The Last Wildspeaker by Ivy Rowan, The Weight of Sunshine by Robin Maguire, The North Doesn't Speak by Clifton Wilcox, and A Duchess With a Secret by Alix Nichols

The Last Wildspeaker by Ivy Rowan 

The Last Wildspeaker is a beguiling YA Fantasy novella with a meaningful subtext about preserving and respecting nature and the environment.

In the village of Brindlewood, Mara Fern can understand animals. While that used to be considered a gift, now it's considered unlucky and could be grounds for accusations of witchcraft. Mara is told to ignore animals’ conversations and to live as normally as possible. This normal front is tested when nature has decided that it will not be ignored. Various animals hint that damaging changes are coming. It comes in the form of the Briarthing, a vine-like plant creature that crowds the forest and nearby village and holds forest spirit Elderhorn in its stems. Mara has to use the powers that she suppressed and retreat into the woods outside her village with companions, Sable, a fox, Hoot, an owl, Corbie, a raven, and Turnip, a goat to find out the root (pun not intended) of this problem.

Any book that explores nature is bound to have a strong grip on setting and this book is no exception. It carries a deep respect for nature through the character interactions and the important prominence of plants and animals to the narrative. When Mara hears the conversations of animals, she realizes that they have human arguments, frailties, and vulnerabilities making them a part of the society around them.

Much of the humor derives from these animal conversations. A squirrel insists on territorial rights for his acorns. Turnip the goat brags about how delicious that he finds the mayor’s declarations are (since he’s a goat that’s not metaphorical). A cat critiques his human’s fashion sense. Chickens argue incessantly. A dog just wants biscuits. 

These conversations could come from humans surrounding her and that’s the point. Animals just want someone to listen to them and take their concerns into consideration. Just because they serve as workers, food, predators, prey, or companions to humans doesn’t mean that they don’t have opinions on how humans run things. 

Mara’s time with her animal companions is the highlight of the book as each character is fleshed out. Turnip is a lazy obstinate goat whose sarcastic barbs and “whatever” attitude provide much of the humor. Corbie the raven insists that he’s a prince and is a complete narcissist who has particular views about his plumage, nest, titles, and self-importance. 

Hoot the owl is, like many owl characters in fiction, very wise but his knowledge is tempered with memory lapses that sometimes result in important information being delayed while he tries to remember it. Sable the fox is a charismatic and courageous team leader but is trying to live up to the very large luminous shadow held by his god-like adopted father, Elderhorn who needs to be rescued. 

At the center is Mara who is now thrown into a situation in which the abilities that she once suppressed are now the keys to saving her village. She is overwhelmed by nature’s chatter but realizes her importance as the current bridge between the village and the forest to find out what is affecting both locations and what must be done,

Not just the animals but plants are affected as well. The Briarthing creeps into the village  and crowds those around them leaving a terrifying and sorrowful presence. Mara investigates the presence and learns exactly what caused this disturbance. She learns that human arrogance and error created their own monsters and now are choking under the consequences. 

It’s not hard to recognize this story as a metaphor for climate change and human-caused destruction towards nature followed by natural disasters as though they were from a planet fighting back.Sometimes the theme is a bit on the nose. 

But it is also easy to see that Mara is supposed to represent us, those who are charged with hearing, listening to, and cooperating with nature to find the solutions that will rescue and benefit all of us. 

 

The Weight of Sunshine by Robin Maguire 

The Weight of Sunshine by Roban Maquire is a deeply poignant and affecting Contemporary Fiction novel about a love story. Oh not a romantic one between lovers. Instead the love story focuses on a long lasting mostly platonic friendship between a man and a woman.

Jackson “Jax” Hart and Nina Welbourne-Rhodes, both from privileged backgrounds, meet in college and maintain a long friendship. Despite debating whether straight men and women can ever be friends and giving into their impulses a few times, the friendship remains constant. Through marriages, job changes, relocations, children, and other massive life changes, Jax and Nina remain constant steadfast presences in one another’s lives.

This is the type of novel that is filled with interesting characters with Nina and Jax as the most developed and fully realized. They have similar backgrounds of wealth and privilege. The type of upbringing where they were born at the finish line and their family names carry a lot of weight. It’s a background that is rich in material goods and economic advantages, but not so in personal experience or individual agency.

 Nina in particular struggles with this as she purposely goes to a different college than intended, chooses an unplanned career trajectory, and lives like other students. It’s somewhat performative as she still retains contact with her family as a family emergency shows and if she gets tired of living a frugal life, she can always go home. But, the fact that she even makes this decision shows a resilient independent need to make her way in the world her own way. 

Jax also shows resilience during his marriage to Penny, a bright but troubled woman. He endures his personal misery while also helping his brother and his friends like Nina with their problems. He is a steady rock for other characters even as his own personal life crumbles. 

In fact it is Nina’s independence and Jax’s endurance that attracts them to each other and keeps their friendship alive. During their reunions, they have insightful conversations about love, life, and death. Their witty dry humor bounces off each other as they are faced with youthful philosophy and adult practicality. 

The book loses its luster during the half-way point when what started out as a platonic friendship becomes predictably romantic. There are some decent moments after this. They continue to support each other. They shine as a duo just as much as individuals, but the set up of a platonic friendship is lost. In trying to prove the point whether a heterosexual man and woman could be platonic friends, it deconstructs it by saying that they can’t because sex, love, and family always inevitably get in the way.

