1984 :: Reading to Know Classic Book Club Discussion (April)

This month's book club selection was picked by Annette from This Simple Home and Little House Companion. She is here to kick off the discussion. If you have thoughts about this book to share with us, please do so in the comment below. In the meantime, here is what Annette had to say about this book:


****** My book club selection this month was 1984. Did you choose to read along? Did you stick with it? I was intrigued by the plot, but about half-way through I found myself ready to give up. Instead, I sat down to read without interruption for a longer-than-usual period of time. I was quickly pulled back into the story. I'm glad I persevered.

Before I begin with my own thoughts, please note that what I share here only skims the surface of the depth of this book. So much more is possible to say.

George Orwell wrote 1984just before his death. It was published in 1950. This was my first time reading this rather prophetic book. The protagonist, Winston, seems to be one of the few people of his time who has managed to keep his wits about him. London, in Winston's day, is without a history. The residents of the nation of Oceania live without a personal opinion. They live for the Party...or die. The Party's leader may be familiar to all, though they may not know the origins of the name of Big Brother.

With history (and even language) always rewritten according to the Party's needs, every text and written document related to the past could be erased or rewritten. The past was constantly changing.

"Already we know almost literally nothing about the Revolution and the years before the Revolution. Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered."

Winston hates everything about the Party, but understands the importance of living for it in outward obedience. Even a shadow of a wrong look may mean elimination. Thoughtcrime (rebellious thinking) is the worst of all crimes. Big Brother is always watching.

The party makes certain that Party members has no spare time. If they aren't eating, sleeping, or working, they are volunteering. Time by yourself, even for a casual walk, is dangerous.

"It struck him that the truly characteristic thing about modern life was not its cruelty and insecurity, but simply its bareness, its dinginess, its listlessness. Life, if you looked about you, bore no resemblence not only to the lies that streamed out of the telescreens, but even to the ideals the Party was trying to achieve."

George Orwell's use of the telescreen amazes me. In 2015, most people have a screen in their pocket by choice. In 1984, the telescreen was in every room. Every building. Every room. Always watching. Always talking. Never letting you alone.

Rebellion and a mysterious (if even real) group called the Brotherhood fascinate Winston. As he pursues the Brotherhood and a personal relationship, Winston risks it all to help a cause he believes in...

I found 1984 to be rather depressing. However, I think it's a book we should all read. We can see the dangers of socialism. The dangers of dehumanizing the human race. George Orwell has a warning for us. How will we respond? The commentary in the copy I read addressed this. We can respond with hope that life is not as it is in 1984...or we can give up all hope. Though I'm not getting into the politics of the book here (mostly because I don't think I can do it justice), 1984 provides a great what if. Who would have thought the Holocaust could have happened? What if George Orwell's 1984 became a reality? What might a totalitarian society look like?

As I write this book review, once again I realize how much I lack when it comes to thinking deeply about books. I know some of you have read this before and love it or are reading it for the first time. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

*****
If you have a blog post to share, link it up in the comment section below! Or if you just want to chime in on the discussion, feel free to do so.

1984, by George Orwell

1984 was April's book of choice for the Reading to Know Classics Book Club. Annette selected this title for us and she will be sharing her opinion of it and leading off the discussion tomorrow. (Stay tuned for that.) This post here is documenting my thoughts to add to said discussion.

I was excited to read 1984 because it is my friend Heather's favorite book. For several years she has told me how much she absolutely loves this story and reads it every year. I've meant to read it but, as you know, you can have the best of intentions to read something and it never happens. Annette provided me with the motivation to finally get to it. Let's just say that it's not exactly what I expected. (And yes, Heather, I do think you are weird for having this book as a favorite. But I love you anyway.)

If you are unfamiliar with the story, I'll provide a brief synopsis, shamelessly stolen from Amazon:

"The year is 1984; the scene is London, largest population center of Airstrip One.

Airstrip One is part of the vast political entity Oceania, which is eternally at war with one of two other vast entities, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any moment, depending upon current alignments, all existing records show either that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia, or that it has always been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia. Winston Smith knows this, because his work at the Ministry of Truth involves the constant "correction" of such records. "'Who controls the past,' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'"

In a grim city and a terrifying country, where Big Brother is always Watching You and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the Party's official image of the world is a fluid fiction. He knows the Party controls the people by feeding them lies and narrowing their imaginations through a process of bewilderment and brutalization that alienates each individual from his fellows and deprives him of every liberating human pursuit from reasoned inquiry to sexual passion. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be."

1984 opens with an introduction to the character of Winston Smith who is avoiding the telescreen which occupied a prominent place in his living room. The telescreen offers Big Brother a portal into the homes of all citizens of Oceania. Big Brother uses the telescreen to watch its citizens and read their very thoughts. Winston is tucked away into an alcove where he cannot be seen by the screen and there he opens up a diary which he purchased some time ago but had not yet dared to use. In it he writes the words, "I hate Big Brother." The story is relayed entirely through the thought process of Winston. Here is a man who has spent his entire teenage and adult life living for and working for the governing party who is Big Brother. He is not encouraged to think his own thoughts and/or have any emotions whatsoever. Constant and total obedience to the party is a requirement for life itself. Big Brother desires that you do not have a memory for anything that might have happened in the past, nor any strong emotions (such as love or hate) which might direct your thoughts and actions in the present. Everything and everyone is controlled by Big Brother and to deviate from Big Brother's direction is to die. Winston knows that he is a walking dead man because he hates the party, does remember events in the past, and also because he falls in love with a younger woman.

