Laura & Emma by Kate Greathead

Laura & Emma by Kate Greathead follows the relationship between mothers and daughters, told in vignettes against the changing times between 1980 and 1995. It is a comedy of manners novel with loads of laugh out loud moments.

Laura comes from a wealthy New York City family descended from a Robber Baron whose inherited wealth supports her. She has a degree in English and a job through the family. She envies self-made people.

Laura has never been in love. Her mother's favorite saying is that it doesn't matter who you marry--you will end up thinking, "Anything would be better than this!"

The book begins with Laura pondering that a husband would be nice to have around the apartment if the window were swollen or the fire detector battery needed replacing. She wouldn't have to wait until morning to call the super.

She dresses in Fry boots and a flowered Laura Ashley skirt and turtleneck sweater--a uniform she wears all of her life. (I had those fry boots and made a Ralph Lauren full skirt. Unlike Laura, they went to the Goodwill long before the 1980s were over!) She has no intention of having children, no interest in marrying. She is concerned about the environment. She has The Enchanted Broccoli Forest and Moosewood cookbooks but rarely cooks.

In 1980 while her parents are away, she stays at their home for a week. She is surprised that a man is also staying there. She assumes he is a friend of her brothers, and he does tell her stories of their time together in boarding school. Before the week is out, he charms her into bed with him. The next day he is gone.

He was not a friend of her brother's but a house-crashing burglar. The one-night stand leaves her pregnant. Laura makes up a story of artificial insemination with donated Swedish sperm. Emma is born, and Laura does her best as a mother, hoping to give Emma a life different from hers, apart from artificial high society values. She finds an apartment on the border of Harlem--but on the 'right side' of the street.

I laughed out loud so many times. Laura goes on a date and notices the man has earrings. She decides they aren't meant to be, but the earrings turn out to be his daughter's stickers.

Laura's friend Margaret explains she has joined "the club", seeing a "shrink." After years of marriage, she sometimes looks at her sleeping husband, whose snoring keeps her awake, and thinks that it is a good thing she didn't have a gun in her bedside table.

Don't worry, things turn out fine for the marriage. But what a clever scene to talk about the idea that "it doesn't matter who you marry, one day you'll be sitting across the table from him, thinking, Anything would be better than this." I'm pretty sure husbands think the same thing about wives. I'll ask mine the next time I am wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt to keep warm--my Oompa Loompa look according to him.

The book was promoted in terms of, "if you liked Ladybird or Gilmore Girls." Gilmore Girls included a single mom at odds with her wealthy parents, and Ladybird showed a teenager wanting the freedom to find her own way. The themes are similar.

We learn about Laura by her actions and passivity. She is the least self-aware character imaginable. Her inner conflicts are hinted at without an overt authorial voice. We make connections about Laura by implication.

Emma, on the other hand, is sharp as a tack. As a preschooler she asks Laura why they don't live "in their neighborhood," that is where their friends and stores are.

I know readers who do not like this book because 1) it is episodic, without a strong linear plot; 2) it is character-driven without a lot of inner dialogue; and, 3) it is open-ended.

But I enjoyed it. I love a good comedy of manners. Laura's inability to deal with adult intimate relationships, Emma's zeroing in on the inconsistencies of their lives, and the gaps between mothers and daughters all feel real.

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

Laura & Emma
by Kate Greathead
Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: March 13, 2018
$25 hardcover
ISBN: 9781501182402

Waking Lions: The Complexity of Our Choices

While driving in the desert at night, distracted by the most beautiful moon he has ever seen, Dr. Eitan Green hits a man. A brain surgeon, he knows the man will not live. He makes the decision to drive on, leaving the dying man. He won't risk his career by reporting the accident.

He does not know he left behind a clue or that the dying man's wife Sirkit witnessed the accident. She blackmails the doctor: he will spend his nights at a makeshift clinic caring for her fellow Eritrean refugees.

A man who prefers to live in order, who shuns the blood and shit of human frailty, the doctor is thrust into the dirty, ugly side of life. But as he works with the tall, proud woman, he comes to admire her skill and to secretly lust for her.