The North Doesn't Speak by Clifton Wilcox 

This is a summary. The entire review is on Reader Views.

The North Doesn't Speak by Clifton Wilcox is a meaningful and chilling historical fiction about the escape to freedom and what such words like “North” and “freedom” meant for slaves in the Antebellum South in the United States.

Elijah and Lila are among the various slaves that reside on a wealthy plantation. They have heard about many escaping and heading North despite the Fugitive Slave Act which requires slaves to be caught and returned to their previous owners. It sounds hard to believe, but Elijah is willing to take that risk and inspires Lilah. They make plans to escape despite capture, abuse, threats, and betrayal. It isn't just a manner of outrunning their captors, but also outfighting, outwitting, outlasting, and outsmarting them as well.

This book focuses on the parts that many other similar books gloss over or hand wave: how difficult it is to even think about escaping. Many of the characters argue whether escape is even possible. Elijah inspires Lilah and compels her to leave her cruel mistress behind. Other characters prefer the safety of the known surroundings over the fear of the unknown that going north would bring.

Besides talking about running to freedom, there are also moments when characters have to seek the opportunity. Both Lilah and Elijah weigh various risks like searching for the right time and date to disappear and whether they should go alone or together.

Besides conversations and strategy, the characters are hit with treachery and not solely from their masters. That's where Samuel comes in, a fellow slave and an opportunist comes in. He listens in on conversations that hint at escape and manipulates other slaves to report back to him. He is a truly insidious character who is motivated by his own self-interest and preservation. In his drive to survive the monstrous institution, he becomes the monster that the white slave-holding society created.

In focusing on the time before the escape and not as much on the escape itself or answering definite questions over whether it was a success, Wilcox highlights how important it is to leave such oppression. The book reminds us that the road to freedom is painful and dangerous but ultimately worth it.

A Duchess With a Secret (The Montevor Royals Saga) by Alix Nichols 

This is a summary. The entire review is on LitPick. 

A Duchess With a Secret is a halfway decent contemporary romance with an old fashioned historical feel. However, it runs far too long, gets too repetitive, and doesn't accomplish much in the way of deep characters, vibrant setting, or an interesting plot.

Eva Castellane’s daughter, Millie is set to become the Duchess of the fictional country of Rohinn. Eva is prepared to help the 14 year old claim her birthright and advise her to make the transition to leadership run smoothly. Unfortunately, Alex, Eva’s late husband's half brother also has a claim to the title and is prepared to challenge Eva and Millie for it. Eva and Alex’s rivalry turns into a romance just as Eva's history compromises Millie’s ascension before it even starts.

The central conflict between lovers-to-be Alex and Eva is a composite of historical power struggles for leadership and Regency Era enemies to lovers tension. It is verbose, witty, and has its share of dramatic moments. 

Much of the trauma is revealed as Eva discusses her troubled marriage which was quite different from what the public saw. She also reveals a private medical struggle that affects her family and the genetic complications that it can cause for future generations. 

There are moments both individually and as a couple in which Alex and Eva reveal more developed sides. They work stronger together than apart. When they get along, they have great ideas and could decently lead Rohinn as a duo. 

The book plays into the “Enemies-to-Lovers” trope but resolves it early before the characters recognize it. Once realized there isn't anywhere else for the book to go. The plot goes around in circles with the same arguments and conflicts. Once they see the resolution, they get back in the game and show those leadership skills that will guide Millie and Rohinn effectively.

Nostalgy by Miguel Vandenburgh; The Pleasure, Peculiarity, and Puzzle of the Past

 Nostalgy by Miguel Vandenburgh; The Pleasure, Peculiarity, and Puzzle of the Past

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

This review can also be found on Reedsy Discovery.

Spoilers: Nostalgia is a difficult psychological trap to fall into. It captures memories with a positive filter. It emphasizes good times and down plays sadness. It ignores that those good times weren't shared by everyone. It changes pop culture touchstones from irritating fads and sources of cringe to gold standards beyond criticism. 

Nostalgia forces people to idealize and live in the past and ignore the present in front of them. It creates a false past that has more to do with pop culture and filtered memories than reality. This trap can be found in Miguel Vandenburgh’s novel, Nostalgy.

Alejandro is a businessman who emigrated from his native Spain to Los Angeles and is on a fast track to professional success and personal misery. He hates the commute, hates this overwhelmingly loud American city, and while he is good at his job, he lacks the passion or interest in it. His thoughts often drift to old friends, past loves, and youthful adventures to the point that he can barely function at work or at home. His boss notices his depressed behavior and grants him a sabbatical. Alejandro takes the opportunity to fly back to Spain and visit his childhood home, family, old friends, and lost loves. Maybe he can find the boy that he used to be.

Nostalgy is not concerned with what it's about or who it's about but it is concerned with how it feels. Alejandro’s journey captures the mind and emotions with thoughtful evocative passages and situations that challenge the concepts of memory and reality.

In Los Angeles, Alejandro is in a constant state of stasis and inertia. Alejandro lives in the present but his mind is elsewhere. He has a good job, lives in a nice neighborhood, has friends and romantic relationships but it's all surface. He contributes to the bare minimum of his job, commute, and current friendships and relationships. Everyone else moves in the present, while he is mentally standing still in the past.

 Everyone around him moves at great speed, lives in bright colors, and loudly proclaims their emotions. Alejandro lives in a world of muted grays, silence, lumbering movements, detachment, and no emotional connection.