Winston's love interest in the book is named Julia. Although Winston is married to another woman, his wife never enters the picture. He was matched and married to his wife by the party, who do not desire that a couple should be so much as physically attracted to one another as that might create an emotional bond. Winston's wife left him some years before Julia appears on the scene. Julia and Winston develop a relationship after she confesses to him that she loves him. This awakes his desire to think for himself and to live apart from Big Brother.  The entire middle section of the book discusses their adulterous relationship (divorce not being legal, Winston is still married) and their growing love for one another. I would guess that Orwell's purpose here is to show that emotions are a basic aspect of humanity. Emotions make us human. Love creates bond; hate creates space. Either/or produces unique thought processes which direct humanity's desire to see changes made in their present circumstances. Emotions make us want to shake things up and move things around more to our liking at any given moment. Yet the people of Oceania were not allowed to question, speak or call for change. It was desired that they remain as "white" and "pure" as possible to follow the directives of Big Brother. To feel caused deviation.

The third section of 1984 discusses how the party controls the citizens and makes them never to question Big Brother. Winston and Julie's love affair is discovered and they are taken to the "Ministry of Love" to be corrected. The desire of the party is to cause them to think like a party member once again. After this has been accomplished - through torture - and the citizen redirects their devotion towards Big Brother, they are killed. As you might imagine, this is not a happy, pretty book. We meet misery, find love and see how that effects behavior, and then are crushed at the end. We also come to understand why not thinking for yourself causes utter reliance on Big Brother.

Of course, 1984 was written as a warning to the good citizens of earth, to be wary the dangers of a totalitarian government. This is very much a political work and a thoughtful one. (Here is a letter which George Orwell wrote explaining why he wrote 1984.) Certainly I think his warnings ought to be taken. I don't hide the fact that I'm a conservative and am wary of government being given (or taking) control away from its citizens. To think for one's self is a right which most definitely ought to be preserved and fought for as necessary. Two plus two does equal four and we need to hold to that truth and not allow for those in leadership to convince us otherwise.

A couple of poignant passages which caught my eye when reading:

Big Brother rations food portions for the citizens, but the amounts frequently change. The citizens are never to note to the changes or remember what they were from week to week. They are simply to submit and believe that whatever the portion size is on one day is the same as it has been every day. Winston asks himself the question, after realizing that the chocolate ration had been changed:

"Was he, then, alone in the possession of a memory?" (Part 1, Chapter 4)

I am frequently bewildered by the lack of memory possessed by many Americans these days. We want a Republican president because we decided we didn't like the Democrat leader this last year. They forget how much they hated the Republican president before and the fact that all humans have weaknesses and failures. We pretend that all humans are strong and then are shocked when we see a crack in the armor. We can't remember facts and dates, what caused wars and/or what ended them. So many Americans act completely clueless about the past that if I think about it for too long I honestly become frightened. History is re-written every time a politician gives a speech and we either pretend not to notice or "let it slide." Either way its dangerous to not dwell on fact (i.e., truth) and keep our memories in proper working order.

I think this is an important point to make not only politically but personally as well. Remembering the facts involved in our day-to-day interactions with other people is equally important to insuring a good relationship, built on trust and mutual respect. George Orwell argues well for the preservation of an accurate memory and any human ought to take note of that.

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him, the ease with which any Party intellectual would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments which he would not be able to understand, much less answer. And yet he was in the right! They were wrong and he was right. The obvious, the silly, and the true had got to be defended. Truisms are true, hold on to that! The solid world exists, its laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall towards the earth's center. With the feeling that he was speaking to O'Brien, and also that he was setting forth an important axiom, he wrote:

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." (Part 1, Chapter 7)

Telling ourselves the truth and holding onto it tightly is sometimes a difficult thing to do, to be sure. Yet, as Orwell points out in this epic work, it is absolutely imperative. Taking the time - no matter how long or how hard - to work out the truth of any given matter and then to live it is worth everything. It is worth freedom that comes in many varieties. Clutch truth and hold on tight. Even if it's hard work, it's worthy work.

I'm really glad to have read 1984 despite the fact that it was rather unpleasant. Learning to value truth is something that does not come easily; it is surprisingly hard sometimes. Yet it is unquestionably important!

Thanks, Annette, for choosing this book for us this month. And thank you Heather for talking about it so much that I was eager to get to it!

The Four Feathers, by A.E.W. Mason

This past month my in-town book club chose to read The Four Feathers, by A. E. W. Mason. I was glad of it because I had never read it and was very curious. I've linked the title to the $0.99 edition which is available on the Kindle which I would also like to note as being the cheapest, fastest way to get a hold of it. I liked the book so much though that now I'm on the lookout for a beautiful hardbound edition.

The Four Feathers was published in 1902. Although Mason wrote many novels (and plays) it is considered that this is his finest. Interesting to note, Mason was a contemporary of Anthony Hope who wrote The Prisoner of Zenda. (Linked to my review.) It was apparently a great time in history for adventure stories and these two titles most definitely ought to be enjoyed by a modern reading audience!