Dr. Green's wife is a detective on the case of the hit-and-run victim. She struggles with her husband's absence, sure he is not cheating on her, yet sensing something is not right.

Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, beautifully translated from the Hebrew by Sondra Silverston, is a remarkable novel that probes the complexity of our moral choices. People do bad things or good things, for bad reasons or good ones, culminating in earned or unearned outcomes. It is about power shifts, the prejudice between Israelis, Bedouins, and African Eritreans, the refugee experience, the mystery of never really knowing one another, and how the privileged class can turn away from the uncomfortable and live in a sterile world of their own making.

The story is told by an omniscient narrator who knows the thoughts of the characters, without dialogue. Twists create an unexpectedly propulsive, action plot line. It is a memorable novel.

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

Waking Lions
Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
Little, Brown, and Company
$9.99 paperback
ISBN: 9780316395403

Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss and the Fight for Trans Equality

"I'm twenty-four, transgender, and a widow...that's a lot for someone in this society to handle." Sarah McBride

In Tomorrow Will Be Different, Sarah McBride shares her personal story as inspiration and to put a face on what it is to be transgender.

Imagine being unable to go into a public restroom in North Carolina without breaking the law. Imagine being unable to change your sex on your state ID, or being unable to keep a job or find housing. Imagine being vilified, ostracized, beaten up, an object of fear.

Nearly fifty years ago my husband 's father's best friend disowned his son when he became a woman. Over the years I heard snippets of the story, how as a child their son loved to play dolls and dress up with his older sisters, how blame was assigned for causing their son's 'problem', the resulting divorce and alienation.

In the 1990s my husband was approached by a teen from his church, an unhappy and angry child. Some thought she was presenting 'butch' because she was not conventionally pretty, assuming she was a 'pretend lesbian'. My husband affirmed her, but the support she needed from the community was not there. She changed her name and moved away. Today I know he was transgender, and I see on his Facebook page a happy, confident, burly guy with a successful career and a sparkle in his eye. I am so happy for him.

I wanted to read Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride because I had seen her on television and knew she was an intelligent and lovely person. And I wanted to better understand her experience and the work toward equality for all persons.

The book's preface by Joe Biden is a must read. I recently read his Promise Me, Dad and I heard the same compassion and love in this preface.

McBride was fascinated by American politics since childhood. Meeting Joe Biden was an unforgettable moment. She interned on Beau Biden's first race. McBride was fifteen when she introduced Jack Markell at the launch for his 2006 race for reelection as state treasurer, and at age eighteen when he ran for governor.

During these years, McBride outwardly conformed to the gender role socially acceptable, presenting masculine and even dating. She did not want to let anyone down. But she was miserable.

McBride ran for student president at college to great success and was very popular and led a push to end gender exclusive housing.  In her junior year, with great trepidation, McBride announced being transsexual.

She describes the scene when she came out to her family, her mother in tears. McBride had a gay brother, and her other brother tried to break the ice by announcing, "I'm heterosexual." In a heartwarming scene, McBride tells her fraternity brothers, who enveloped her in an embrace. Beau Biden called her to offer his love and support, as did Joe Biden. The Biden family confirmed her belief that there are still good people in politics.

McBride repeats how lucky and privileged she has been, knowing that most trans persons lack a support system and her advantages. Throughout the book, she shares the devastating statistics behind the transgender experience: high rates of suicide; verbal harassment and physical assault in public restrooms; legal exemptions that allow discrimination; inability to find housing or keep a job.

McBride met the love of her life, Andy, who was a few years older and also trans. Tragedy struck when Andy was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery and treatment with McBride providing care and support.

I can't imagine the burden of being twenty-three and watching your beloved struggle with a terminal illness. Both my parents died of cancer, and I was at my Dad's side in the hospital for over two months. My heart broke as I read McBride's story.

Trans rights advanced under President Obama,  then 2016 saw the election of President Trump and Vice President Pence. The gains for equality under the law are being threatened. But McBride has found hope in the young people of our country, those who have been accepted as children for who they are, and who assume that the doors are open to them.

