The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna

I loved The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna, mesmerized by the writing and propelled by the story line. It was the perfect read for my scattered and distracted brain, transporting me into another's story.

A family of three is like a bet.~ from The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna

Only child Lauren lost her parents in a tragic accident when she was eighteen, leaving her alone in a baffling world. Her parents couldn't afford to send her to college but after their deaths she guiltily sold everything to raise the funds for her education. She learned how to survive in isolation, accustomed to lying about being orphaned.

At twenty-eight, she has her dream job teaching a writing class to international students at a small Catholic college, a popular teacher who loves her work. She understands her foreign student's experiences as outsiders, their homesickness, and admired their courage.

Art student Siri comes into her classroom and insinuates herself into Lauren's life, and for the first time Lauren felt understood, that she had a true friend. Siri was outgoing and sincere, but also a risk taker who charms her teacher out of her safety zone. Lauren is used to secrets, and knows she must keep their relationship under wraps from the other teachers and administration.

Siri asks Lauren to come to her home in Sweden for Midsommer and she impulsively accepts.

I gasp at early memories of our trip now, and they are otherworldly, other-sensory. ~from The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna

The gorgeous descriptive writing weaves visions of an enchanted land and time, maidens frolicing in meadows and woods, flowers woven in their hair, bathing in the cold water. Lauren allows Siri to transform her, and she feels what it is to be young--that fleeting time that passed her by with her parent's demise.

Siri has a complicated relationship with her siblings. The early deaths of their parents spurred older sister Birgit to take on the role of mother. Siri hates her artist brother Magnus, both blaming each other for their mother's death, and she warns Lauren to stay away from him. For Siri's sake, Lauren wants to resist the attraction between them.

The headiness of the all-night sun, being a part of a circle of teenage girls, comes to a crisis at a Midsommer party. Lauren retreats home determined to put Sweden and Siri and her family behind her. But there is no escape.

As her life spirals out of control, Lauren loses herself and her life, but in the end she discovers forgiveness and acceptance.

The All-Night Sun reads like a psychological thriller written by accomplished literary hands that spin a denouement of  uplifting satisfaction.

I was given a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Read an excerpt at
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602443/the-all-night-sun-by-diane-zinna/

The All-Night Sun
by Diane Zinna
Random House Publishing Group - Random House
Pub Date  July 14, 2020
ISBN: 9781984854162
hard cover $27.00 (USD)

from the publisher

Lauren Cress teaches writing at a small college outside of Washington, DC. In the classroom, she is poised, smart, and kind, well liked by her students and colleagues. But in her personal life, Lauren is troubled and isolated, still grappling with the sudden death of her parents ten years earlier. She seems to exist at a remove from everyone around her until a new student joins her class: charming, magnetic Siri, who appears to be everything Lauren wishes she could be. They fall headlong into an all-consuming friendship that makes Lauren feel as though she is reclaiming her lost adolescence.

When Siri invites her on a trip home to Sweden for the summer, Lauren impulsively accepts, intrigued by how Siri describes it: green, fresh, and new, everything just thawing out. But once there, Lauren finds herself drawn to Siri’s enigmatic, brooding brother, Magnus. Siri is resentful, and Lauren starts to see a new side of her friend: selfish, reckless, self-destructive, even cruel. On their last night together, Lauren accompanies Siri and her friends on a seaside camping trip to celebrate Midsommar’s Eve, a night when no one sleeps, boundaries blur, and under the light of the unsetting sun, things take a dark turn. 

Ultimately, Lauren must acknowledge the truth of what happened with Siri and come to terms with her own tragic past in this gorgeously written, deeply felt debut about the transformative relationships that often come to us when things feel darkest.

Helen Korngold Diary: December 8-14, 1919

Helen Korngold, Dec. 1919, New York City

Christmas break is coming and Helen is preparing for a trip to New York City, which requires a new wardrobe!

Monday 8
School – Monday is always such a bright day. Mama bought a black tricolette for me also a darling blue velvet.

Tuesday 9
Working hard – comparatively. This is a good time to spur them on.

Wednesday 10
Letter from Ruth [Pawling] in which she asks me to come to N.Y. Thrilling.

Thursday 11
Coming along fine

Friday 12
Last day of school until Monday. I’m crazy about this bunch of youngsters.

Saturday 13
Downtown – Did some shopping

Over at Isenkramers for a party. Had a good time.

Sunday 14
Sunday School – children were so sad to hear that I was leaving for New York. I am happy as a bee. B’nai – El Dance. Met Milton Breschel. A regular hero – traveled all over the world.

