The Nix by Nathan Hill

In Norwegian folklore a Nix is a shapeshifting spirit that lures the unsuspecting to a watery death,. Sometimes appearing as a white horse it will enchant a child onto it's back then plunge into the water, drowning it's rider. Faye tells the story to her son Samuel; the lesson, Faye explains, is that "the things you love the most will some day hurt you the worst."

I was eager to read The Nix by Nathan Hill. Luckily, my local librarian let me know a copy was languishing on the new book shelf for five whole days, which was slaying her, just waiting for me to come in and take it home.

I set aside everything else to spend the weekend reading it. I can't wait to read it again.

Hill has given us a book with great characters, a book with humor and heart, a wise recreation of the world Boomers grew up in, an insightful consideration of the reality of young people today, and with razor sharp exactness, considers the American way of life, politics, inter-family relationships, and ultimately, the nature of truth. Plus for all the terrible things that go wrong in Samuel and Faye's lives, it has a happy ending.

It's about as ambitious a novel as its gets. Perhaps it is the Great American Novel of the decade.

"When Samuel was a child reading a Choose Your Own Adventure novel, he'd keep a bookmark at the spot of a very hard decision, so that if the story turned out poorly, he could go back and try again. More than anything he wants life to behave this way."

Samuel is treading water in a sad job, with a history of failure, seeking escape through online role playing games. Until he gets a call from a lawyer representing the mother who abandoned him 20 years previous. Faye has been arrested as a terrorist after throwing gravel at a politician so awful he makes our current candidates look stellar. Samuel uses the opportunity to discover why Faye abandoned him. The pivitol moment that defined Faye's life was the 1968 Democratic Convention and the student protests that ended in police brutality.

1968. I watched the convention with my Mom, learning (finally, at age 16) how to blow bubbles with bubble gum. It had been a brutal spring, with the death of a boy at school, the photographer for the school paper and yearbook, dead of carbon monoxide poison from sitting in a running car in the family garage. Then there were the murders of Rev. King and Robert Kennedy. I was feeling overwhelmed, disillusioned, angry, and depressed, longing for days of innocence when I still believed in universal goodness (in other words, the year before). Plus, the guy I'd had a crush on for two years still pretended I wasn't there, looking through me as if I were a ghost. The spring and summer of 1968 have gone down in my mind as some of the worst days of my life.

In the novel, Faye grows up with a father who insists on mediocrity and humility. She develops panic attacks and a self-limiting perfectionism. Her boyfriend Henry freaks out when Faye steps out of the proscribed--and very Victorian-- ideal of womanhood. She escapes to a Chicago college, seeking a bigger life than what others have planned for her: contorting herself into the American housewife, the staid lover, a conformist to the lowest common denominator. The house nisse she'd encountered as a girl in her father's basement warned her that misfortune had been heaped on her father's head, and follows down generations. In Chicago, Faye falls into a series of unfortunate events that destroy her hopes and sends her back to the boy waiting for her--and a life she never wanted.

Samuel's quest for the mother brings understanding and empathy, and ultimately inspires him to offer the greatest sacrifice of love: letting his mother go again.

I will be buying a copy of this novel, just so I can underline and note my favorite parts. The character's journeys of self-realization offers pithy insights:

"What Faye won't understand and may never understand is that there is not one true self hidden by many false ones. Rather, there is one true self hidden by many other true ones." 

"What's true? What's false? In case you haven't noticed, the world has pretty much given up on the old Enlightenment idea of piecing together the truth based on observed data. Reality is too complicated and scary for that. Instead, it's way easier to ignore all the data that doesn't fit your preconceptions and believe all the data that does."

"Faye's opinion is that sometimes a crisis is not really a crisis at all--just a new beginning. Because one thing she's learned through all this is, that if a new beginning is really new, it will feel like a crisis. Any real change should make you feel, at first, afraid. If you're not afraid of it, then it's not real change."

Believe the hype. This first novel is a must-read.

The Nix
Nathan Hill
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 978-1-101-94661-9

Read about Nathan Hill's journey to writing of The Nix at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/books/nathan-hill-the-nix.html

The Whys and Hows of Classical Music

My interest in classical music began as an eight year old piano student, grew in my teen years as I listened to Mom's classical music LPs (a set bought weekly at the grocery store!), and spurred by several school trips to the symphony. My husband and I both love attending symphony concerts. But there is a lot I don't know.

In 2006 Dr. Robert A. Cutietta, Dean of the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, began his weekly radio segment Ask the Dean. Callers submitted questions about classical music, and Cutietta found the answers with the help of faculty and experts. Who Knew? Answers to Questions About Classical Music You Never Thought to Ask is a collection of some of the most interesting.

I learned much from this book. The book has a conversational writing style with a nice dose of humor.

