Recent Reviews
The Fortnight in September
‘The Fortnight in September’ by R.C. Sherriff beautifully portrays the emotions of an English family anticipating their annual holiday by the sea. Written in 1931, RC Sherriff captures the slowness of a time without technology. The plodding plot might not appeal to every reader, but after a few chapters, I was hooked. R.C. Sherriff takes us to an era before televisions, computers, and cell phones and reveals the beauty and dignity of a simpler life.
Mr. and Mrs. Stevens and their three young adult children are in a state of high anticipation about their upcoming trip. After two decades of making this journey, their travel plans have evolved with military precision. Each family member knows his or her responsibilities for their departure and happily visualizes the Inn where they will stay and the beach where they will wade.
Like layers of paint, the memories of this year’s trip will be coated onto prior trips, and their sparkling recollections will sustain them in the coming year. The novel offers insights, observations and reflections about what the family members see and feel. One theme is that when they are on Holiday, they have time to reflect on their lives. For example, Mr. Stevens likes to take solitary walks on vacation, “He liked to have a good think – a good, connected think without anything to disturb him, and almost always he came back from his lonely walk with a firmer grip upon himself, and renewed confidence for the future.”
The young adult children contribute to the family’s finances as money is scarce. As a middle manager, Mr. Stevens’s mobility is limited. His children are on a similar path, an understood but unspoken truth. Yet, the Stevens make the most of what they have. Their carefully prescribed routines are a way to anticipate every Holiday expenditure. Spontaneity, after all, is a luxury of the upper classes. When the family is invited to the grand home of a wealthy work associate, the children of Mr. Stevens more clearly comprehend the stellar moral character of their father.
The trip goes off without a hitch and nothing bad happens to any of the characters! Not a common theme in today’s novels. Though I don’t want to romanticize the limits of this family’s life, they have created a sacred space from the sameness of their daily routines. There is a quiet dignity to these characters. R.C. Sherriff’s ‘The Fortnight in September’ is both time travel and writing at its best. 4/5
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
I confess I was initially skeptical about Bonnie Garmus’ wonderful debut novel, ‘Lessons In Chemistry.’ I was put off by the bubble gum orange and pink cover. But thanks to my DJKKS book group, I not only read the novel but couldn’t put it down. ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ is witty, quirky, and wise. Garmus has created unforgettable characters who are authentic to themselves and others.
The novel’s protagonist is Elizabeth Zott. She has a master’s degree in Chemistry from UCLA, and her sole goal is to be a research scientist. But the year is 1952, and at every step of her academic journey, men hold power over her progress. They copy her work, call it their own, demean her and suggest she make coffee or take dictation. And, of course, they would not promote her. “Men wanted to control her, touch her, dominate her, silence her, correct her, or tell her what to do. She didn’t understand why they couldn’t just treat her as a fellow human being, as a colleague, a friend, an equal, or even a stranger on the street.”
Elizabeth Zott calls out the absurdities of a social system that resists using half the population’s talents. As women internalize their second-class status despite their equal capabilities, they psychologically internalize this externally imposed inferiority. But Elizabeth Zott’s brash and determined personality shows us what it could be like when women didn’t cower in the face of oppressive systems or align with their male oppressors. The book makes profound observations with humor and wit. A few times, I laughed out loud. But underneath wacky incidents and whimsical dialogue, Garmus exposes the absurdity of sexism in the 1950s, an era that many in our current political climate would like to replicate. ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ pleads with women to call out discrimination and act with courage rather than conform to the patriarchal system. I recommend this unique book. You will probably laugh while thinking about the perniciousness of sexism.
4.5/5.0
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Despite its tranquil tone, Claire Keegan’s ‘Small Things Like These’ packs a provocative punch. In 114 pages, she delves into the heart and mind of a man questioning the purpose of his life. After witnessing a disturbing event, his past comes rushing into the present. Short-listed for this year’s Booker Prize, this small novel inspires,
Christmas is fast approaching in the small Irish town where Bill Furlong was born, raised and still lives. The year is 1985 and an economic downturn has enveloped the town. But Bill, a coal merchant, feels fortunate he can still support his wife and five daughters.
One day delivering coal to the Catholic convent for unwed mothers, Bill finds a young woman locked in the coal shed. It shakes him deeply and unearths thoughts about his own unwed mother. When Bill’s mother had become pregnant at 16, her family disowned her. Because the Protestant woman for whom Bill’s mother worked invited Bill’s mother to move in and raise her child, Bill’s mother was spared the convent for unwed mothers. A blessing for Bill and his mother.
What Bill saw at the convent begins to plague him. His wife says, “If you want to get on in life, there are things you have to ignore, so you can keep on.” But the image of that young, scared girl upsets the compassionate Bill Furlong. His relationship with the nuns is cordial, but still, his conscience won’t rest. “Why were the things that were closet so often the hardest to see?” Feelings about his deceased mother and his unknown father stir inside him. Bill begins to reevaluate his obligations to himself, his family and his community. He wonders, “Was there any point in being alive without helping one another?”
Claire Keegan’s sparse prose grabs her readers and places them in Bill Furlong’s heart and mind. In these turbulent times, she provokes her readers to contemplate their responsibilities to others. If each of us does one small compassionate act, our world would undoubtedly be a better place. 4/5