When Alejandro returns to Spain is when he starts recognizing color and movement. He sees the blue skies and sun’s reflections, the other commuters and travelers, and the intense euphoria that one gets when they are beginning a quest. In Alejandro's case, it's a quest to come face to face with his past.

When Alejandro returns to his Spanish hometown, he sees that it has changed. He sees more people, different buildings, companies that have franchises there that didn't exist before. He is like many whose minds are captured by the hometown of their youth and expected it to remain the same.

 They expect the landscape photographs in their mind to be unaltered but a real place isn't like a photograph. It can't and won't stay in one place forever. People move in, businesses create jobs, houses are built. The world cannot and will not remain stagnant no matter how much we want it to.

This also applies to people. Alejandro has a lovely reunion with a boyhood friend, Felix. The two walk around old haunts, live recklessly, play pranks and share intimate secrets about their past. It is like a grand adventure that is reborn decades after the last one they went on. The reunion gives Alejandro a brief moment of unbridled joy but it is only temporary.

For Alejandro the reunion with Felix is part of the goal, the answer to find out why he is stuck and whether he can find happiness. Felix however looks on it as a vacation or temporary reprieve. It's a stress reliever from his life as a single parent. He has fun then he returns. 

It doesn't have the same emotional impact for him because life didn't stop for him. Felix worked, got with someone, fathered children, and now has adult responsibilities. Alejandro has them too but life stopped in his youth. He can't mentally separate the boy that he used to be from the man that he is. It's a sad existence for him to always look forward and not back.

He also finds that sadness in other places and people as well. His father, once a proud strong man, is now weakened and made vulnerable by the natural process of age. Alejandro reunites with an old girlfriend who is pleased to see him but sets him straight by asking what he expected when coming. Did he really think that she would stay the same age and have the same personality forever? She also corrects him on many of the details reminding him that his memories are imperfect and were less how they actually were than how he wanted them to be.

Nostalgy is similar to the Twilight Zone episode “Walking Distance.” In it, a burned out executive (Gig Young) returns to his childhood home exactly as it was. He has traveled backwards in time and sees his younger self and his parents. When his younger self is frightened and then injured himself the man mournfully tells the boy that there won't be any cotton candy, merry go rounds, band concerts and no pleasant memories in adulthood. His father realizes that he is in the presence of his son as an adult. He tells him to go back to his old home and his real time. “There is only one summer per customer,” and to let his younger self have his. The most important crucial information that he tells him is to look around when he gets home. He might find cotton candy, merry go rounds, and band concerts. He just hasn't been looking hard enough.

When people live inside their nostalgia, they only recall the days of their youth with optimism and pleasure. They deify the music, shows, books, fashion, news, and movies of their past without really living within them. Mentally and emotionally they are frozen in that space. 

Nostalgy suggests that there is nothing wrong with those memories or those items. They made us who we are and they serve as temporary time machines. However, we can become trapped in our past and close the present and future around us. That is what Alejandro shows, someone who can't move forward because he is frozen by facing backwards. 

Living only in our youth causes us to miss the beauty and wonder around us now. A beautiful sunset. A song that speaks to us. A fictional character that says what we are thinking. A job that encourages our talent. Finding the perfect partner. The birth of a child. Our forever home and sacred space. The advances that have been made allow us to learn, live, and enjoy life on a larger scale. The voices are finally heard and listened to when they used to be forced to recede somewhere in the background. Even when things are at their hardest, there is always something to learn, enjoy, take pride in, experience, and love.

You can't go home to the past again but you can experience the world around you and find your own cotton candy, merry go rounds, and band concerts. It takes some time but Alejandro finds his.

Chloe's Crusade (The Teddy Bear Chronicles Book 2) by Donnalyn Vjota; The Bears Are Back in Town

 

Chloe's Crusade (The Teddy Bear Chronicles Book 2) by Donnalyn Vjota; The Bears Are Back in Town

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I should let you know that because this book refers to events from the previous volume, Hope in Paris, I suggest that you read that review first and be forewarned that this review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the first book. Proceed with caution.

The plush bears and their attached humans are back in the second volume of Donnalyn Vjota's The Teddy Bear Chronicles Series, Chloe's Crusade. and this time they have added a couple of new bears to their Comfort Circle and some new humans with new conflicts. More trouble arrives and the stuffed ones are caught up in from their furry feet all the way up to their adorable wide eyes. 

Things have changed since our last encounter with the bears and humans. Love Bear’s human owner Richard and his girlfriend, Tori have married, Tori’s mental health has improved, and they adopted two of the orphans from the orphanage where Tori worked under the name of Rachel Verona. Fair Bear’s human friend, Kelli, who is also Tori’s sister, has recovered from her abusive relationship with her ex Mark and married Detective Sidney Lukas. Both couples live in Paris in close proximity to each other and are pretty tight. 

But there are some new problems on the horizon overseen by two new members of the Fur Squad. One is Tiny Bear, a small bear hanging on a keychain belonging to FBI agent Chloe Stodgson, Tori and Kelli’s friend, who is investigating a drug ring out of Venezuela. The other bear is Rocco Bear who lives with the family of Santi Alesso including him, his wife Anna, and daughter Kiara whom Rocco affectionately calls “Munchkin.” Chloe’s investigation ties all of these characters together as the Alessis have to join Witness Protection because of their proximity to organized crime and Chloe needs help from a scientist to make fake drugs to trap the dealers and an outside police officer with experience in narcotics. Luckily Richard and Sidney respectively fit that bill.