140 Questions are arranged in topics:

• The Orchestra and How it Works
• The Maestro and Music Director
• Opera and the Diva
• The Composer
• The Performers
• The Instruments of the Orchestra
• The Music
• This and That

I read the book cover to cover, but one could also pick and choose topics to read. Some things I learned: it takes three hours to make an oboe reed; that Joshua Bell (the amazing violinist who we heard a few months ago with the DSO) once busked in the Washington D.C. Metro system earning $32 with only six people stopping to listen; why conductors use batons; and the science of harmonics. 

"All music is about something," Cutietta writes, taking listeners beyond words to universal human experiences. It is always changing as society changes. For those with some interest in classical music this book this book will add to your appreciation.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Who Knew?

by Robert Cutietta

Oxford University Press

Publication October 3, 2016

$16.95 paperback

ISBN: 9780190462543

You're Saying it Wrong!

When I saw the book You're Saying it Wrong!, subtitled, "A pronunciation guilde to the 150 most commonly mispronounced words and their tangled histories of misue," I knew it was meant for me.

I am going to memorize this book. I am one of those people who learned my vocabulary from reading, not from hearing the words spoken by the people around me, and consquently I don't know how to pronounce words I understand when I read.

Take chiaroscuro (kee-ahr-uh-SKYOOR-oh, according to You're Saying it Wrong!) I knew it referred to the effect of light and shadow in art, as seen in Rembrandt's The Night Watch. I had no idea how to say it.

I was particularly needed the page "How to Sound Well Read", because although I've read these writers I didn't know how to say J. K. Coetzee (j.m. koot-See-uh), Ta-Nehisi Coates (tah-nuh-HAH-see cotes), and Jonathan Lethem (JON-uh-thun LEETH-em).

But at least I know "How to Sound Like a Season Holder to the Symphony," perhaps because I HAVE BEEN a season ticket holder, and because radio announces know how to pronounce Antonin Dvorak (AHN-to-neen DVOR-zhahk) and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (PYAW-ter ihl-YICH chuh-KOFF-skee). 'Rayf" Vaughn Williams was in my pocket--but in "How to Sound Like You 're From Acorss the Pond" I learned that Ranulph is... 'ralph'.

I can now order at the Greek diner with confidence since I know gyro is 'YEE-roh'. Nor will I avoid ordering wine after learning how to say "reece-ling" and "PEE-noh nwar".

There has been a disagreement in America on pronouncing Iran (ee-RAHN) and Iran (ee-Rahk), and Dubai (du-BYE).

Included in the book are sayings that are often misspoken, like 'on tenterhooks', meaning a state of anxious suspense, which many people mistakenly call 'on tenderhooks'.

The authors, siblings Ross and Kathryn Petras, are both 'word nuts' and 'grammer pedants' who have appeared in newspapers, television news, radio shows, and magazines.

I need to get back to my memorization. I have to learn to say my virtual friend's name, Siobhan (shih-VAWN) in case we ever meet in real life.

I received a free book from the publisher through Blogging for Books in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

You're Saying it Wrong
Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
Ten Speed Press
ISBN 13 9780399578083

The Fictional 100: The World's Most Influential Literary Characters

Some fictional characters step off the page to become cultural icons.
In The Fictional 100: Ranking the Most Influential Characters in World Literature and Legend Lucy Pollard-Gott identifies the top 100 fictional characters based on their impact on history, the arts, their longevity, and inter-generational appeal.

Each character is presented with an epigraph in their own words, a synopsis of the story, an analysis of character, and a history of their reinterpretation over time in the media and the arts. The characters exclude any based on historical figures but do include legendary ones. They are culled from  literary traditions across time and the world.

Few people may still read R. L. Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but because the story has been made into movies, Jekyll/Hyde has become universally recognized. Jean Valjean of Les Miserables found fame in Le Miz but I doubt many of his fans ever read the Victor Hugo book with its long sections on French history.

Hamlet ranks as No. 1 on the list. Interpretation of Hamlet's character has fueled many a critical and psychological study, and actors and directors continue to bring their own slant. The play's influence is international; there is a huge Shakespeare following in Japan today. (World's Elsewhere by Andrew Dickson is about the Bard's international influence.)

Following Hamlet in the rankings are Odyssus (Ulysses), Don Quixote, Eve, Genji, Don Juan, Chia Pao-yu, and Sherlock Holmes.  Many readers will recognize most of these names. Chia Pao-yu, though, was new to me and reading the chapter offered me an education in Chinese literature. I learned that Dream of the Red Chamber was published in 1792 and addresses 'universal issues of the human heart' that are 'explored through the destiny of one fragile, enigmatic boy--Chia Pao-yu."