Notes:

Dec 8

Is Helen wearing the blue velvet dress in her New York City photograph? It looks like it could be velvet!

Tricolette is a silk or rayon knitted fabric for women’s wear.

St Louis Post-Dispatch ad Dec. 7, 1919, showing Tricolette dress at $19

1919 winter fashions

Dec 13

Isenkramers is perhaps the family of Ludwig Eisenkramer (1877-1942) who on the 1920 St. Louis Census was a draftsman and engineer living on Evans St. His wife was Frieda (nee’ Brasch) and they had three children, Florence, Charles and Henry, all in their teens or younger. Ludwig arrived in the U.S. in 1904 from Alsace Lorraine, of German heritage, and became a citizen in 1925. His 1918 WWI Draft registration show he was stout, of medium height, with black hair and brown eyes. In 1938 he is an engineer/salesman in the St. Louis City Directory. A very good genealogy can be found on ancestry.com.



Dec 14

El Dance was held at B’nai El in St. Louis, a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism. 

Milton D. Breschel, according to The War Record of American Jews, was on born July 8, 1892, in Milwaukee, MN. He was a commissioned officer in WWI. He was a student living in St. Louis at 5001 Gates Ave. when he entered the war. His mother was born in New York and his father was Czechoslovakian/Russian/Polish. On January 18, 1915, he was promoted to 2 Lt. He worked with heavy tanks. He appears in the 1914 Scranton, PA City Directory. In the 1920s and 1930s, Milton D. Breschel appears in Jacksonville, FL city directories, working as a salesman and married to Fay.



In the News:

The Dec 12, 1919, The Jewish Voice had an article on the movement to keep children in school. To keep teachers there was a movement to raise their salary. Helen's career choice was very important.







Money was being raised for the Jewish Hospital Fund. This week's contributions came from people in Helen's life including S. J. Russack of United Hebrew Temple and Prof. Langsdorf of Washington University.



The Dec. 13, 1919, St. Louis Star and Times ran this editorial cartoon:


A St. Louis war hero was in the news. Miss Julia Stimson was the head of Army Nurses during WWI.

Helen Korngold Diary September 8-14, 1919

Helen Korngold, Dec. 1919, New York City

Helen is in her first teaching job after graduating from Washington University. She has a 7th Grade class at Wellston. It did not suit her.

September
Monday 8
At it again.

Tuesday 9
I just won’t have this job.

Wednesday 10
As I think of it, I don’t see how I stuck at it this long.

Thursday 11
Mr. Bush has a teacher now – Thank goodness.

Friday 13
Well, I have #35 anyhow.

Saturday 13
Glad I can rest.

Sunday 14
Mick’s wedding. This was exciting

NOTES:

Sept 11

Earnest F. Bush was the founder and principle of Wellston High School. He appears on the 1917 St. Louis City Directory as the principle of Wellston High School living on Maple. On the April 9, 1940, St. Louis Census he still gave his job as a superintendent in the public school system, although it was then crossed off because he had retired. He died a few months later n July 17, 1940.


Sept 11, 1919, St. Louis Star and Times article tells how the president of the National Women's Trade Union League promoted the inclusion of housekeepers as producers. The NWTUL was organized in 1903. Under the leadership of Mrs. Raymond Robbins the group promoted the needs and protection of working women, an 8-hour workday, and end to child labor, and after the Triangle factory fire, safer worker safety conditions.


On a lighter note--

St Louis Star and Times, Sept. 10, 1919
Brown is the fashionable color.


Eccentricities of the 1919-1920 Styles
Skirts are a bit shorter and a bit wider. Three-quarter and bell-shaped sleeves will be worn. Cap sleeves are shown on the evening gowns. Blouse-effects differentiate the new coats. Suit coats are either hip or knee lengths and are fuller. Panels and cape backs accentuate the long lines which will again be the mode.

Brown is the newest of the new shades. All variations of brown meet with favor.

Panniers and draperies of many varieties adorn the new skirts. Feathers have returned to their former prestige in the realm of millinery. Little other trimming is seen on the autumn hats.

...The 1920 styles are not revolutionary. Hats are large and small and varied of shape and color. Velours and silvertones are still good in suits, and the belted model again prevails. Heavy coats have the big collars and the large pockets which have endeared themselves to the 1920-model woman, loving practical and useful things as she does.

Then there is the good friend the blue serge dress, with tunic and braid and buttons, which has been on the boards for many seasons.