This book is almost as good as its predecessor however it loses a lot of the charm and magic of the original. This intricate plot involving drug deals, criminal investigations, stalkers, organized crime, and assassinations comes out of an entirely different genre and runs away from the original premise of bears talking about the personal dramas and conflict of humans. There are some genuine moments of suspense particularly while Chloe is dealing with betrayal within her team, the Alessis have to go on the run for their lives, and Kelli and Tori receive gifts and break ins from a potential stalker. But these plots could be within any book that doesn't need inanimate toy bears to narrate it.

Much of the conflict of the previous book lay in the bear’s inability to understand the subtleties and struggles within their human companions. Their narrative voices hover between childlike curiosity and wizened understanding with the occasional sardonic and humorous quip at their friend’s expense. This book throws a Thriller plot, actually several of them, around and reduces the bears to side characters whose narration becomes muted. They are just reporting the on the scene action as would any generic first person or third person human narrator.

That's not to say that there isn't anything to recommend in this book. To their credit, the characters, both real and stuffed, are still just as memorable as they were in the previous book.

There are some great moments where Tiny, the little adrenaline junkie, gets excited on “helping out” with the case even though its main involvement ends at just hanging on Chloe's belt while she does the real work. Tiny thinks of itself as a Sherlock Holmes in a bear suit and takes pride in being part of an awesome investigative team like when the boss calls Chloe and her partner, Sanchez in for a private conference. Tiny reminds us that she actually has two partners and that it is the most important of the two. One of Tiny’s most adorable moments is when it reacts with jubilation and glee when it finds itself pictured in a news story about Chloe's investigation. Okay granted the pic just got the top of its head but it counts!

Rocco is a tough little guy who is protective of his family, especially “Munchkin.” He has issues with her parents and when the family is forced to separate, Rocco ends up with them instead of Kiara. He has to witness the Alessis change their names, relocate possibly forever, watch what they say because they are being monitored, and take their anger and discomfort out on each other. Rocco sees their flaws magnified in this stressful situation, particularly Santi’s quickness to anger and infidelity. Rocco reacts with fear and anxiety but is also surly towards Santi whom it holds responsible for this mess. Rocco acts like an angry adolescent holding trauma inside a tough exterior that tries to brush off fear, worry, and hurt but only increases their vulnerability.

The original bears also have some great moments. Love Bear accompanies Richard to work as he prepares the drugs and responds with the usual support and humor at its geeky human friend (When Richard yells, “Fiddlesticks!” Love responds with embarrassment that its human is an 80 year old in the body of a man in his 30’s.). Love is proud when Richard makes a breakthrough and terrified when it sees someone break into the office to tamper with Richard’s work. 

Fair is enamored with Kelli and Sydney’s romance but is worried when Kelli’s life is in danger. It also empathizes with her concern about Sydney when he's on the job, always ready with a comforting snuggle as she sits down for movie night to get her mind off of her troubles. Even our old friend Sleepy Time Bear is back to remind us that it is doing fine while still living at Tori’s old orphanage and comforting children who can't sleep.

While Chloe's Crusade is a near miss with its thriller plots and abandonment of the original narrative structure, this second volume still has enough warmth, humor, and heart to make it bearable. 

Hope in Paris (The Teddy Bear Chronicles Book 1) by Donnalyn Vjota; The Adventures of The We Really Care Bears

 

Hope in Paris (The Teddy Bear Chronicles Book 1) by Donnalyn Vjota; The Adventures of The We Really Care Bears

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I am going to give a warning before I begin the review. Bear with me now.

Donnalyn Vjota’s book Hope in Paris: The Teddy Bear Chronicles is NOT a children’s book. Yes it is narrated by three plush teddy bears. Yes, it’s a cute concept and there are even some moments that could be considered adorable. But this is a book that is written for adults (maybe teens but adults are the central target audience.) Adult themes like domestic abuse, mental illness, sex, stalkers, mid-life crises, familial abandonment, addiction, and murder are important plot points. Now that's over, on with the review. 

The idea of an adult novel told from the point of view of stuffed animals has potential to be an overly cutesy saccharine fluff piece or a Contemporary Fantasy in which the humans interact with the toys ala Ted or the toys talk to each other ala Toy Story. But despite the odd premise, Vjota actually writes the book, Hope in Paris, as straight and as realistic as she can. With of course the added caveat that the narrators of the book are a trio of stuffed bears belonging to some damaged and helpless humans that need some assistance to make their difficult lives more bearable. 

The three bears are:

Fair Bear was won at the Illinois State Fair by Mark as a gift for his girlfriend, Haley. Haley left and now Fair Bear lives with Mark and his new girlfriend, Kelly. However, the relationship between Kelly and Mark is becoming toxic and abusive and Fair Bear has to be an eyewitness to various violent acts, particularly getting thrown around by this pair of angry humans.

Love Bear is owned by Richard, who is perpetually unlucky in love. He promised his deceased mother that he would settle down and marry the right woman but his ideas about romance are overwhelming. On the third date, he tried to give an expensive gift and Love Bear to them as a marriage proposal which they turn down leaving him alone with his plushy ursine friend.

