I am officially DONE with the Women Unbound Reading Challenge. 


There is a caveat to my statement...although I had an original reading list, I must admit that it changed over the course of the year as new books were released.  I was also tempted by offerings at the library.


My original selections for the Suffragette level (5 fiction, 3 non-fiction) were:


NON-FICTION:
West with the Night, by Beryl Markham
Nine Parts of Desire, by Geraldine Brooks
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


FICTION:
The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, by Jane Smiley
A Woman of Independent Means, by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard, by Erin McGraw
A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert


My FINISHED reading list was:


NON FICTION:
Nine Parts of Desire, by Geraldine Brooks
A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon
Wildflower by Mark Seal


FICTION:
Sugar by Bernice McFadden
Glorious by Bernice McFadden
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan


This was a great challenge -- I would gladly do it again if it is offered next year!


I plan on committing to ONE challenge next year -- any suggestions?

November Book Group -- Loving Frank by Nancy Horan





Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Personal rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Book source: Personal copy

Book Challenge:  Women Unbound (8 of 8)

November is the last month of the year for our book club meeting – we take December off for the holidays and regroup in January. We usually have a “feast” where we splurge on our post discussion treats – but I was forgetful this week and forgot to take the butter out to soften for my chocolate cranberry bars, so I had to bake “pre made” cookies instead. They were awful. Luckily the other members took it more seriously and we had a lovely spread of salads, cakes and confections.

Our final book of 2010 was Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, a fictional account of the relationship between Mamah Borthwick Cheney and legendary architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. After Mamah and her husband Ed commission FLW to design and build their home, Mamah and FLW begin a lurid affair that scandalizes their Chicago neighborhood community. Mamah ultimately leaves her husband and children and travels with FLW to Europe for a period of nearly two years. When they return, FLW builds a hideaway for them in Wisconsin – Taliesin – where they retreat from the vengeful eyes of the press and their respective families, but at Taliesin, they do not live happily ever after.

This was an emotionally conflicting book. On one hand you have a woman who seems completely content with her role as mother and wife. She is highly educated and is able to express her thoughts and intellect with others via her social clubs…which seemed appropriate for the turn of the century. On the other hand, you have a woman who has completely abandoned her family, absconded with her lover to Europe and continues an internal debate with herself throughout the entire novel as to whether or not she has done the right thing.

I wanted to cheer Mamah for her “independent – feminist spirit” – but the whole time my gut kept telling me how wrong it was for her to leave the way she did, and to forsake her children altogether. I certainly have bad days, and think I would like to take a long break from motherhood (cabin for a week with lots of books and food) but to leave her kids for TWO YEARS when they are but 3 and 7 – was abhorrent to me! As Lucy from Life is a spasm who flow said in her review, “is a selfish act ever the BEST act?”

In spite of all the inconsistent feelings I had towards her – I really did enjoy this book. I thought it did a great job at giving life to a relationship that has been lost to history. I loved learning about FLW’s early years as an architect. It seemed that Ms. Horan’s research was thorough and well done. And for a book group discussion, it provided LOTS of interesting discussion topics. The majority of those who were there, thought Mamah was selfish and unredeemable. But we also had harsh words for FLW who left his wife and 6 children in the process and couldn’t seem to manage his business life very well.

This was a fun book to research – I obtained from the library some of the massive picture books that contain the works of FLW. It was great to look at the places described – the Cheney home (which is now a B&B), FLW’s studio and Taliesin – while engaged in our discussion.

Ultimately, Loving Frank is a great book group discussion about a couple who made choices that had long term, disastrous, domino affects on themselves and nearly everyone around them.

For a great perspective from the author, check out this related video:



Our book club reading choices for 2011 are as follows:

January: True Grit by Charles Portis
February: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
March: Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
April: Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
May: The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent (previously read)
June: The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carlson (previously read)
July: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
August: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (previously read)
September: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
October: The Zookeepers Wife by Diane Ackerman (previously read)
November: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (previously read)

Book Review -- The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland


My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Josephine Bonaparte began life as Rose Tascher, who was raised on the French colonial islands. We follow her life thru an arranged marriage to a cousin, several voyages back and forth from France to Martinique, the birth of her children, her fight for the revolution, her imprisonment and nearly her beheading. After her release, she creates a life among the politically powerful to whom she provides underground information. She is then introduced to Napoleon, a strange Corsican, with lofty dreams and aspirations.