Brown Is Queen of Colors
For the first time since the "before de war" days comes relief from the 'deadly blues and blacks of winter outer garments. Brown is queen of the colors this year, brown and its sister shades henna, taupe, champagne, beige. The girl with the auburn hair will exult in the soft new tones, and brown-eyed women will find numerous shades to enhance their attractiveness.

So on the whole the aspect of the shops is brighter. The midnight blues, while still darkly visible, have turned a rainbow lining of greens, plums, burgundies, grays, and even reds.

The world Is destined to appear gayer than for a long time past. The milliners have adopted the new colorings with avidity. And feathers, everything is feathers, as one buyer said. One of the prettiest of the feather creations was a super-model in Jade, from a famous Paris salon. Tiny little flat curls of ostrich cut no one could tell Just how, formed the entire hat, from the soft tarn crown to the rather narrow brim. Trimmed with only a bow of silk ribbon, it was priced at $85.

Helen Korngold Diary: September 1-7, 1919

This year I am sharing the 1919 diary of Helen Korngold of St. Louis, MO. Helen graduated from Washington University and is now teaching.

Helen Korngold, December 1919, New York City

September
Monday 1
Started teaching at Wellston.

Tuesday 2
Have 7th grade. This is some room! Went out with Si Russack. He’s pretty nice.

Wednesday 3
The kids are just too cute, but oh, such a lunch

Thursday 4
There were such kids as Jimmie Murphy & James Daniels – oh!

Friday 5
Then there were nice girls & such biddies – real gals! Temple.

Saturday 6
But on the whole, they were a rotten bunch

Sunday 7
I generally spent Sundays wishing for the next Sat.

Notes:

Sept 1

Wellston High School, located at Ella and Green, had its first graduating class in 1911 with four students. In 1923 a new building for upper grades was constructed. The school relocated in 1940 and again in 1962 and was renamed several times. It was closed and torn down in 2010. http://stlouis.genealogyvillage.com/hsws.htm
http://www.builtstlouis.net/northside/mlk07.html

Sept 2
Helen mentions Mr. Russack in January as warning her against a boy who had proposed to Helen. I can't find a Si Russack in the records.

Sept 5
Article from the Sept 1. Jewish Voice



Russack Family
June 22, 1906, The Jewish Voice:


In the News:

An interesting article on WWI soldiers receiving 'new faces' with the help of a woman portrait painter.


And next to this article is an advertisement about 'the most thrilling words' a woman can hear--

The Diary of Helen Korngold: A Glimpse into St. Louisan Jewish Society in 1919

In 2001 while I was browsing through a second-hand shop in south Lansing, Michigan, I came across a 1919 Stix, Baer & Fuller diary. I picked the book up and was amazed to see it was completely filled with diary entries. After reading a few entries I was charmed by the writer.

Helen Korngold, December 1919
22 years old. Taken in New York City.

The December, 31 entry ended with the signature Helen Korngold. Intrigued, I paid $15 and brought the diary home.

The diary as I found it

The diary tells the story of Helen's senior year at Washington University, pursued by boys and having a grand time, yet single-minded about her chosen career as a teacher.

The Diary of Helen Korngold

Helen was the daughter of a Jewish immigrant who by hard work and persistence built a successful business. They were part of a vibrant Jewish community in St. Louis that had deep roots.

Helen's St Louis was in its heyday. WWI had just ended, and many of the boys Helen writes about were returning home, passing through the barracks near the university.

Helen as a young teacher at Normandy H.S. in St. Louis, 1936

Helen as a teacher at Normandy H. S. in St. Louis, 1937

I have researched all aspects of Helen’s life: her friends, the places she visited, her family history. I am a genealogist and researched Helen on Ancestry.com and started a Korngold family tree, the first for her lineage. 

I wanted to solve the mystery of how a St. Louis girl’s 1919 diary ended up in Lansing, Michigan. It took me over a decade to find the answer, and only then because a member of her extended family started their own family tree. In the last year, I have been contacted by two of Helen's great-nieces and learned more about Helen's later life.

Helen Korngold Herzog and Fritz Herzog, family photograph

Helen became a teacher in a local high school. Helen married Fritz Herzog, the love of her life. Fritz was a Jewish immigrant who came to America as a student and went on to become an important American mathematician. He lost his entire family during the Holocaust.

In the coming year, I will be sharing Helen's diary entries and my research, sharing a week's diary entries and notes on every Saturday.

Helen's diary was from a local department store

I have completely enjoyed learning about Helen. I hope that my readers will enjoy visiting a world from a century ago and will come to love Helen as much as I do.

Below is some general background information about Washington University and St. Louis.

