South Dakota Teach For America uses two books to help orient their new teachers to life and school on our American Indian reservations. Collected Wisdom is teachers' voices, and Seventh Generation: Native Students Speak About Finding the Good Path has students' stories. Both of these books have helped me understand on a small scale the struggle and the pain of life as an American Indian today. There is also great hope and wisdom here! The hope comes from promising practices like supporting and honoring native languages and customs. These are both rich resources for anyone working in schools in South Dakota, whether or not they are located on a reservation. Both books helped me understand why there is such an urgency about preserving the Lakota Language and culture.
I read these books in the Spring of 2008, and in the intervening years have verified that these are accurate and hopeful resources for anyone wanting to understand better what they see on reservations.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
At a Laramie boomers' reunion in October of 2010, Lona brought each of us a copy of this slim little book. She loved it and wanted to share it with us. As I read it, I understood why Lona loved it so. This homesteader is a lot like Lona! She's resourceful, brave, and a very hard worker.
I love the fact that these are a real woman's words describing her real experiences. It gave me a greater appreciation for all of my creature comforts! This woman was also incredibly brave and generous as she interacted with her neighbors and her harsh climate. In one chapter, "Among the Mormons," she encounters a polygamist group and the description is lamentable... It does give a glimpse, though into their lives and shows perhaps some of the reasons the practice was discontinued.
Here's an excerpt showing how this pioneer spent her days: "I have done most of my cooking at night, have milked seven cows every day, and have done all the hay-cutting, so you see I have been working. But I have found time to put up thirty pints of jelly and the same amount of jam for myself. I used wild fruits, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and cherries. I have almost two gallons of cherry butter, and I think it delicious... There was a tang of sage and of pine in the air, and our horse was midside deep in rabbitbrush, a shrub covered with flowers that look and smell like goldenrod. The blue distance promised many alluring adventures, so we went along singing and simply gulping in summer."
That description is SO Wyoming! It probably stood out for me, because after living ten years in Laramie, I knew what she meant about "gulping" in summer! It's entirely too short there, so you savor every moment. A truly joyous book, rich desciptions, and wonderful real people as characters. This is a treasure. I only wish she had written more letters so we'd have a deeper look at her life and thoughts.
I love the fact that these are a real woman's words describing her real experiences. It gave me a greater appreciation for all of my creature comforts! This woman was also incredibly brave and generous as she interacted with her neighbors and her harsh climate. In one chapter, "Among the Mormons," she encounters a polygamist group and the description is lamentable... It does give a glimpse, though into their lives and shows perhaps some of the reasons the practice was discontinued.
Here's an excerpt showing how this pioneer spent her days: "I have done most of my cooking at night, have milked seven cows every day, and have done all the hay-cutting, so you see I have been working. But I have found time to put up thirty pints of jelly and the same amount of jam for myself. I used wild fruits, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and cherries. I have almost two gallons of cherry butter, and I think it delicious... There was a tang of sage and of pine in the air, and our horse was midside deep in rabbitbrush, a shrub covered with flowers that look and smell like goldenrod. The blue distance promised many alluring adventures, so we went along singing and simply gulping in summer."
That description is SO Wyoming! It probably stood out for me, because after living ten years in Laramie, I knew what she meant about "gulping" in summer! It's entirely too short there, so you savor every moment. A truly joyous book, rich desciptions, and wonderful real people as characters. This is a treasure. I only wish she had written more letters so we'd have a deeper look at her life and thoughts.
Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo
I think someone in my Courage to Teach work recommended this book, and the title intrigued me. So during the Fall of 2010, I picked it up at the used bookstore here in town. Basically it's the story of an uptight man loosening up during a road trip with a Buddhist. I enjoyed the descriptions of some of the towns they went through, enjoyed the way Otto's character developed, and also valued how Rinpoche lived what he believed. There were amusing parts as their two worlds collided, and it made me think a lot about being open to the present moment. Not a great read, but okay.
Austenland by Shannon Hale
I am a big fan of Jane Austen! I lived several decades where I read Pride and Prejudice annually and loved it every single time. And each year as I grew older, I loved it and appreciated it more. I had also read some reviews of Shannon Hale's other books. I had heard she is LDS, and that piqued my interest. I ordered it used from Amazon.
The premise is rather unlikely...a young American woman is gifted with a several weeks-long reenactment of life during Austen's time on an estate in England. The lines between acting and "real life" become blurred, and several complicated romances ensue. I enjoyed the lightness of this book, and found the humor to be bright and fresh. But it somehow missed for me...too many weird plot turns, and characters that were somewhat flat. Still, it was enjoyable for the most part. I read it on the road during the Fall of 2010.
The premise is rather unlikely...a young American woman is gifted with a several weeks-long reenactment of life during Austen's time on an estate in England. The lines between acting and "real life" become blurred, and several complicated romances ensue. I enjoyed the lightness of this book, and found the humor to be bright and fresh. But it somehow missed for me...too many weird plot turns, and characters that were somewhat flat. Still, it was enjoyable for the most part. I read it on the road during the Fall of 2010.
French Dirt - The Story of a Garden in the South of France by Richard Goodman
Michael gave this lovely little French blue book with a sunny cover to Sierra, and she brought it over to me one day, thinking I would enjoy it. I did! It was the perfect summer read in 2010. The author took a year off of life in New York to spend it in southern France gardening.
It combines two things I love...France and gardening! The author has a knack for describing the French and assorted other characters and the little village in which they live. The chapters are more like meditations or essays rather than moving through a plot, although time and story do progress. He describes a way of life that resonates with me very strongly: "I was dirty. I was tired. I was sweaty. I was happy."