In the first of a series of three historical biographies, Sandra Gulland brings to life this often forgotten woman of history, outside of her role as Napoleon’s wife. I knew NOTHING of Josephine’s background or her struggles before meeting and marrying Napoleon. The first person narrative is fresh and enlightened. Her descriptions of sea voyages, Royalist France, prison conditions and post revolutionary France are impressive. It’s hard to discern what is fact and what is fiction, but if her research is as impressive as her writing, I would think there was very little was left to embellish to create her story.

My only complaint, unlike the title, this is a biography of Rose, not Josephine. Knowing very little about the book (or series) I was expecting the story of Josephine and Napoleon. That comprises at the very least, the last half dozen pages or so of the book – and the subsequent two novels. As much as I enjoyed learning about Rose, my intent in reading this was to learn about Josephine, the Empress.

Also, because of my schedule, I had put this book down in the middle of it for about 10 days – and when I picked it back up, I had a hard time remembering ALL the characters and their relationship to Rose – Desiree, Marie, Lucie, and every revolutionary figure in her circle. I don’t think it really detracted from the story, but it was confusing for me nonetheless.

This is a beautiful story of a triumphant woman who fulfills her destiny.

For a pictorial collage on Josephine, view the attached video:

Book source:  personal copy

This was one of my original selections for the Women Unbound reading challenge.

View all my reviews

Book Review -- Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa

Wildflower by Mark Seal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Joan Root was in love: With her husband, her native Africa, the animals that surrounded her and her home. She built a life filming those things with her husband, award winning documentary film director, Alan Root. But after Alan left her for another woman, she had to rediscover who she was and what in life was worth fighting for. She found that in her home – her 80 acres and small farm on the banks of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. When industrial hot houses that “farmed” roses started flourishing on the banks of the lake, and poachers started invading her land to capture the wildlife and fish, Joan found a cause – that of rescuing the lake and rehabilitating those causing the most harm. What she didn’t realize was by championing this effort, she was setting in motion a chain of events that would ultimately lead to her brutal death.

Author Mark Seal has taken the life of a quiet, devoted woman, who wanted nothing more than to live a life with Alan and her animals, and written a beautiful tribute. He was given access to her many letters and diaries – and it was as if Joan herself was speaking to us.

We learn of the extraordinary talents she had organizing the many safaris, hot air balloon trips, and expeditions, they took to film the amazing documentaries that she and Alan made together. How she put herself in harm’s way to get exactly the right film shot and scene. She spent endless hours on location and in conditions most people wouldn’t tolerate. We also learn of the tremendous heartbreak she endured – and never really recovered from – when the love of her life left her for another woman. She was always looking to the skies – waiting for Alan to return, via helicopter, to the home they shared on Lake Naivasha.

Finally we learn of the tragic outcome – the home invasions, the threats made against her and her property, when she singularly took it upon herself to save the greatest thing of all – her land.

This was an amazing story, about an unassuming, but powerful woman, whose life tragically ended.

Book source: Public library

Although not one of my original selections, this book qualifies for my Women Unbound reading challenge.

For more about the destruction of Lake Naivasha, please view the video below:



View all my reviews

Book Review -- A Thousand Sisters

A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman by Lisa Shannon


My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Lisa Shannon actually does more than the feigned attempt most of us give to a crisis, “oh, how I wish we could help!” is often the refrain. After watching an episode devoted to the crisis in the Congo on Oprah (leave it to Oprah!), Lisa is determined to make a difference in the lives of women who have been tortured, beaten, raped, mutilated, by the hands of invaders as well and their own countrymen. She runs marathons, she raises money, and she travels to the Congo in hopes that she alone can make a life better. And for the most part she does - -she brings gifts, she brings light, and I think she brings hope. She doesn’t bring peace or the end to their suffering – but nothing buy a higher power could possibly attain that result.

A Thousand Sisters is an emotional, upsetting, and grueling personal account of Lisa’s attempt to make change. She spends 5 weeks in the Congo befriending and listening to the horror stories of women, who have survived. Her storytelling is wrought with pain and suffering. But whether or not she accomplishes anything is of little consequence, because at least, ladies, she tried.