I enjoyed looking for my favorite characters and reading their essays. Another time I will decide to read about the characters from books I have not read, after which I expect some TBR books will appear on my wish list. This is a nice resource for a reader's library.

I received a free book from the author through a give-a-way. This does not influence my review.

Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson

I was intrigued by the Poetry for Kids premier title Emily Dickinson. Edited by Susan Snively and with colorwashed illustrations by Christine Davenier, the volume presents 35 of Dickinson's poems. The poems are grouped seasonally, starting with summer and ending with spring.

Poems include easily accessible favorites such as "A narrow fellow in the grass," "A bird came down the walk," and "I never saw a moor", the whimsical, and those celebrating nature.

Some selections surprised me. "He fumbles at your spirit" talks about "prepares your brittle substance/For the etheral blow" and "Deals with one imperial thunderbolt/That scalps your naked soul." It is the line 'scalps your naked soul' that makes the poem so forceful and wrenching. The commentary reads, "The poet captures the noisy music of a thunderstorm, as if trapped inside a huge piano. The sounds heightens the drama, until the thunderbolt delivers its mighty blow."

Poems dealing with darker feelings, like "There's a certain slant of light", and mortaility and death, including "Because I could not stop for death" and "Safe in their alabaster chambers," are poems that seem very serious for small children to tackle. In the publisher's note, Charles Nurnberg states that "the emotion and mood of poetry, even when it is almost too hard to understand, is so essentilal to undertanding the world around us." Thinking about this, I realize that learning about life through these beautiful poems allows children to gain understanding about difficult things they will encounter through personal experience and through the everpresent media.

Each poem includes word definitions and a brief commentary "What Emily Was Thinking." The forward includes a synopsis of the poet's life and publishing history.

The book is for children grades 3 through 7.

Upcoming titles will include Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

A word is dead
When it is said
Some say.
I saw it just
Begins to live
That day.
by Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson
Poetry for Kids series
Moon Dance Press
$14.95 hard cover
ISBN: 9781633221178

Mini Reviews: Beloved Animals

Pax by Sara Pennypacker is written for older elementary school readers. I thought it was 'Gary Paulson meets Watership Down" as it combined the elements of adventure and an intrepid boy and a story of the world seen through the eyes of a fox.

Peter's father is going to war and Peter cannot take his pet fox Pax to his grandfather's home. But after leaving Pax behind Peter's feelings of responsibility and deep connection drive him to return to find Pax. Peter's ardous journey teaches him about life; meanwhile Pax finds acceptance in the wild and learns to be in community.

Behind the sweet story lurks humanity's destruction of war. Peter finds help from a war wounded vet who teaches him to seek his own answers while she learns acceptence from Peter.

My son would have loved this book as a child. Peter's lessons of resilency and Pax's adaptation to the wild offers adventure and philosophy; it is also the heart warming story of love between two souls.

I read this book through Overdrive.

Sirius: A Novel About a Dog Who Changed History by Jonathan Crown is a alternate history fantasy/satire set during WWII.

Levin the terrier is an unusual dog who understands multiple languages. Under Hitler's regeim his family renames him Sirius to hide his 'Jewish' heritage. The family escapes Nazi Germany (with the help of Peter Lorre!) and land in Hollywood where Sirius is 'discovered' and becomes a cinema star known as Hercules. After hobnobbing with the stars Sirius is loaned to the Ringling Brothers Circus. By accident during a time machine act Sirius is confused with another dog---and ends up back in Berlin! He takes on the German persona of Hansi, soon the beloved pet of Herr Hitler himself, allowing Sirius to become the ultimate spy for the resistence.

Sirius is a wonderful character who will have you rooting for him all the way. The story is completely unbelieveable, hilarious, reading like a graphic novel or Hollywood Golden Age movie. Who would have thought that the Holocaust could be so much fun?

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Sirius
Jonathan Crown
Scribner
Publication Date October 4, 2016
$25 hard cover
ISBN: 9781501144998

Eugene Gochenour's Memoirs: Lives Cut Short

Continuing my sharing of Dad's memoirs, today's offering is his section he titled "Lives Cut Short," rather grim memories of young men who passed far too young.

"Smitty Aldrich lived at the Sheridan Park Housing Project during the 1940’s. When he was young he played high school football, and he hurt his leg during a game. He limped when he walked for the rest of his life. But Smitty loved sports, and he always found time to coach the project boys football team, and the girls baseball team.

"This photo shows the 1947 Sheridan Parkside football team. The names of the upper group are; Chuck Hark, Dick Tobin, Don Woods, and Dick Strickland. Those on the bottom group are; Bob Hark, Tom Murphy, Tom Woods, Herb Woodruff, Bob Willet, Ronnie Knowles, Harry Summerville, and Kenny Miles.

"Tragedy was to enter the lives of two of the team at an an early age.