The Four Feathers tells the story of British officer, Harry Faversham. Harry is engaged to be married to a young lady by the beautiful name of Ethne when his regiment is called to Egypt to help suppress an uprising. Harry doesn't want to go to Egypt. He has always been a sensitive soul and loathes and fears the idea of entering into battle and watching people be injured, maimed or killed. He can't seem to muster the courage to put himself in harm's way and so he resigns from his commission. As a result of his cowardly resignation, three men from his regiment send him three white feathers. Henry opens the package containing the feathers in front of Ethne who then learns of his cowardice. Upon hearing what he had done, Ethne presents him with a fourth feather and calls off their engagement. Feversham is sufficiently shamed and - after informing his father and a close friend of what all had occurred - disappears from society. Privately, Faversham decides to seek opportunities by which he will be able to ask each of the four individuals who presented him with the feathers to take them back, thus restoring his honor. This is a tale of bravery, courage, love, hardship, adventure and honor.

The book was interesting from the perspective of that the way a reader would view different characters. Your thoughts and opinions about any number of individuals were apt to change while progressing through the story. I liked Harry and then I didn't. Then I liked him again. I admired other characters, but there were also times when I abhorred them. The only constant was that I did not care for Ethne (despite her beautiful name). I found her to be rather callous and self-centered much of the time. I wasn't able to attend book club for the discussion but it is my understanding that the generous consensus was that no one cared for Ethne very much. Others also expressed that their feelings changed towards various characters as they read along.

The other nice aspect of this book is that there is a main plot and then a variety of subplots which manage to keep a tight reign on the reader's interest levels. New details and facts, thoughts and ideas are revealed as the story unfolds. My only complaint about the book is really that it started off rather slow (for me at any rate). The first few chapters were a struggle to get into but by the middle of the tale I was completely hooked and breezed my way to the end.

I'm having a hard time finding much information or discussion about the book online. Even Wikipedia is brief in its description (gasp). Readers on Goodreads give it 3.84 stars out of 5. I'd give it 5 myself, despite its slow beginnings. Some readers noted that they didn't understand quite why it was labeled an "adventure" story as they found it to be more a study of feelings. I can see why they would say that. Much of the story is told by way of explaining a character or a situation and by sharing what they were thinking or feeling in any given moment. I understand too that because this book pretty much documents thought processes, it is a hard book to make into a movie. Critics seem to agree that there is not a faithful movie adaptation of the book to be found. (The 2002 version with Heath Ledger looks to be avoided at all costs.) After hearing other people's experiences with the films, I think I will leave The Four Feathers to my imagination.

Although I don't feel very equipped to discuss this title - based on the fact that I can't find much online of the history of the book or A.E.W. Mason online - I'll bring this "review" to a close. I would be curious to learn more about it and probably the one and only way that will ever occur is if modern readers pick his books up and become interested in them once again. This novel is really quite brilliant in explaining the inner workings of the mind and how the way a person is thinking has great influence over their actions. If that sounds too brainy for you, I'll refer you again to the books classification as being a "romantic adventure story." The best book is the one that entertains you thoroughly while making you think a little as well. This is one of those "best books" and if you find yourself with an opportunity to read it, do!

Note: The Kindle edition that I have linked to above ($0.99) includes several other of Mason's works which I plan to fully enjoy.

Viking Picture Books and Resources

When your five year old expresses an interested in learning about Vikings, exactly what are you supposed to do? I poked around and asked a few friends for suggestions but no one had any specific titles to point me towards. My kids are all currently ages 8 and under so I was very interested in finding some titles that weren't all about the blood and the gore. With no suggestions, it became clear I was going to have to take a gamble and see what I could find. When it came to purchasing books about the Vikings I really appreciated Amazon's "Look Inside" feature. It helped me to get a feel for some of the titles, several of which I bypassed as being inappropriate for my children's ages.

Some of the titles I share below were purchased on Amazon and some were found by perusing the shelves of our local used bookstores.

#1 - Viking Settlers, by Fiona MacDonald.

Note: This is not a picture of the actual book. I can't find one online (which is a pity). (I might update this post with an actual picture of the copy I found.) This book was published in 1992 and would appear to be out of print, which is a real shame. The cover art is actually nicely done and very appealing. Viking Settlers is fully illustrated by Maggie Downer. Each page spread paints a scene of the Vikings building ships, sailing, building homes and, yes, attacking monasteries. When the Vikings are depicted in battle it shows them hovering over their victims with swords in hand. No blood, but you get the idea. In this book MacDonald covers topics such as Viking homelands, what they ate, how they traveled, and their death and burial practices. The book concludes with a timeline of events for the Vikings which is helpful piecing together their history.

I'm a big fan of this book and if you can lay your hands on a copy, do!

#2 - Who Were the Vikings?, an Usborne Staring Point History.

The Vikings look a little bit more, um, threatening than they do in Viking Settlers. Like many of Usborne's history books, it is filled with lots of illustrations and paragraphs of information scattered about the pages. Although the book is ordered out out much like Viking Settlements, it does feel more chaotic given the fact that there's hardly an inch of paper that is not covered with text or illustrations. It's a very busy book! However, it is also useful in providing information. Who Were the Vikings? is also illustrated and, like the above title, there is nothing gruesome contained within. The two books combined helped to solidify what we were learning  and, as is usually the case, each book you read on any given topic tends to add another layer of understanding. This book is likely easier to get a hold of and I have no objections to sharing it with small children.

#3 - DK Eyewitness Books: Viking.

I liked this book because it contained photographs of Viking relics. We read through our books on Vikings over the course of a week (one book a day, followed by a documentary which I'll share below) and we saved this title for last. At this point, the kids were getting a good picture of who the Vikings were, where they came from and how they lived. It was interesting for all of us to see photographs of Viking swords, cups, pendants, ships, etc.