Notes and Background Information

Washington University was an army post for the armed services during WWI and many students left for the war. According to an article, “ By the end of 1917, 200 faculty and students had signed up, and on December 19 a service flag with 200 stars was hoisted over University Hall. The next day an 83-star flag went up over the medical school. Eventually, 410 graduates and 93 undergraduates received commissions, and 22 students, staff, or alumni died while in service.”

Professors added war-related courses. Dean Langsdorf added a radio communications course. Dr. Usher's 1913 book Pan-Germanism had predicted the war. His anti-German sentiments brought criticism and he responded with a public statement for academic freedom.

“In spring 1917, the Fifth Missouri Regiment came to campus, using Francis Field as its drill ground, and the next January student soldiers arrived for woodworking, blacksmithing, and machine shop training. Perhaps the biggest disruption to University life, however, was the October 1918 arrival of hundreds of men in the Students' Army Training Corps (SATC), aimed at training recruits and developing potential officers. The SATC, said the Hatchet, "saved Washington from becoming a girls' college for the period of the war." Suddenly, enrollment skyrocketed; in fall 1918, the University had 1,515 students—a 50 percent increase over the previous year.”

The SATC took over all residence halls but the women's dorms and the Francis Gymnasium. Barracks, a mess hall, and a YMCA canteen were built adjacent to the campus. With the end of the war on November 11, 1918 the SATC disbanded and left the campus. In March 1919, the Alumni Association held a banquet honoring the university's war heroes.

Named for President Jefferson, The Jefferson Barracks opened in 1826 and closed in 1946. During World War 1 it was the nation’s largest induction and demobilization center for military personnel on the way to deployment in Europe.

Some of the servicemen Helen met, like Dewey Pierre Flambert, were likely stationed at the Barracks on their way back home.

http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ParkPages/JeffersonBarracks/JeffersonBarracksMuseums
http://www.jbhf.org/index.html
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/jbphotos/
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/jb/views.htm

The Spanish Influenza

The 1918 Spanish Influenza closed Washington University for six weeks. The Student Life Vol. 43, No. 2, of October 11, 1918, reported an empty campus as all classes were suspended after 12:30 pm on Wednesday, October 9, 1918. Administrative work and football and hockey practice continued and professors reported to their classrooms. Graham Chapel became a Red Cross shop where students made influenza masks. Classes resumed Monday, November 18; longer classes were scheduled to make up for lost time. By November 29, 1918, only 8 cases of influenza were reported and the crisis was considered over.

For further information, see the WU Magazine article from Winter 2003, "Over There":http://magazine-archives.wustl.edu/Winter03/OverThere.htm   or consult the WUSTL History section of the Archives Vertical Files.

Jewish Roots in St. Louis

St. Louis had a long history of Jewish society by the time Helen was born in 1899. In 1807 Joseph Philipson arrived from Philadelphia and became the first Jewish merchant. By 1900 there were 40,000 Jews in St. Louis.

http://www.stlgs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=316&Itemid=507

The first Jewish services date to 1837. United Hebrew Synagogue was the first established in the city and still exists today. In 1856 Mt. Olive Cemetery was opened.

Helen notes helping her mother with Seder dinner and attending Temple Satellites, Young Hebrew activities, and teaching Sunday School classes.

Helen's parents are buried in the United Hebrew Cemetery and her brother Karol in Mt Sinai.

The Jewish population was deeply assimilated into the American culture. Fraternal organizations accepted Jewish members.

https://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/planning/cultural-resources/preservation-plan/Part-I-Religious-Life.cfm

So Long, Mr.G

My weekly quilt group meets in the community center. This Tuesday I happened to linger near a bulletin board and was drawn to read a notice from the local funeral parlor.

I have no idea why I read it; having moved twelve times in 43 years I never look at the obituaries because either I already knew someone had passed or I didn't know the person who had passed.

But this time my heart caught in my throat, for I recognized the name of the deceased. I read the whole notice, and was confirmed: my high school biology teacher, Mr. Gasiorowski, was gone. I had no idea he lived a few blocks away from our home of two years.

I loved Mr. G. He earnestly loved his subject and teaching us kids. He told great stories about whatever we studied, intermixed with mentions of his beloved White Sox team, managed by Eddie Stankey. When Mr. G talked about meiosis and mitosis he became so excited, his eyes shining. The mystery of life amazed him.