It combines two things I love...France and gardening! The author has a knack for describing the French and assorted other characters and the little village in which they live. The chapters are more like meditations or essays rather than moving through a plot, although time and story do progress. He describes a way of life that resonates with me very strongly: "I was dirty. I was tired. I was sweaty. I was happy."
Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
I gave Melissa Prodigal Summer for Christmas 2010, which she loved. I hoped she would! I read it about every other summer and enjoy it every time. This book set Melissa on a path of other Kingsolver work. So, she asked me if I would be interested in borrowing Lacuna when she was done with it. "Yes!" I said, enthusiastically. I eagerly started in...and, surprisingly, found it hard-going. It was hard on several levels. First of all, I wasn't sure I understood what was going on. The structure was hard to figure out. And what in the heck did "VB" mean? The sentences were short, yet very descriptive. It wasn't at all the usual lyrical Kingsolver I was used to. And yet occasionally, there were glimpses of insights that were powerful. So I soldiered on.
About two weeks after she lent it to me, Lu asked how I liked it. I said I found it kind of depressing! I didn't enjoy the setting at all, found it all a little cryptic, and was surprised at how I wasn't loving it. I was determined to stay with it, though, and she agreed I should. She liked the setting...the craziness of Mexico and life with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera...I found it weird and couldn't relate at all. I was half-way through the book and still wondered if I would ever like it.
Then, about the time Violet Brown entered the scene, it all changed for me. The descriptions came alive and I fell in love with the characters. Something about Harrison Shepherd had grown on me...his utter humility and poverty of advantages. The second half of the book, I savored. Since most of it is written in Shepherd's voice, it was dawning on me how "his" writing and personality were developing over the course of the novel. I marveled at Kingsolver's subtlety! I also grew to love and appreciate the characters of Kahlo and Trotsky. Amazing how these are portrayed and would often cause me to laugh out loud or shed tears. The conversations were truly wonderful to read. It also makes me want to study Rivera's and Kahlo's art...
Other amazing things about this book are the way she teaches history...the level of detail and research that went into this are incredible. And how did she capture the mind and heart of a gay man in such a sympathetic, understanding, and heart-wrenching way? And how did she ever capture the patter of Tom Cuddy, the hep cat??? The closing years of this epic overlap with the year of my birth. It's crazy to read of the political realities that were extant in that era--the witch-hunting of Communists. Kingsolver brings this despicable chapter in our history into reality in a very painful way. Americans being unamerican and all that meant. I will definitely reread this book, and probably enjoy the first half more, now that I know what is going on. The structure is so unique...part diary, part letters, part editor additions...
A sampling:
Violet Brown: "It's true I lost a husband in the flood of the French Broad River in '16, Freddy Brown, and that broke a young girl's heart. But this was worse. My heart had grown older, with more in it to break. I can't put words to that afternoon. He would know words for the feelings I bore, but I only knew the feelings."
"Memories do not always soften with time; some grow edges like knives."
There is a whole deeper level of understanding one would get from the humor and pathos if one understood Spanish. There's plenty in the book; not all of it translated. That is a layer that eludes me. An evocative book.
Read in February 2011
About two weeks after she lent it to me, Lu asked how I liked it. I said I found it kind of depressing! I didn't enjoy the setting at all, found it all a little cryptic, and was surprised at how I wasn't loving it. I was determined to stay with it, though, and she agreed I should. She liked the setting...the craziness of Mexico and life with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera...I found it weird and couldn't relate at all. I was half-way through the book and still wondered if I would ever like it.
Then, about the time Violet Brown entered the scene, it all changed for me. The descriptions came alive and I fell in love with the characters. Something about Harrison Shepherd had grown on me...his utter humility and poverty of advantages. The second half of the book, I savored. Since most of it is written in Shepherd's voice, it was dawning on me how "his" writing and personality were developing over the course of the novel. I marveled at Kingsolver's subtlety! I also grew to love and appreciate the characters of Kahlo and Trotsky. Amazing how these are portrayed and would often cause me to laugh out loud or shed tears. The conversations were truly wonderful to read. It also makes me want to study Rivera's and Kahlo's art...
Other amazing things about this book are the way she teaches history...the level of detail and research that went into this are incredible. And how did she capture the mind and heart of a gay man in such a sympathetic, understanding, and heart-wrenching way? And how did she ever capture the patter of Tom Cuddy, the hep cat??? The closing years of this epic overlap with the year of my birth. It's crazy to read of the political realities that were extant in that era--the witch-hunting of Communists. Kingsolver brings this despicable chapter in our history into reality in a very painful way. Americans being unamerican and all that meant. I will definitely reread this book, and probably enjoy the first half more, now that I know what is going on. The structure is so unique...part diary, part letters, part editor additions...
A sampling:
Violet Brown: "It's true I lost a husband in the flood of the French Broad River in '16, Freddy Brown, and that broke a young girl's heart. But this was worse. My heart had grown older, with more in it to break. I can't put words to that afternoon. He would know words for the feelings I bore, but I only knew the feelings."
"Memories do not always soften with time; some grow edges like knives."
There is a whole deeper level of understanding one would get from the humor and pathos if one understood Spanish. There's plenty in the book; not all of it translated. That is a layer that eludes me. An evocative book.
Read in February 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
War Dances by Sherman Alexie
This is my second Sherman Alexie book and it wasn't as good as my first (Absolutely True Diary etc). These are loosely connected essays rather than a novel, which is what I was expecting. Some typically great Alexie humor and insights here...but not real engaging or compelling. Too bad! Luckily, I didn't buy it! I picked it up off a "free" table when Len and I were walking around a hotel in Kauai! So I read it on the plane on the way home...January 2011
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