Much like the Usborne book, this DK edition is also full of facts and visuals. However, I found it slightly less distracting of a title due to the photography. It didn't feel like a bunch of doodles filled the pages. The artifacts displayed made you feel more like you were taking in a museum exhibit instead of necessarily reading a book if that makes sense. At the conclusion of this book there are several pages with more detailed information about famous Viking rulers, adventurers, writers and historians, etc. I highly recommend this title to anyone wanting to learn about the Vikings with their younger children.

#4 - The Vikings: Facts, Stories, Activities. This title was published by Scholastic in 1991. It also appears to be out of print.

The only slightly creepy illustrations in this book are the faces of the Viking gods. Otherwise everything and everyone looks pretty normal. I like the layout of this book (although it does feature the same busy format as the titles already mentioned) in that the paragraphs of information seem decently spread from the illustrations. This title includes a story about the Viking gods ("Thor Visits the Land of the Giants") which is included in the famous Sagas. Scattered throughout the book are a couple of ideas for some Viking crafts that you can do if you so choose.

#5 - Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Daulaire.

This tells the story of famous Viking explorer, Leif the Lucky, who set sail from his home and family in Greenland and discovered North America. Actually it was Leif, not Christopher Columbus, who was the first European who set foot on North America. I'm not sure what that does about our Columbus Day but it's good to know the facts. This title is delightfully illustrated and all of my children enjoyed hearing Leif's tale.

Lastly I wanted to share about a kid-safe documentary on the Vikings. Of course, you will have to decide whether or not your own children are ready for this but we enjoyed it. (I previewed it before showing it to them.)

Vikings: Journey to the New World

This documentary focuses primarily on the Viking expansion in the west. It discusses their move to Iceland and Erik the Red's temporary banishment which led to him exploring Greenland. From there Erik the Red's son Leif set out to discover new lands which, of course, led him to North America. This film does reference the fact that the Vikings were known to be fierce warriors (it opens with the attack on Lindisfarne) but it stresses the point that many Vikings were farmers and explorers.

Although this film does show the attack on Lindisfarne, it simply shows the Vikings approaching the monks and then the screen quickly blacks out. Next a video of a Viking slashing his sword appears on the screen and then also instantly fades to black again. There is no visual of anyone being attacked and nothing frightening appears on the screen. The only other tense moment is when the Inuit Indians are approaching the Viking camp (North America) to kill the explorers. Bookworm1 was starting to feel a little anxious as the Viking tent was surrounded, but I assured him that nothing scary would be seen and that settled him.

I really appreciated the fact that someone bothered to make a fairly informative documentary on the Vikings without delving into battle, death and gore. Yes, of course, we will learn more about this side of the Vikings as the children age but below the age of eight I truly don't think it's necessary to dwell on such subjects. You can know that the Vikings were warriors but you don't need to witness a killing to fully comprehend. This documentary suited our needs perfectly and I'd recommend it to parents looking for resources. However, I'd issue the caveat that when it comes to learning about the Vikings, any resource you decide to pick up really needs to be previewed by the parent before showing it to the kids.

One note of complaint: I don't know who produced this documentary but a man with a North American accent provides the commentary. He did not know how to correctly pronounce Richard Wagner's last name, nor the word "saga" which drove me nuts. It seems to me that they could have educated themselves as to correct pronunciation. I don't know why they didn't.

All in all, I've been happy with the above titles and if this helps another person to find books that they feel comfortable with then it's all good.

Of course, I'm interested in learning about more materials and resources on the Vikings. If anyone out there has a suggestion to make, I'm all ears!

The Secret Keeper, by Kate Morton

You might remember that I read a different Morton title last year. After completing that read, I was really on the fence about her writing. I did find Morton to be a fascinating storyteller but I had some concerns about the content. At that time, a couple of you encouraged me to give her another try. Melissa recommended that I try out The Secret Keeper. I trust Melissa's opinion and so I tucked that suggestion away for whenever a good opportunity might present itself.

My mother-in-law and I share a Kindle and, as it turns out, she had a copy of The Secret Keeper on there. When I was flat out sick a few weeks ago I decided that was a perfect time to dive into a fun story and I knew that, if nothing else, Morton would prove diverting. She was!

The Secret Keeper improved my opinion of Morton as a fun author, mostly because I didn't have any hiccups and hesitations due to implied sexual scenes like those which existed in the other title. The Secret Keeper did contain one particular implied scene but instead of being able to see it coming I actually had to re-read the passage to see if I was really reading what I thought I was reading. (And I was. So yay I re-read that. Blah.) It was much more discrete though and I appreciate that. As to foul language, again I find myself unable to comment on that because unless it's super prolific, I tend to ignore its existence. (By this I mean that if a word appears more than twice, I generally notice. But less than two times and I'm liable to forget.) I don't recall anything, but that doesn't mean a word or maybe two was scattered about.

As Melissa had told me, this story is set into a World War II time frame which I definitely enjoyed. I'm going to steal the description from Amazon on this one primarily because, as the title suggests, this book is full of secrets.

"During a picnic at her family’s farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson witnesses a shocking crime, a crime that challenges everything she knows about her adored mother, Dorothy. Now, fifty years later, Laurel and her sisters are meeting at the farm to celebrate Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this is her last chance to discover the truth about that long-ago day, Laurel searches for answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past. Clue by clue, she traces a secret history of three strangers from vastly different worlds thrown together in war-torn London — Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy — whose lives are forever after entwined. A gripping story of deception and passion, The Secret Keeper will keep you enthralled to the last page."