I pray it is so.

I received a free ebook from First to Read in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality
Sarah McBride

Jingle Bell Jack, a 1955 Yo-Yo Clown Doll

I remember Ding Dong School on television. And I remember owning this book when I was a girl. What I don't remember is ever making or having a yo-yo doll. Every girl had a yo-yo doll and a sock monkey, and I wanted them, too.

This Rand McNally book dates from 1955. It tells the story of a girl who loved the circus clown she had seen, who had been wearing bells. Her mother shows the girl how to make her own circus clown, a yo-yo doll with bells.

Yo-yos are very simple to make. Circles are cut from fabric scraps. A basting thread is sewn along the edge so that when the thread is drawn the fabric forms a circle.

I found a tutorial online at
http://sunshinescreations.vintagethreads.com/2006/10/how-to-make-yo-yo-friend.html

The yo-yo circles are sewn together with a heavier thread to make the arms and legs of the doll.

 At the end of each unit is a bell. The head, collar, and a hat is added.

 The girl has her own clown with bells, Jingle Bell Jack.

A quick search online shows various ways of making the clown's face. In the book, the girl uses crayons to add the features. Many dolls have premade plastic faces. The tutorial shows how to make the head with fabric.

I found this copy of Jingle Bell Jack at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market from Acron Books. The owner, Jim Deak, told me a story about Miss Frances--Dr. Frances R. Horwich--whose program I watched as a preschooler. The Ding Dong School program was never expected to succeed, and when it took off Miss Frances was asked to turn it into an hour-long show. She said children should not be watching that much television! Then she was pressured to allow advertising for a BB gun, which she declined to do. She resigned over this issue, but her resignation was not accepted.

Miss Frances paved the way for children's television programming that was educational while considering the needs of children, including Mr. Rogers.

You can see an episode of Ding Dong School in which Miss Frances turns a handkerchief into a bunny on Youtube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad6UxxL4yi8

***See the Jingle Bell Jack I later found at a flea market! I finally have my doll!
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2018/03/jingle-bell-jack-comes-to-my-house.html

First Ladies of the Republic: Creating a Democratic Style

I began reading about the First Ladies while designing my quilt Remember the Ladies. I have read many biographies and general books on these amazing women.

The wives of our presidents are not elected. They have no job description. Some come to the White House unwillingly, although some did push their spouse into office. They face the deepest public scrutiny and share with their husbands both fame and criticism.

The first First Ladies had the hardest (unpaid) job: everything about the office of the presidency had to be invented. And a lot of it fell on the ladies, for they handled the social networking. If the president and his lady appeared to ape European courtly traditions they were accused of being monarchists and anti-Democratic. But we could not appear to be backwoods rubes to the foreign ambassadors, either.

First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role by Jeanne E. Abrams shows how these women responded to the challenge of creating a Democratic social style for the presidency.

Martha and George Washington were revered figures when George became the first president. Don't think they were exempt from criticism! The political in-fighting and party politics started up right away. Like many presidential couples, the Washington's personalities balanced each other. George could be stiff, but Martha was beloved by everyone, America's sweetheart-- "the mother of our country."

As the wife of the first Vice President, Abigail Adams became very close to Martha. When John Adams became president, Abigail followed Martha's pared-down, understated formality. Abigail was a very different personality, of the highest intelligence and not afraid to speak her mind. She was an important sounding board for John. Frail health plagued her and when her health required her to retire to the Adam's home in Quincy, John sorely missed her counsel.

Thomas Jefferson's wife had tragically died during the war after she fled from their plantation shortly after giving birth. His daughter Patsy sometimes played hostess. Sometimes his Secretary of State's wife Dolley Madison stepped in. Jefferson downplayed his elegant and sophisticated taste with a forceful display of anti-elitism, welcoming guests in bedroom slippers.