Sleepy Time Bear is the companion of Ms. V, an American former actress turned drama teacher living in Paris and working at an orphanage. She has mental health difficulties and a mysterious past that gets revealed through the course of the book.

 The three bears and their humans are thrown together in Paris where they end up linked to each other in surprising ways that will give them and the Readers great paws.

One of the most interesting and endearing touches to the book are the bears themselves, their narrative voices, and their relationships with their human companions. It's particularly amusing how the humans take their bears everywhere they go to the store, to a cafe, on a date, on vacation, and just about everywhere else. Of course Vjota did this for narrative purposes so the bears could report on important plot points but there are deeper possibilities. It could be that they are that lonely and desperate for someone, anyone to talk to, confide in, and hold onto even if they can't move or talk back to them. 

The bears awaken those inner children who used their imaginations to find a temporary escape from their sadness and despair. Having a Bedtime Bear Care Bear on my bed who watches with Grogu, Sadness, Hilda The Plush Witch, and Trixy The Plush Black Cat as I work from home, get depressed, have panic attacks, stress about deadlines, get lost in a book, and ruminate about middle age, I completely understand the need to have those comfort objects when we just can't bear it any longer. 

These characters’ emotions run the gamut between too hot, too cold, and just right.They alternate between childlike naivete and deep awareness. There are things that they don't completely understand about the human world that surrounds them. For example, Sleepy Time Bear confuses one of Ms. V's psychotic breaks with a play rehearsal. It just assumes that she's talking in character and playing a role when one of her alternate personalities or delusions take over.

This childlike innocence gives them an empathetic understanding towards their human friends. Sleepy Time is presented by Ms. V at night to orphans who can’t sleep. It is also there as a friend shaped shoulder to cry on when Ms. V is overwhelmed by her illness and estrangement from family members. Sleepy Time Bear is a silent observer that loves her and never judges her and instead opens its furry arms in comfort and acceptance.

Sometimes the bears are wiser than the humans. That is particularly true with Love Bear and its relationship with Richard. While it is a bear that represents romance, Love can be very sardonic and frequently snarks about the human friend. After observing Richard missing flirtatious cues from a woman named Rachel, Love Bear practically face-paws with embarrassment from inside its bag. “The man does not know flirting even when it's standing in front of him and named Rachel,” Love fumes. 

At times, Love practically acts as Richard’s wing man uh bear observing his companion’s dates and commenting on his failures and successes. However, Love is also aware that Richard is lonely and wants to love and be loved. He just doesn’t know how to pursue it and has overblown fantasies about what it should mean. Once he learns to slow down and let a relationship take its course, Richard is able to show himself to be the nice sweet slightly geeky but solid dependable guy that Love Bear knows him to be. The type of man who anyone would be interested in taking their relationship fur-ther.

The book gets incredibly dark particularly during Fair Bear’s chapters that focus on Kelly and Mark’s troubled relationship. There are moments of anguish when Fair observes Kelly getting beaten and threatened by her boyfriend. It wants to do more to help but knows that it is limited since it's just an inanimate object and unable to physically help her. It’s just an object for her to cuddle and pour her heart out to when she can't take it anymore.

However, a twist occurs in which Fair turns out to contribute more than just comfort for Kelly. In fact, it becomes an important clue that inspires Kelly to leave Mark and find evidence against him when she learns of his criminal history. She is grateful for Fair Bear’s unintentional assistance and when she finally departs, she takes the grateful bear with her. Kelly definitely chose the bear but this time the bear also chose her. 

The teddy bears in the book may be inanimate and unable to actually communicate with their human friends but they are also catalysts for them to change and improve their lives. To leave broken relationships and dead end jobs. To find real love. To rediscover their roots and reunite with people they thought were gone from their lives. To reinvent and rediscover themselves. To become self-actualized and authentic. They reached for the bears for companionship and to soothe aching hurts and instead changed their lives for the better. Thanks to their furever friends. 

The Art of Agony (The Nihilist Duet Book #1) by Amy Felix; Uncomfortable, Confusing and Thought Provoking Books About Being Mentally Ill in a World of Nothingness

 

The Art of Agony (The Nihilist Duet Book #1) by Amy Felix; Uncomfortable, Confusing and Thought Provoking Books About Being Mentally Ill in a World of Nothingness

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: There are two things that instantly help the Reader understand the type of book they are reading when coming across Amy Felix’s The Art of Agony. One of them is the name of the series, The Nihilist Duet. The second is the opening content warning which states in bold lettering that this novel is not a romance. You are instantly told this is going to be a strange, dark, uncomfortable, troubling, disturbing, critical, skeptical and pessimistic ride. Those early assumptions are certainly warranted. This is deconstruction of various genres such as Romance and Conspiracy Thrillers by focusing on the troubled souls that reside within them.

The Sinnenberg Mental Institution in Germany has two new patients, twins Eva and Isak Jager. They have been institutionalized under suspicious circumstances that suggest guilt more from those around them than their own. One of their fellow patients is Sebastien Guzman who has his own violent history and background of questionable guardians. Along with the story of their institutionalization, rebellion against authority, and desires of escape, we are treated to flashbacks of their lives before their institutionalization and what led them to this placement. Along with the three protagonists, we are also treated to chapters of dialogue that suggest that Eva, Isak, and Sebastian are being observed by some authority for some unknown and possibly nefarious purpose. 