And it will.

This book will definitely keep you enthralled to the last page. As you skip back and forth from the 40's to the 60's to the present day you will be on the edge of your seat wondering how all of these lives intertwine. You might think you know, only to discover that you don't. I love that the book kept me guessing all the way to the very end.

I had a lot of fun reading The Secret Keeper and am glad to have read it. It was everything I hoped it would be. If you are looking for some fiction to lose yourself in for a bit, check out this story. (Thanks, Melissa, for suggesting it to me! You were right about my liking it!)

If anyone is wondering, yes, I will read another Kate Morton book in the future. (There's another one on the Kindle just waiting for me!) I'm saving it like chocolate on a high shelf.

An Uncomplicated Life, by Paul Daugherty

I accepted An Uncomplicated Life: A Father's Memoir of His Exceptional Daughter for review because I love titles which show the beauty of a life given. This book tells the story of Paul and Kerry Daugherty's daughter, Jillian, who was born with Down Syndrome. It is a book described by others as being "an inspiring love letter" from father to daughter. It is a very sweet and touching story.

It will come as no surprise around here that I liked the concept of this book because it supports the argument that all life is valuable. Modern society is very obsessed with each of us looking a certain way and being able to all do certain things. We cringe at handicaps of any sort and wish them away with laws that would deny humans the right to live before they have ever been born. My position is that life begins from the moment of conception and that all life ought to be protected. This is my opinion.

As clear as I am on that point, let me be as clear on Daugherty opinion: he is not writing his daughter's story with an agenda over the concept of what makes a life. To be more specific, while he is incredibly glad that he and Kerry have had Jillian in their lives and he wouldn't trade his daughter for the world, he also does not mean to place blame or criticism on "the moral choices" of others. Towards the end of the book he raises obvious questions about what the world might look like if we chose to wipe out an entire race of people who are different than ourselves and these are certainly questions worth pondering. I think Daugherty and I would form different answers to the question but I still enjoyed reading his thought processes.

An Uncomplicated Life takes us from the point in time shortly before Jillian's birth all the way through her graduation in college and life with her current boyfriend/fiancee (at the time of this post). Reading this story gives you a nice, big overview of the life which Jillian has lived to date. When Jillian was born, Paul and Kerry decided that they weren't going to focus on the limitations placed upon their daughter but, instead, they would look for the possibilities. Choosing the positive approach over a negative one certainly served Jillian well.

Daugherty relates the way he and his wife (literally) fought with school administrators over the entire course of Jillian's educational career to allow her to be included in regular classes, have her homework modified,  and receive special assistance while not being excluded, etc. He explains in some detail the frustrations of trying to keep Jillian in with her peers and educated at the same time. Their deep desire for their daughter was that she would learn how to hold her own socially, and be the most educated person that she could possibly be.

Again, most of the book talks about their struggles with school administration. If I were to list the main reason Daugherty wrote this book, I would say that he is writing Jillian's story to fight for the right of those with Down Syndrome to be treated equally. That is most certainly a worthy and important goal. Secondly, I would say that he wants the world to know that his Jillian is a masterpiece in and of herself. She is beautiful, fun, loving, enthusiastic and kind. He wants us to know that people with Down Syndrome have much to offer to society. I agree.

An Uncomplicated Life really is an inspiration to read. It's nice to hear of the Daugherty's passion to integrate Jillian into society. It's delightful to read about her cheery personality who, quite simply, loves her life. I'm so glad that Jillians exist in this world. People with Down Sydrome certainly do have unique qualities to share with us all. They give us perspective and we need that. I'm glad to have read this book for more of such a thing.

I do have some quibbles with it as well, although most of which are so minor as to not be worth mentioning. There is one that I will mention because it tickled my funny bone and caused me to burst out laughing.

As stated, a great deal of this book is about the Daugherty's struggle with the school system. They had/have very strong opinions about how teachers should have been treating Jillian and what they should be doing on her behalf. There is a lot of talk about teachers, some that they liked and some which they did not. Daugherty shares about one teacher, Nancy, whom the family really liked and grew quite close to. Nancy relayed the following story to Paul and he included in the book:

"One day, Nancy decoded the class would bake a cake together. It combined cooking skills with match know-how as well as the important of reading and understanding the directions. One of Jillian's friends, a boy named Layton, had never cooked. He had been homeschooled, Nancy said. "He'd never so much as cracked an egg." (Chapter 9, Nancy, page 116)

Oh dear, dear me, Mr. Daugherty. We poor uneducated home schoolers who can't even crack eggs. Heavens to Betsy! Sometimes I think it's a miracle that I survived to adulthood. It may have come to me late in life but eventually I did learn to crack an egg and now I crack them with abandon. Sometimes I'm like a crazy egg-cracking machine. And now I can be all, like, "Oh yeah, I was home schooled....watch me crack this egg." Booyah!

Astoundingly I even learned how to read! I am a wonder to behold.

It really gets my goat in an amusing sort of way when non-home schoolers question home schoolers. Can we be an insane breed perhaps? Anti-social? A bit dippy? Perhaps just . . . different? And if the argument that we're all making is that we need to embrace each others differences then shouldn't be back peddle on the whole "home schoolers are questionable people" spiel? A little give, a little take? I don't think home schooling is for everyone, but by golly I think it's super funny that you would make a negative-sounding comment because some kid had never cracked an egg before. (But I suppose if that's the worst you can come up with then you have to work with it.) I have actually known real people who purchase those frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pack them into their kids public school lunch boxes. No egg cracking involved. Serious.