I thought this was an amazing story. However, I wasn’t sure if this story was for Lisa or if this story was for the women of Congo. I suppose any memoir, by nature, is self centered, so I can’t necessarily fault the author on that basis. But many times her narrative sure seemed to slide toward the, “Wow – look at what I am doing to save the World!” attitude, which was distasteful. Also, I will never get used to what author Bernice McFadden calls writing from “white privilege” this notion of white people writing as advocates for blackness. Even though she is referring to fiction, I had this overriding feeling of “white-man going in to save the savages” with this book. I’m sure that wasn’t the author’s intent and it was my own hang up, but it tripped me up on occasion. Also, there was a typo – my biggest pet peeve ever – she used STATIONARY when referring to writing paper instead of STATIONERY. Ugh! I wish I could remember the page, but trust me, it’s there.

This was absolutely a worthy account to bring focus on the tragedy of the Congo – but for a book, Left to Tell is infinitely better in telling a survivor’s story from the point of view of the survivor (and directly related to the Congo, by telling the story of the Rwandan genocide).

Here is a brief video about Lisa Shannon and her Run for Congo Women project:

Although not one of my original selections, A Thousand Sisters qualifies for my Women Unbound Challenge.

Book source: public library

July Book Group and Book Review -- Nine Parts of Desire

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

Rating:  2 out of 5 stars

I've read nearly all of Geraldine Brooks' books -- and for the most part -- have loved them all.  This one just didn't do anything for me.

The consensus amongst our book group members was mixed as well -- the majority of them didn't finish the book -- or -- skipped various chapters and moved on to others.  I read all but the last two chapters, because I felt like the author just continually repeated herself through out the book.  From the discussion we had tonight, I don't think I missed anything substantial.

Ms. Brooks experience in the Middle East is legendary.  She spent many years covering the first Gulf War as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal.  I don't doubt her expertise. My biggest complaint about this book was from the opening page, then author seemed to have an agenda against the Islamic faith.  That she was out to prove that all Islamic women should abandon their religious garments, and in many ways, "burn their burqas" (much like burning your bra) in order to become feminists.  Granted, in the forward from the publisher it reads, "Brooks' acute analysis of the world's fastest growing religion deftly illustrates how Islam's holiest texts have been misused to justify repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of a once liberating faith." But I was hoping for more balance in her writing and less "axe grinding."  Also, as a Mormon, who is often reading about my religion from a non-members perspective, I kept wondering, "How much of this is correct?"  Because when reporters or writers are writing about my faith, inevitably, they always have something wrong. 

Another issue I had, and this isn't the fault of the author, but the book seemed dated.  This was published in 1994, long before 9/11, and our wars with Afghanistan and Iraq.  Islam has become far more militant since these events, with the rise of the Taliban and Al Qaeda -- and her stories and analysis didn't measure up to current events.

None of our book group members know anyone personally that is a Muslim.  It would have been nice if we could have had a a guest speaker at our book group -- a Muslim woman who could explain where Ms. Brooks was on track, and where she wasn't.  Unfortunately, we had to decipher those things on our own.

But as is ALWAYS the case, the discussion was lively and I came away having learned so much from the book and my fellow groupies. 

This book was one of my original selections for the Women Unbound Challenge.

Our next book club selection is:  Same Kind of Different as Me : A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

 Book source:  Personal copy

Book Review -- My Name is Mary Sutter

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How many things did you want to be when you grew up? It’s a common refrain from my daughter – “When I grow up, I want to be a waitress at IHOP!” Her love of pancakes currently outweighs her long term life goals. But at least, heaven forbid, it’s an option.

For Mary Sutter, her dream of becoming a surgeon was not an option. Prepared as a midwife by her mother, Mary has midwifery in her veins. But she dreams of something more. Her solicitations to train at the hands of other doctors are turned down. That doesn’t stop Mary. On the eve of the Civil War, Mary travels from her home of Albany, NY, to Washington DC, where she begs and pleads with every medical professional she encounters to give her a chance, they all tell her to go home. Even Dorothea Dix, a woman who is in charge of organizing nursing for the anticipated onslaught of war casualties, tells her she isn’t wanted. Thus, Mary’s courage and stubbornness take over, and she witnesses and participates in the horrible suffering that the Union is about to encounter.

I was very skeptical of this book at first. The first 60 pages were slow to develop. We meet Mary in Albany where she lives a privileged life with her mother, sister and brother. The author also introduces Thomas Fall, a potential suitor for Mary, but who ends up falling in love with her sister Jenny. It was all very awkward and one dimensional for me, and I nearly gave up on this book.

However, my patience paid off, and once Mary decides to make the break from the safety of home to pursue her dreams, the book really takes off and the author finds her groove.