With the intellectual James Madison's election, his younger wife Dolley Madison took the capital by storm. A brilliant extrovert with a high social IQ, she notched the style up a few ratchets. Her 'squeezes' included all of Washington, bringing together political enemies, men and women. Dolley had high style, refined and dignified but with real bling. Well, she wore pearls instead of diamonds, so we give her that. When Dolley died her funeral rivaled that of George Washington's!

Each woman advanced the role of First Lady, politically for their influence on the president and their ability to tweak the granting of political office, and by promoting causes. All three valued the traditional role of women but also understood that it was women who determined social manners.

This book is a nice introduction to these ladies and their influence.

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

First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role
by Jeanne E. Abrams
NYU Press
Pub Date: 06 Mar 2018
ISBN: 9781479886531
Hardcover $28.95

Remember the Ladies: The President's Wives in Redwork
by Nancy A. Bekofske

Remember the Ladies from Quilts Presidential and Patriotic
by Susan Reich

Flower Handkerchiefs for Spring

While we are eagerly waiting for spring to come to Michigan, we are planning to expand our flower garden. The daffodils are coming up already. The tulips were all eaten by the squirrels, but we will soon see the crocus and hyacinth sprouting.

In the meantime, I thought I would share some of the floral handkerchiefs from my collection.

This caladium isn't a flower but the colors are amazing!

 After the flowers bloom, the butterflies will come.

I can't wait until we can enjoy the lovely flowers of summer!

Works in Progress and Books On the Table

I received two new review books in the mail today. From Blogging for Books, my choice was Patriot Number One American Dreams in Chinatown by Lauren Hilgers. A Goodreads friend's review prompted my interest in this book about a family of Chinese immigrants.

I won Gayle Forman's I Have Lost My Way from Bookish. I read an excerpt and wrote an impression review to enter to win. This will be my first read by this author.

I used a discount coupon from Simon and Schuster to purchase Janesville by Amy Goldstein. It is a study of the effect on the community after the closing of a GM plant.

I am reading too many books right now:

• An American Quilt by Rachel May, the secret history behind a hexagon 1830s quilt from Edelweiss
• Fun scrap quilt patterns in Oh, Scrap by Lissa Alexander, from Edelweiss
• Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride, the story of transgender rights, from NetGalley
• Gateway to the Moon by Mary Morris, about a family's forgotten Jewish diaspora roots dating to the 16th c, from NetGalley
• Erica Robuck's satire #Hockeystrong, a Kindle purchase
• A new translation of The Canterbury Tales, a Goodreads win
• High Noon in Hollywood by Warren Adler, an ebook from the publisher

On my TBR NetGalley shelf:

• Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
• The River by Starlight by Ellen Notbohm
• Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper whose 2015 novel Etta and Otto and Russell and James was a favorite of mine
• The Mercy Seat by Elizabeth H. Winthrop
• Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt
• Limelight by Amy Poeppel

And lots of reviews are scheduled for the coming months:

• First Ladies of the Republic by Jeanne E. Abrams considers how the early president's wives created their role
• Laura & Emma by Kate Greathead--a funny comedy of manners novel on mothers and daughters
• The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman--I loved this book about the world of art 
• The Italian Party by Christina Lynch--American newlyweds with secrets, set in 1950s Italy
• Whistler's Mother delves into the personal life of the woman behind the iconic painting
• Southern Quilts by Mary Kerr explores the rich heritage of Southern quiltings
• Maria in the Moon by Louise Beech
• The Opposite of Hate by Sally Kohn--a probing look at why we hate and how to overcome it
• After Anna by Lisa Scottoline, an engaging courtroom drama
• West by Carys Davies, a lyrical historical fiction novel
• The Right To Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloudier--fighting to preserve the Inuit culture
• Journeys: An American Story, 73 essays on the immigrant experience 
• The amazing civil rights leader Pauli Murray's autobiography
• Circe by Madeline Miller--the Greek myths are revisited in a mesmerizing novel

I made new yellow curtains for the bedroom, so of course, I need to make a matching quilt. The curtain fabric is a rose print in yellow and gray. I decided to make a rose sampler applique quilt in the same colors. Here are the blocks I have finished already.

What are you working on? What books are on your table?