Anyway, this is just one little instance where the book tickled my funny bone in a rather sarcastic way. I certainly don't agree on a great many of Daugherty's moral stances or personal preferences but that in no way detracted from my ability to enjoy his book. He has a positive message to share about and for individuals with Down Syndrome and it's good to read. All egg-cracking jokes aside.

Many thanks to William Morrow Publishing who sent a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. I received no additional compensation for this post and you can entirely bet on the fact that 100% of the opinions expressed above are my very own.

Other posts and books of interest:

• She is Mine, by Stephanie Fast
• Bloom, by Kelle Hampton
• Speech by Gianna Jessen
• Adopted for Life, by Russel D. Moore

Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey

I've had Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey sitting on my bookshelf for quite a while now. I don't even want to say how long  . . . but it's been awhile. I'm trusting that by the time this review posts I will no longer be sick and that I can safely say that I read this when I was sick and confined to the couch for three (excessively long) weeks. The only nice thing about being that sick for that long (at the same time as every other member of your family) is that you really can't do anything but watch movies and read books. We've done a lot of both. I pulled out a stack of books that I'd been wanting to get to but had not yet read and proceeded to work my way down the stack.

Lady Catherine was near the top of the stack. I'd been excited to read it after devouring the (current) Countess of Carnarvon's first book, Lady Almina and The Real Downtown Abby. (Title linked to my review in 2012.) Lady Almina was Lady Catherine's mother-in-law. Catherine married into the Carnarvon family and became the new Countess upon the death of the 5th Earl (which you might recall as the one who funded the excavation of King Tut's tomb). Lady Catherine's tenure at Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) looked remarkably different than you might expect. She was not the Countess for an extremely long period of time,  because she and the 6th Earl divorced, which meant that she was required to leave the castle. Catherine's husband "Porchy", being the title bearing heir of the estate, stayed.

Due to the nature of Lady Catherine and Porchy's relationship, this book was not as fun to read as the one about Lady Almina. Catherine's story begins and ends well but everything in the middle is rather messy. In saying that, I can hear the fussing already. I'm sure you want to tell me that life is messy and we shouldn't avoid such reads. It is very true and I will agree with you that life is messy. History is full of unpleasant things. We shouldn't avoid learning about things just because we find them unpleasant. Not at all. I can read this book but also not enjoy the fact that her marriage to Porchy fell apart and find it a difficult-to-unpleasant read as a result. Whether or not something is "realistic" or "good for us to know" doesn't mean that it's not equally a hard thing to endure.

Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey was simply not as fun to read as the first book. What did pique my interest is the history surrounding the castle. The current Countess of Carnarvon fills this book with the history and culture of the 1920's, 30's and 40's. Those decades were full of hardships for England and she writes a lot about the role which Highclere Castle played during certain historical events. She notes who the Carvarvon family were friends with (i.e., Porchy rubbed elbows with Winston Churchill ) and how the family responded to news of the war against Germany. It's really very interesting from that perspective.

To be perfectly honest, reading Lady Catherine felt a great deal more like watching a few seasons of Downton Abbey. The historical notes (i.e., position of women in society, treatment of homosexuals, bravery in war, relationships to staff during hard times, etc.) that the Countess makes are strikingly similar to the points which the television series also wishes to drive home. Now, grant it, the 1920's and 30's were a time of real change in the way society viewed and handled a plethora of issues. Societal rules were being roundly challenged and so it makes the book (and the tv series) quite the soap opera (yes let's just confess that, shall we?). Porchy has a wandering eye and it's irritating to read about. Lady Catherine has to find her new place in society as a fairly well-to-do but divorced woman. Things in this book are all rather high on drama.

For me, the magic of Lady Almina was in learning the behind-the-scenes history of the people who lived at the castle - together. It's in hearing about Lord Carnarvon's passion for finding treasure in Egypt; his struggle to make a mark on the world. Lady Almina and her husband just seemed to have more gumption and stick-to-itiveness about them that I enjoyed reading about. Lady Catherine just didn't have the same "oomph" about her, although I do think she was a very kind woman who loved deeply and who appreciated and adored her family. She was admirable too but in a different way. And, I think, she suffered greater challenges in part because she lived in "changing times."

I declared before that I would read Lady Almina and the Real Downtown Abbey over and over again. I would too! I will. But I can't say that I really want to read about Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey more than once.

Buffalo Coat, by Carol Ryrie Brink

As I mentioned last week, in preparation for a planned trip to Moscow (which failed to materialize due to sickness the likes of which we haven't know for awhile - thank you, Lord!) our family did some reading to learn more about a former local author Carol Ryrie Brink. The kids and I read All Over Town together (linked to our thoughts) and then I decided to read Buffalo Coat for myself. I read it over the course of a week and found it pretty depressing all the way through. It's interesting to read but, in my opinion, quite depressing.