There's something down right confusing and uncomfortable about The Art of Agony. Something that provokes the Reader by purposely getting under their skin. Something that stays within the dark recesses of their mind and subconscious like a bad memory that is suppressed but should be acknowledged.  

This book is one of the best but also one of the most disturbing books that I read so far this year. 

The backstories of the characters are where a lot of the darkness lies. Eva recalls being molested by a religious family friend. She responds with verbal hostility and affects an arrogant demonstrative attitude. Her retaliation in the matter results in institutionalization. Instead of taking her side, her superficial mother has her committed as a means to silence her and get her out of her life. 

Eva strikes back at her captors and challenges them in various sessions by not participating and glowering in disdain. There are moments where she uses her sexuality as a weapon, as if inflicting her pain on others will somehow make her pain go away. She is a creature of understandable hurt and rage. She suspects ulterior motives from everyone so often strikes back at those around her before they strike her. 

While Eva lives in a dark cloud of suspicion, Isak’s hurts are less visible. It takes awhile for him to follow his sister’s path and when it does, the results are just as traumatic as Eva’s. Part of the trauma is because he spends so much time trying to be Eva’s polar opposite, much to his sister’s early chagrin, who derides him as the “family favorite” without realizing that he is no more loved or respected than she is. He acts like the perfect son and student but has hidden imperfections.

Isak is quiet, remote, and lives inside his own head. Eva’s hostility is known but his negative emotions are buried underneath a cold introverted surface. This surface analyzes his thoughts towards others before he acts. He has a troubled sexual history of his own, but it is one in which he thought that his logic and calculated thought could protect him. The pain that sends Isak to Sinnenberg is self-inflicted as though his head could no more protect him than Eva’s body could protect her. 

Sebastien, the third member to their triangle, comes from a different place than the Jager Twins. He has been at Sinnenberg for a long time, long enough to take active part in and lead group sessions. He gets to know and bond with the twins and becomes a facilitator in helping them face their own unhappiness while coming to terms with his. 

If Eva uses her body and Isak uses his mind, Sebastien uses his heart and emotions. Despite trying to be a welcoming presence to new patients, he has emotional violent tendencies. Before his institutionalization, he committed a violent act, one that came from fury, anger, and impulse. There are verbal and accusatory parts of his mind that tries to resonate his acts of violence with his current responsibilities. They remind him that his warm empathy towards his fellow patients can also burn and blaze with unfelt passion and potential homicide. 

Eva, Isak, and Sebastien are damaged individuals who have one way or another been hurt and respond by hurting others or themselves. Felix is very realistic with how her protagonists are depicted and that can be found in the lack of romance among them. They are capable of feeling. There are moments of familial love between Eva and Isak and companionship between them and Sebastien but that’s as far as it goes.

 Much of their issues are sexually related, Eva’s especially. They have naturally skewered outlooks at lust, love, togetherness, and partnership so they are not going to find a quick fix relationship that will heal all wounds. Instead, it is enough to find someone who might understand the insanity that surrounds them every day because they see it too. Sometimes it’s enough to have someone say, “No you’re not crazy. They really are after you because they are after me too!”

What makes this book so disturbing and unpleasant is the undercurrent of Nihilism, nothingness. Through their own individual experiences on the outside, Isak, Eva, and Sebastian are betrayed by those around them: friends, family, lovers, school, work, religion, home. The institutions that surround them become a mockery as they can't find comfort or protection in them.They are left unable to trust anyone, even themselves.

These characters are cold, barren, alone, numb, used, abused, and cast adrift.They used their body, mind, and emotions to gain back some feeling or control in their lives and ended up with more pain and less control than they had before. Sinnenberg becomes a microcosm of that world around them, the world in which they have no control.They were surrounded by nothingness before and nothingness afterwards but now only on a smaller scale.

There are hints throughout the book that there are larger conspiracies and plans involving the patients, particularly The Jager Twins. Once again like with the romantic aspects, it is dealt with realistically.

 In other books, the protagonists would get to the heart of the conspiracy, try to escape, and either burst it wide open or die trying. Here however, it just becomes yet another thing that traps the characters. Another link in the chains of captivity since their youth, possibly since birth. They may try to escape (and to their credit make a great attempt at escaping), but will in one way or another will always be captives.

Life inside and outside the institution is the same. They just have different ways of capturing, detaining, and holding a person. Sometimes the only meaning that can be found is to find understanding in others who have been through that experience and through oneself in surviving it.

The Wallace House of Pain by S.M. Stevens; Muted Rage (The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series Book 2) by G. Russell Gaynor; In Search of Cognizance by Nabraj Lama

The Wallace House of Pain by S.M. Stevens

One of the best books that I read last year was Beautiful and Terrible Things by S.M. Stevens. It was a witty and insightful character study about a group of six friends: Charley, a bookseller, Xander, a political activist, Jessica, a financial analyst, Sunny, a solar energy systems sales associate, Terrence, Xander's fellow activist, and Buwan, an artist. The novel covers a period of several months where the friends face various personal internal conflicts, such as new romances, family drama,and shifting careers, and political external conflicts such as racial profiling, immigrant xenophobia, and income inequality. It's a wide reaching novel that covers various topics but also brilliantly captures its six protagonist’s traits, characteristics, and eccentricities that make them stand out as individuals and part of a group.

Stevens reentered that universe with the short novel, The Wallace House of Pain. Instead of an expansive novel about many things and having six leads, this one is shorter and more intimate focusing solely on one character. 