I loved Mary’s narrative once she arrives in Washington DC. The author does a fabulous job of intertwining historical figures (Pres. Lincoln, John Hay, Dorothea Dix, among others) with fictional characters. I must admit a bias here, having lived in DC for many years, I love most books dealing with or talking about our Nation’s Capital. This is no exception. The author’s description of 19th century, Civil War-era Washington DC was perfectly swampy and sticky. Even modern day DC hasn’t changed much (except the cows grazing on the Mall are gone).

Mary really blossoms as a character under the worst possible circumstances. She assists a Dr. Stipp in a deplorable hospital, treating patients with very few supplies. She witnesses the butchery the doctors are reduced to perform on the wounded in an attempt to save their lives. But she preservers. This is what she wants to do, and she goes to the White House herself in order to obtain the necessary supplies to help the wounded.

The Civil War back drop was also well done. The author’s research was evident as she describes military maneuvers, battle formations, leadership conflicts and the devastation of war. I also appreciated the author’s ability to bring to light how the Civil War really changed the medical field. So much of what we know now about infection and sanitation was learned as a result of this awful war.

Finally, there was an interesting love triangle the author deftly wove throughout this book. It was always in the shadows, never taking away from the seriousness of Mary’s goal of taking care of the injured. And it left you guessing until the end. It was a pleasant surprise.

I ended up adoring Mary and her bravery. I truly enjoyed the author’s writing and appreciated her comprehensive research.

For the sensitive reader: There are many detailed battle scenes, descriptions of remidal surgery and hacking amputations. And one "F bomb."

Although, not one of my original selections, this book qualifies for my Women Unbound Challenge.  A worthy contribution.

Book source: Public library

View all my reviews >>

Book Review -- Glorious

Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden


My rating: 3 of 5 stars








One thing I’ve learned from reading Bernice McFadden’s works – she doesn’t write about bunnies, rainbows or cotton candy: She takes you to the bottom of the well, lets you roll around in the muck, leaves you waiting for a life line, then brings you back up slowly, so at the end, you are desperate for sunshine.

In Glorious, Easter Bartlett travels a similar journey – one full of racial hatred and brutality – all the while searching for sunshine. After surviving a brutal childhood and traversing the South and other transitory destinations, she arrives in Harlem at the dawn of the Harlem Renaissance, where her writing talent is discovered and revered by other literary giants of the times. Ultimately, her talent is used against her, and Easter’s future is forever altered. In the twilight of her life, she returns to the pre-Civil Rights South, in hopes that past injustices will be rectified.

Bernice McFadden is a beautiful writer. I was transported back to Harlem and could touch the brownstone buildings and smell the earthiness of the streets. Early in the book, her description of a lynching was so vivid, it brought tears to my eyes. However, I had a hard time connecting with some of the characters. Easter was never tangible to me. I understood her pain, but never felt it. Easter’s relationships with many of the other characters were equally distant. And the love triangle between Rain, Meredith and herself was uncomfortable for me. I just didn’t get it. Also, I loved Easter’s time in Harlem – I loved learning more about the leaders of that era. I just wish there had been more of it.

Finally, Bernice really hit stride at the close of the book. Easter’s final years, after her return to the South, are truly poetic.

Once again, white-literary revisionist history has been turned upside down, thanks to Bernice McFadden – and she does a Glorious job.

Sensitive reader: Contains graphic sexual and racial violence; homosexual situations as well.

Book source: received a copy from the author (was not paid or supplemented in any way for my review).

This book qualifies for my Women Unbound reading challenge

Book Review -- Sugar

Sugar by Bernice L. McFadden


My rating: 4 of 5 stars








Pearl has had her heart ripped out after the murder of her daughter; Sugar has had her life ripped apart by choices made for her by others. Neither knows, until Sugar moves next door to Pearl, what life has in store for them both.

In my quest to find the alternative to The Help I’m trying to immerse myself in African-American authors, whose points of view lend more authenticity and credibility to the stories of African-American characters. I hit gold with Bernice L. McFadden’s, Sugar.

Set in the rural town of Bigelow Arkansas during the early 40’s-50’s, this gut wrenching novel hits you square in the jaw from the opening pages. Pearl’s daughter, Jude, has been found brutally murdered and raped on the side of the road. For the next 15 years, she lives in a vacuum left by Jude’s absence, but in the comfort of her stoic husband, Joe. Sugar, abandoned at birth to be raised by 3 sisters who operate a “whore-house,” is raised to become a commodity in the family business – a life no one should be subjected. When Sugar moves to Bigelow, the town is horrified. They ignore her, gossip about her and ultimately want her gone. Pearl takes Sugar under her wing and tries to give her a friend for the first time in her life and to recreate for herself what it would be like to have a daughter. When they both try to learn each other’s histories, they are surprised at what they find. Ultimately, Sugar’s relationship with Pearl and Joe puts her at risk with one of her “tricks”, and the results are devastating.