Carol Ryrie Brink wrote this book long after she had moved away from Moscow. She based the story on the life of her grandfather, William W. Watkins, M.D. (linked to a short bio). Watkins was the town of Moscow's chief doctor, a formidable figure and a progressive thinker. It was actually Dr. Watkins who championed the cause of creating an institution for higher learning in the town of Moscow. His work and effort helped win the town the University of Idaho. He also purchased the land for the town's gravesite in which he is now buried. Dr. Watkins was a successful, head strong fellow with a personality that liked to get things done. People either loved him or hated him; he tended to have a polarizing effect. (Note: I was under the impression for some reason that Brink is also buried in this cemetery and spent quite a bit of time looking for her gravesite last time we were in town. However I was mistaken. She was cremated in California and her ashes were scattered in an undisclosed location. It is only her ancestors/family who are buried in Moscow.)

When Brink published Buffalo Coat, she felt herself so removed from Moscow that she didn't think anyone would even remember her or make the connection that this book was about her grandfather's life. She underestimated what good memories people in small towns are apt to have; it was quickly and easily assumed that Brink was speaking of her family in Moscow. (Why she thought that this would remain a mystery to people is a small wonder. Granted, she renames the town "Opportunity" for the sake of the book but then she specifically listed the actual names of towns surrounding Moscow, such as Orofino.) In a follow-up edition of the book Brink explains:

"As a child in Moscow I grew up hearing all of the town histories. They interested me as much as the novels that I read so avidly in the old Carnegie library. One of those true stories was particularly close to me as it concerned my grandfather, Dr. William Woodbury Watkins, who came to Moscow in 1887 and was killed there on August 4, 1901.

. . .

I first wrote a completely true story, using my grandfather's office on Second Street just off of Main as the link that bound the various stories together."

Her Author's Note is four pages long so I'm not going to type it up but those few sentences rather set the stage adequately. She decided to merge fact and fiction instead of writing a strictly true account. However the main fictionalized components of the story were timelines of when various of her characters lived in Moscow. She also included a romance which did not likely exist at all. Otherwise, reading this book is a good way to catch the flavor of the history of this small, seemingly insignificant town.

Brink clearly thought little of her grandfather's personality. Or, at least, it is hard to feel the love for him in this book. She paints a picture of a brilliant man who knows he is brilliant and lords that over other people. Her favorite character in this book is clearly Alice Ledbrooke (a.k.a., Caroline Woodhouse Watkins), her grandmother. Brink was raised by her grandmother whom she clearly adored. She writes of her in the Author's Note:

"Alice Ledbrook was one of the plainest - ugliest is an ugly word - let's say one of the least pretty women I have ever seen, but she was one of the delights of my childhood."

The story is introduced with so much history that it's hard to be surprised by what happens in the end so I don't necessarily feel that I'm offering spoilers by describing the book to you. Even if you know how the story ends, there is some delight in the way that Brink brought characters to life and weaved them all together so that each had an effect on the other in some form or fashion. One of the storylines in this book follows Dr. Hawkins (aka Watkins) as he doctors the people, makes decisions for the town and toots the glories of opportunity for expansion in the west. The other storyline follows young Jenny Walden, the beautiful and extremely intelligent daughter of the Methodist minister in town. Following these two characters hits on two rather sensational stories of the time: the murder of the doctor and the double-suicide of Jenny Walden and her already married lover. (You can read the real story of Winifred Booth and the double suicide here. It really is quite fantastical and bizarre. And rather morbidly fascinating.)

I trust that you can see that if these are the two main storylines, Buffalo Coat makes for a fairly depressing read. However, if you are as interested in history as I am, it also makes for a fascinating read. It's not one that I'd likely go around recommending to others but it's not totally worth avoiding either. I think one of the reasons which I feel so drawn to hunt down the history of particular areas and people is that America really doesn't have much of a history, globally speaking. As I've mentioned, our family is currently planning a trip to England and history just abounds over there. Every time you turn around you are met with an opportunity to learn about some fascinating place, person or event. Out west in America we mostly have tree rings to count and not a whole lot else (unless you count Lewis and Clark which is really exciting but exploring anything about them mostly just involves topography. We haven't built a ton of things in their honor, although we have marked their trail). When we travel about in country I have a really hard time finding things for the family to do out here in the Northwest because we just haven't taken the time to make notes, remember stories and engage with the past. I'm not totally sure why that is but it is. When I find that there is a story, I feel very much inclined to track it down and raise monuments in its honor or something! I think knowing your history is important and making the true and accurate facts accessible to children today extremely important.

There are a lot of parallels between All Over Town and Buffalo Coat. As I was reading them both simultaneously (one to my children and one by myself), I had to remind myself which book I was currently immersed in because the facts do overlap. This made reading them both at the same time rather curiously fun. I don't know that anyone else out there will want to read these books but I know that, ultimately, I'm glad that I did.

To see pictures of the real Dr. and Mrs. William Watkins and a picture of Caroline's hope chest, see this article by the Latah County Historical Society.

Other posts of interest:

• review of All Over Town
• review of Caddie Woodlawn

All Over Town, by Carol Ryrie Brink

This review brought to you by a vacation that was canceled due to sickness. Our family was scheduled to go to Moscow, Idaho for a week but, in the end, we stayed home and were sick instead. (Fun choice.)

Now, I can't stand traveling anywhere without reading books about the area or stories by authors who lived in the location prior to our visit. With the trip to Moscow in mind, I wanted to read the kids an additional Carol Ryrie Brink title, seeing as how she was raised in Moscow by her maternal grandmother. I was looking up information about her books and discovered that All Over Town was a story about three children who live in the fictionalized town of Warsaw Junction which is based on the actual town of Moscow, Idaho.