This time the lead is Xander Wallace himself. The short novel covers six chapters in which Xander brings each friend to his Conservative parent's house for dinner. The contrast between the fiery opinionated Xander, his rigid uncompromising father, Jim, his placid demure stepmother, Kathy, and his iconoclastic diverse friends is quite apparent.

Since this story is more compact, we get a closer look at Xander's background and experiences and how they contributed to his lifestyle and decisions in the novel. He is someone who saw a lot of artifice and superficiality. A home with plenty of affluent creature comforts but an inability to live his truth. He loves his parents and vice versa, but feels like he has to play a role for them.

 Xander can't discuss his work in any meaningful way. While he voices his political opinions, it can be very draining as he, and his parents especially his father, talk circles around each other never coming to an even ground. Xander has to hide his bisexuality, his political involvement, and even his name (His friends call him, “Xander” while his parents call him, “Alex”). Xander can't be his authentic self as he hides parts of himself from his family.

Much of Xander's real self is revealed by the family’s conversations with his friends. Terrence connects to his commitment to political activism. Sunny represents Xander's sexuality and gender identity. Jessica is indicative of the passion and talent that leads to finding a gainful career. Charley reflects his emotional and social connections with others. Buwan reveals Xander's self-expression and creative thinking as he uses his activism to shape the world into a better, more idealistic place with actual racial harmony and equality. 

Through the short novel, the larger aspects of Beautiful and Terrible Things are referred to particularly a Black Lives Matter protest that is a central climax in the previous novel. Xander's friends and his real self can no longer be denied as he reveals the real him to his father and stepmother, bisexual Liberal environmental social activist and all. He is able to be the open honest authentic person that we saw in the novel and be that person to his family.

The Wallace House of Pain is a small thread in the tapestry of the larger work but a very important one.

 

Muted Rage (The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series Book 2) by G. Russell Gaynor 

In The Blind Smith, the first book in G. Russell Gaynor’s The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series, tech billionaire genius John James “J.J.” Moore is severely wounded and rendered blind in an attack that kills his security team and his lover. He is recruited by a secret organization of spies and assassins and obtains the code name, “Augur.” He is able to use his new found abilities and organization to seek vengeance upon his enemies, including traitors to the organization.

The second volume, Muted Rage, elevates J.J.’s status significantly within the organization. Instead of being the rookie student, J.J. is now actively recruiting and training new members. His latest recruit is Sonya Bocharova, a Russian deaf woman. He sees a lot of himself in her. Her arrival can't come at a better or worse time because their enemies are closing in and ramping up their attacks.

This volume focuses primarily on action and plot which works well in the Political Spy Thriller subgenre. Sometimes the various characters and sides are disconcerting because it's hard to tell who is with which organization. Readers and characters are conditioned to be on the lookout for traitors and double crosses so just because someone seems on one side doesn't mean that they are going to stay that way. Sometimes it's a surprise twist but mostly because everyone is so suspicious, have ulterior motives, and live in worlds of morally gray, it's to be expected. Betrayal is the most logical step in their development.

The action also serves as a means for the various sides to show off their intellect. In the first book,  J.J., was playing 3-D chess while everyone else is playing checkers. In this book, everyone else is playing the same game of chess. Every character, including J.J., is trying to outfight and outsmart each other. As one organization gets an advantage, the next one fires back and so on. It keeps the Readers invested with its suspenseful tone.

While action is the primary facet to this book, there is some time for insightful characterization particularly in J.J.’s evolution from fresh newbie to hardened veteran. He was always somewhat arrogant in the previous book, though he had moments where his naivete was noticeable. There were also times when his conceit cost him dearly.

In this volume, J.J.’s character ascends to frightening levels. His Authoritarian streak is more paramount. Now that he is leader, his leadership style is iron will. In one chapter, one of J.J.’s colleagues calls him out on his personality and J.J. answers in a way that suggests that he is unapologetic and will only get worse. It raises the possibility whether in a future volume, characters may be driven to stop John James Moore rather than work with or for him.

So far though, J.J. still shows some glimmers of kindness. This is particularly noticeable in his dialogue with Sonya. They have a great deal in common, both have disabilities that they have or are in the process of using to their advantage as assassins. They both carry a lot of grief and anger.

 J.J. is at the point where he can guide someone else to channel that anger and put it to good use and Sonya sees a higher opportunity to protect others and unleash vengeance. With the help of sign language and technology that allows them to communicate, the two come to an understanding and partnership, perhaps even a friendship or more.

The action and lead characters help Muted Rage act on many of the things that were hinted at in the first volume. It prepares and keeps Readers in suspense ready for the next one.

In Search of Cognizance by Nabraj Lama 

It has been my pleasure to work with Nabraj Lama on his book, In Search of Cognizance. It is an evocative and insightful travel book about journeying to find a practical and spiritual path.

After a period of stress, frustration, and unanswered questions, Lama received a position from The Sacred Himalaya Initiative: Sacred Landscapes and Sustainable Futures. The project focused on studying and documenting the relationships between ecology and religion focusing on sacred spaces like Mount Kailash, a place that he studied on his own. The urge to travel to the Tibetan mountain consumed him so he decided to visit it. Lama had two objectives for the journey: to complete the project assignment and pursue a personal quest for spirituality. He describes this trip as one of “self-discovery and growth, as well as an exploration of the interconnectedness between humanity, nature, and the divine.”