This novel is not for the faint of heart. It is brutal, graphic and gruesome. Life as a “whore” is ugly, filthy, and humiliating. Sugar’s life is not her own. She is nothing but a shell. But the love and friendship Pearl offers to Sugar, shows that there is a chance she can turn her life around. Ms. McFadden’s characters are multifaceted and alive, even if their circumstances show otherwise.

In the end, this novel will envelop you and break your heart, if only for the fact that I’m sure these experiences were the necessary evil for some women.

For the sensitive reader: No question, I would avoid this book. But for all others, go get a copy at the library now!

Book source: public library



Although, this was not one of my original selections, this book qualifies for my Women Unbound Challenge.

View all my reviews >>

Women Unbound Reading Challenge

The last thing I need is a reading challenge -- especially since I'm failing miserably at the Everything Austen Challenge I started this summer (only 1 of 6 books/movies read or viewed -- however I have until Jan 1, 2010 to finish -- surely I can squeeze in reading Persuasion and Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin AND watching P&P with Colin Firth, S&S with Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet, and Emma w/Gwyneth Paltrow, by then).

However, the Women Unbound Reading Challenge, really intrigues me. I love reading about women, whether fiction or non-fiction. So, I think I'm going to take the plunge. The general rule is:

"Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of 'women’s studies.’"

There are three levels of participation: (you can count books for other challenges as well):

Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.
Bluestocking: read at least five books, including at least two nonfiction ones.
Suffragette: read at least eight books, including at least three nonfiction ones.

I'm going all out and becoming a Suffragette!

My own stipulation for this challenge: my book choices MUST currently reside on my bookshelves!! No library checkouts, no Barnes and Noble purchases, no Amazon orders, no used bookstores. They all must be in my possession and haven't been read before! (That should be a challenge in and of itself -- the "Clearing Off Your Bookshelf Challenge!")

Here is my reading list (I hope they all qualify as women studies!):

NON-FICTION:

West with the Night, by Beryl Markham

Born in England in 1902, Markham was taken by her father to East Africa in 1906. She spent her childhood playing with native Maruni children and apprenticing with her father as a trainer and breeder of racehorses. In the 1930s, she became an African bush pilot, and in September 1936, became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west.

Nine Parts of Desire, by Geraldine Brooks

In this captivating book, award-winning journalist Geraldine Brooks offers an intimate, often shocking portrait of the lives of modern Muslim women, and shows how male pride and power have warped the original message of a once-liberating faith. "A valid, entertaining account of women in the Muslim world."--The New York Times Book Review

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

In this engrossing volume, Laurel Ulrich goes far beyond the slogan she inadvertently created and explores what it means to make history. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History celebrates a renaissance in history inspired by amateurs, activists, and professional historians. It is a tribute to history and to those who make it.

FICTION:

The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.

...through the novel The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B., not only do we learn of the many differences between Robespierre and Rousseau, but we gain insight into the marriage of one of history's greatest political couples: Napoleon and Josephine.

The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, by Jane Smiley

The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton is a Little House on the Prairie for grownups. Lidie's accounts of homesteading, from buying a new stove to coming upon the finest horse in the territory (and among the finest in literature), combine character, charm, and social history.

A Woman of Independent Means, by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

At the turn of the century, a time when women had few choices, Bess Steed Garner inherits a legacy--not only of wealth but of determination and desire, making her truly a woman of independent means. From the early 1900s through the 1960s, we accompany Bess as she endures life's trials and triumphs with unfailing courage and indomitable spirit: the sacrifices love sometimes requires of the heart, the flaws and rewards of marriage, the often-tested bond between mother and child, and the will to defy a society that demands conformity.

The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard, by Erin McGraw

Trapped in Kansas at the turn of the twentieth century, Nell Plat is seventeen, unhappily married, and the mother of two baby girls. No reality could be further from her secret dreams of glamour and excitement, dreams that will tempt her to do the unthinkable and run away to the glittering wonderland of Los Angeles and the burgeoning motion picture industry.

A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert

From National Book Award nominee Kate Walbert, a provocative and beautiful novel about five generations of women.

The challenge runs from Nov 1, 2009 -- Nov 30, 2010.