"Don Woods was liked by everyone. He was handsome, a good athlete, and a natural leader. A few years after this photo was taken Don went into the U.S. Army. The United States was at war in Korea, and Don was sent there. He, along with over 30,000 other young Americans, died there. Such a sad ending for such a fine man.

[Found on Ancestry.com: "Corporal Wood was a member of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on August 27, 1951. Corporal Wood was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal." Corporal Wood is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Kenmore, NY.]

Don Wood's yearbook photo

"Harry Summerville was also on the 1947 Project football team. When he was younger, he was a member of the Boy Scout Troop I belonged to. The troop meetings were held at the Sheridan Parkside Administration Building. When Harry grew older, he bought a car, a 1935 Ford Coupe. One day Harry got into an accident and he was hurt so bad he almost died. When he came home from the hospital he was paralyzed and could not speak. Occasionally Harry’s father would bring Harry to the station. I felt so sad that I could no longer talk to my friend. Mr. Summerville decided to scrap Harry’s '35 Ford, and I bought the grill and other parts to install on my '35 Ford convertible since they were better than what I had on my car. Time passed, and eventually I lost track of what happened to Harry.

"Smitty Aldrich was older than the rest of us, and he worked for a construction company as an oiler. His job was to provide gas, oil, and lubrication for the equipment at the construction site. Construction work during the winter usually slow in those days, so Smitty would go on unemployment. Then he would spend part of the day sitting in the office of our service station talking to our customers, many of them being the young group that lived at the project.

[Smitt E. Aldrich appears on the 1940 Tonawanda, NY Federal Census with his mother Elizabeth and step-father George Balling; he was age 20 and worked as a stockeeper. He had three years of high school. The 1920 census shows Smith with his parents Smith and Elizabeth Aldrich living with Elizabeth's brother Henry Redman.]

"Ronnie Oates lived at the project, and came from a large family. I was In the Boy Scouts with his brother Harry Jr., and had worked on a construction job with his father. Like the rest of the family, he excelled in all sports. Ronnie was quiet and well liked. One day not long after he got his driver's license he stopped in at the station when Smitty was there. Like most young boys, Ronnie did not want to talk to others about his problems, but while talking to Smitty he told him about a lump he had on his groin. Smitty told him that he should go to see a doctor right away. Ronnie went, and the news was not good. He found out he had Hodgkins disease. Before long, Ronnie became very ill. One day I went to see Ronnie at his home to see if he would like to go with me boating on the Niagara River but his mother said he was not feeling very well. There was not a cure for Hodgkins disease in those days, and within a few months Ronnie died. Ronnie was greatly missed!

Dave Valetich

"Dave Valetich loved to play baseball, and he was very good. His father spent many hours throwing the ball and practicing with him. They lived at the project next to where my future wife, Joyce, and her family lived, and I often saw Dave and his father playing ball in their yard. I don’t know what disease Dave had, but he too never lived to become an adult because he too died, leaving a grieving family.

[Dave appears on the 1940 Federal Census in Kenmore, NY Census, age 7, living with his parents Sylvester and Helen.]

Dave Valetich's yearbook photo

"Mr. Shorten was a good customer at the station. He lived at the housing project and worked for a railroad company. He had four boys; one of them named Dick and I had been in the same troop in the Boy Scouts. Mr. Shorten’s other boys were Fred and Weldon, who were twins, and Bill, who was the youngest.

"Bill went to school, and after school, he worked at a horse riding stable. The stable was on Military Road, near the Tonawanda City line, about a half mile north of our station. The stable was owned by a short, powerfully built man named Jimmy Rhodes. One day when I was pumping gas, Bill walked by on his way to the stable. Bill’s father often came to the station with his boys and I had talked with them many times. When Bill came in with his father, we often kidded each other. So on this day, when Bill walked by, he hollered some smart remark, and I answered back, then he went on his way.

"The next day I heard he was found hanging from a rope at the stable where he worked. The police said it was suicide, but no one believed that. He had no problems at home or school, and he and his father had made plans to travel out west after school let out for the summer. Mr. Shorten said they could ride the train free, since he worked for the railroad. Mr. Shorten never believed Bill committed suicide. He said he thought Bill had walked into the stable and saw something he was not supposed to, and was strangled, then hung with a rope to make it look like a suicide. The police said they thought Bill made a noose playing around, then hung himself by mistake. After Bill’s death, Mr. Shorten would sit on the railroad track and watch what was going on at the stable. Not long after, Jimmy died and the stable closed."

[The 1940 Federal Census for Tonawanda, NY shows John and Catherine Shorten with twins Frederick and Welson, Richard, and William who was age 1. William was born in 1938 and died in 1954 age 15.]

"The picture at the right is of Fred Shorten, one of Bill’s twin brothers. It was taken at the housing project where they lived."