If you poke around online trying to find information about this book, you won't find much. The few remarks I did find indicated that a few readers found this book to be "good, clean fun." In some ways it is that, I suppose. Goodreads raters tend to give it 4 to 5 stars with only one person giving it a one star rating. I'd tend towards the 1 star rating myself and I'll explain why in a minute.

Just in case any of you are scratching your heads about why the name Carol Ryrie Brink sounds familiar, I'll clue you in. It was she who also wrote the much-loved Caddie Woodlawn (linked to my review from 2013 when I shared the book with my children). I talked a little bit about her history with Moscow in my 2013 post but with this upcoming trip I tried to dig a little deeper and learn a little more. (For the record, I'm still annoyed that after all of that effort to education myself and the children we couldn't go. I have zero personal pictures to use for this post. Ahem. I'll not be bitter forever but I might be just a little bit right now!)

Back to All Over Town, shall we? Right.

We read the entire book in a little over a week (it arrived in the mail late so we had to bust through it). At first the kids and I were delighted with it. This book tells us the story of Ardeth, the town doctor's daughter, and her escapades with the minister's sons, Martin and Henry Dawlish. The Dawlish family has just recently moved to town and into the parsonage. Martin and Henry are rather a handful with overactive imaginations and a willingness to throw themselves headlong into any situation without stopping to think. They quickly make friends of calm, serene and beautiful young Ardeth who can't see anything malicious about the boys and instead just finds their idea of how to have a good a rather fascinating thing. Despite what might be the best of intentions to be good, the children are really quite naughty and are always in trouble.

As you follow along with Martin, Henry and Ardeth's adventures you meet the rest of Brink's cast of characters. There is Wild Davey who lives up in the mountains and keeps a pack of dogs, Charlie Toy the Chinese vegetable man (who goes door-to-door selling his produce), Mr. Sarinoff the kind but gruff blacksmith, and Oliver Sludge, the town mailman. That's just to name a few. This story could be just a simple, peaceful children's tale set in a quiet little city but it's much more than that. Mr. Dawlish takes the pastorate and people like him alright but they do not care for his disobedient boys. Ardeth overhears some of the ladies gossiping about how they are apt to throw the Dawlish family out of town unless Mr. Dawlish can convince the wayward backsliders in Warsaw Juntion to attend church. Ardeath consults the Dawlish boys and fills them in on what she overhears and the three of them hatch a plan to bring the backsliders into church themselves so that their father might be able to retain his position and them the ability to stay in Warsaw Junction. I think I shall make you read the book for yourself to find out how it all plays out. (Heh.)

Now, overall it's a likable story.  However, having only read Caddie Woodlawn (and the sequel, Magic Melons) before I didn't quite realize how universally prejudice Brink was against anyone who was not white. Now, perhaps that was just the times in which she lived but it is startling to read about the "yellow faced man" and a little incident where one of the Dawlish boys was accidentally covered in soot and scared a lady who thought he was a black child. Our modern sensibilities were definitely taken aback as we read. We frequently set the book to the side and talked about prejudice and differences and how we are all made in the image of God and all ought to be respected equally. We definitely hit on that "yellow face" comment as one of my sons is Asian.  I don't know what - if anything - he will have to face in his future (nothing but acceptance as yet and we live in a fantastic community) but reading this book gave the opportunity to talk about how we need to love people of all races and not think that any one color is superior over the rest. Why? Because not one color is superior over the rest.

There is another incident in the book that took us aback. The Dawlish boy's dog has puppies and the boys are tasked with finding new homes for the cute little fur balls. However, no one seems to be on the market for a new dog. Mrs. Dawlish is adament that the puppies need to go to new homes so Martin hatches the following plan with the other two kids:

"You know how they leave orphan babies on doorsteps in baskets with a note that says 'Be kind to a fatherless babe pinned to their flannel petticoats?" he asked. "Why don't we do that with the puppies?" (Chapter 14, Emergency, page 195)

Now, this might have been funny idea once upon a time. Or perhaps it would be funny to another audience than our family. I read that line and set the book down immediately and said, "Is abandoning a baby a good thing to do?" and "Is what they are suggesting right?" The kids answered with a hearty, loud and very firm, "NO!" See, our family is mixed race because we have adopted two amazing young boys. And so being left or abandoned is no joking matter and we really didn't find much humor in this particular part of the story. We read on until the very end but in many ways we did not find this book to be, "just good, clean fun." It's a book you have to work through and talk about and we did a lot of talking. Yes, it has some great moments but really, we've enjoyed other books better.

That said, I felt like read All Over Town was great homework for visiting Moscow. Brink describes the early beginning of the town and I could sort of imagine where things were situated since I used to live there myself. It was a fun read (for me especially) in that respect because I could appreciate the history of the town, and the characters who were based on real people (such as Carol's grandfather).

Here are a few pictures of Moscow, Idaho from the last century to give you a feel for the town.

It is such a lovely little spot. I absolutely enjoyed the time I spent living there. (Again, I only wish I knew as much about the history of the town and the famous authors who lived there when I was close at hand to search these things out for myself!)

If you want to learn more about Carol Ryrie Brink and her history and connection to Moscow, check out this reference article from the Idaho State Historical Society. It is quite informative and very interesting!


Someday we might get back out that direction, at which point I intend to hunt a great many Brink-related things down. In the meantime, we'll have to be content with our reading.

******
Other Carol Ryrie Brink posts of interest:

• Review of Caddie Woodlawn
• Review of Buffalo Coat