My 1967 diary is full of small references to Mr. G. Including this story:

Yesterday we had to inoculate a medium in a petri dish with bacteria. We used yeast as the bacteria. As we worked on this, Mr. G went around in case any trouble came up. He came over to me and said “I hate kids. I really do. I hate them!” as a serious joke. I told him that wasn’t a very nice thing to say, and asked why he was a teacher then. “I don’t know. Every weekend, I ask myself that. Every night I go home thinking how much I hate kids. But I usually forget about it after my 5^th Manhattan.” I laughed. He made another round of the lab tables, and came back with some sarcastic remark about, “OK kids, lets climb on each other’s shoulders and make like the Tower of Babel.” Everyone looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders as he passed by with his famous last words, “I hate kids.” 

One of several Mr G. sketches I did during class. 

I shared the obit link on various Facebook groups related to my high school and hometown and the comments came flowing in, previous students who all ranked Mr. G among their all time favorite teachers.

Mr. G has left a wonderful legacy.

http://www.gramerfuneralhome.com/obits/obituaries.php/obitID/660008/o/Robert-Joseph-Gasiorowski

Language Arts by Stephanie Kallos

Grief fills the room up of my absent child
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form.
--William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John (as quoted in Language Arts)

Charles Marlow is a Language Arts teacher and the divorced father of a 21-year-old autistic son, Cody. How Charlie and his wife reacted to their son's condition led to their divorce but also binds them in their roles of perpetual caregivers.

Charles has been drinking through their collection of fine wines as he opens boxes of papers and magazines in a search for their daughter Emmy's box. The process leads him to remember his Fourth Grade year when his proficiency at the Palmer Writing Method earned him his teacher's recognition and his story Flipper Boy won a prize but revealed too much about his home life. A misfit classmate with Fragile X syndrome spoke his first words in idolization of Charlie's loops. Charlie befriended the the boy and tutored him in the Palmer method.

Adult Charles has been asked to mentor a student whose project involves photographing residents of Cody's group home and writing a poem to accompany each photo. The girl reminds Charles of his daughter Emmy. He reluctantly agrees to co-mentor along with the school art teacher.

Stephanie Kallos writes with great humanity and sympathy about the human condition. We learn about Charles through flashbacks and his interactions with students and family, coming to understand his complex past and crisis of finding a future. She deals with some of the most harrowing issues a family can face, experiences that divides parents and ends marriages, and explores Charles' dysfunctional home life full of spousal anger and accusations. Kallos' portrayals feel true to life and wrenching.

I was so moved by this novel that on page 307 I cried, heartbroken for Charles. He was so alone.

Rays of light comes into Charles' life. His student's art project allows Cody a voice no one knew he had and unearths a part of Charles past to life. We come to understand Charles past and present and are given a glimpse into a possible future. His Language Arts experience comes full circle to a satisfying resolution.

I had read Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos and enjoyed it so I was excited to receive her third novel Language Arts through NetGalley. I usually read the NetGalley books in order of soonest to be published, but I skipped over to this book and am glad I did.

I received a free ebook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Language Arts
by Stephanie Kallos
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication June 9, 2015
ISBN: 9780547939742
$27.00 hard cover

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Survival Mode in Michigan: The Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison

The Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison is set in the fictional resort town of Port Manitou, on the Jib River feeding into Lake Michigan. Neil Kazanzakis is a popular Physics teacher and running coach. His son is a senior weighing his future, Western Michigan University or culinary arts school. Neil cares for his wife's aging mother, and for his wife who is in a vegetative state after a swiming accident.

Neil has fallen in love with his mother-in-law's nurse, but has not told his son about their relationship, believing he is protecting his son.

When a student You Tube prank video goes viral, Neil faces the loss of his job, his girlfriend, and the love of his son.

I requested this book from NetGalley because it was set in Michigan, and in the kind of small Lake Michigan resort town I have lived in: four hours from Lansing, with a marina. It also had very good reviews from the hardbound publication.

The story is told in Neil's voice. I connected to the character right away. I was impelled to read the last hundred pages, all in one sitting.

The back story of his wife's accident is withheld at the beginning, a great impetus to continue reading. Little by little we learn about Neil and Wendy. Anyone who has dealt with a horrendous loss will recognize Neil's post-accident plummet into despair, depression, self-medication, and withdrawal. His son Chris had lost two parents, and turned to his uncle, a Chicago chief, for support.

As Neil's life falls apart again, he is able to draw on the experience of his choices after his wife's tragedy to find strength to face his new challenges.

The author Jon Harrison was born in Michigan. The book is full of Michigan references, including the Metro Detroit IKEA were we just bought our bookshelves (and even a reference to the Philadelphia IKEA, the first in the US, where we bought furniture for our home in 1980!).

Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date Sept 23, 2014
Paperback $14.95
ISBN 978147785235