This book is both rich in sensory detail and deep in spiritual meaning. It fills the senses with physical descriptions of the landscape and soothes the brain and emotions with its themes of connecting the physical plane with the spiritual. 

Lama’s gift for description is noticeable as he recounts the various settings before him. For example, he referred to Humla as “a hidden gem within the Himalayas (that) boasts breathtaking natural beauty, ecological diversity, and a rich cultural tapestry…a living testament to nature and culture.”

“With its towering green cliffs, cascading waterfalls, bountiful herbs, swift rivers, mesmerizing landscapes, and dense forests, Humla is truly remarkable,” Lama wrote.

The places that Lama and his companions visited were indicative of the countries and the people. One of the places that they visited was Dharipuri, a fish-shaped rock that according to legend were once a pair of real fish that transformed into rocks. When Lama observed the rock, he was struck between the obvious difference in the Tibetan and Hindu communities and the contrast of the downstream where fish were present and upstream where they were not. “The reasons behind the cultural and ecological divide remain elusive, but the fish-shaped rocks will forever stand as a testament to the mysteries of the region,” he said.

Besides places, Lama is adept at recounting the people that he encountered on his journey. His traveling companions, local villagers, officials, and hospitality workers are richly characterized. Among them was Ram Bhakta Sunar, a luggage handler. He owned three mules that carried tourist's luggage from one point to another. He cared for them so they provided for his family. During the off season, Ram let them run free in the forest and only retrieved them for work. He had goals such as wanting to get married at age 19 and one day have a family. Learning about Ram gave Lama some insight to what life was like for villagers, especially the ones that were dependent on tourism and the local environment to survive.

During the trip, Lama and his colleagues witness local concerns such as conservation, poverty, and the pinch of authoritarianism. Nowhere is this more prevalent than when they entered TAR, China. The travelers were ordered not to carry any items related to the Dalai Lama, wander off, enter, or take photographs of anything that they weren't allowed to. They were forbidden from bringing notebooks, books, cell phones, or other controversial items. It's a stark reminder that when traveling to other countries, one must be aware of the land around them and be careful when observing laws and regulations. 

The places that they visited reflected the local culture and folklore. Among those are the sacred lakes, Manasarovar and Rakshas Tal. Rakshas Tal is called the Lake of Demons and its black waters invited legends and stories that it was once frequented by demons. Manasarovar is considered sacred waters and is revered by various religions. It is believed that the waters purify the souls of those who bathed within it. 

The two lakes show the transformative power between the physical and spiritual world, that folklore is often used to describe nature and nature is often used to augment local lore.

Like many long travels, Lama writes about the problems which can occur. There was physical pain experienced by Lama and other travelers (particularly one woman who had menstrual pain while climbing a steep path). There were times where the groups separated and couldn't find each other for awhile. Of course there were times of complications like getting lost, missing a hostel, personality conflicts and all of the usual problems associated with travel. 

One of the most meaningful complications which led to some important lessons occurred while walking along the Dolma La Pass. It was a narrow but crowded path where travelers, locals, and animals teemed along the path. Lama opted to take small steps and opted for shortcuts rather than get in people's way. He was happy to see people helping each other, guiding, or pulling one another down the path.

 Lama himself decided to go through great effort on the path. He crawled through a narrow passageway to test his karma. He finally reached Mt. Kailash Kora to pay his respects, meditated, sang, and shared camaraderie with his companions and other visitors. The struggle of going through the pass was just as important as the destination of Mt. Kailash Kora. Lama said that the kora stands “as a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit and our unwavering pursuit of personal growth and self-realization.”

The trip was one where Lama wanted to seek spiritual fulfillment. His journey to Mt. Kailash gave him more than that. He wrote that he gained fulfillment and enrichment from this journey. 

Lama had “a newfound sense of serenity and inner peace, reflecting on the transformative experiences encountered along the way,” he said. “…The return journey transcended the physical realm, evolving into a deeply introspective and emotional endeavor… I realized that this voyage had left an indomitable mark on my soul, forever changing perspective on life, spirituality, and the power of nature.”

The journey allowed Lama to confront his fears and anxieties.He recognized kindness, respect, gratitude and selflessness that transformed his life and those around him. He recognized the interconnectedness of humanity, nature, and the divine. The experience gave him a stronger sense of purpose and spirit which he continues to share as a Research Scholar at Lumbini Buddhist University, and his articles and books on spiritual and cultural topics.

Lama's book shows Readers that the natural world can be the key for one to reconnect to the metaphysical world and to achieve mental, emotional, and spiritual clarity and peace.

Oliver's Travels by Clifford Garstang; Cerebral Introspective Plot About Writing, Traveling, and Searching for The Past

 Oliver's Travels by Clifford Garstang; Cerebral Introspective Plot About Writing, Traveling, and Searching for The Past

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Even though Oliver's Travels sounds like Gulliver's Travels, Clifford Garstang’s novel is not a fantasy satire of a man traveling to different weird lands that mock various aspects of 18th century life. Instead it is a cerebral introspective novel about a man trying to discover the answers to his past through philosophy, writing, and traveling.

Ollie Tucker just graduated from college with a degree in Philosophy. He leaves his troubled father and siblings behind to move in with his estranged alcoholic mother and teach at a community college. Ollie becomes obsessed with learning about his missing Uncle Scotty especially when he has disturbing flashbacks concerning their relationship. 

Oliver's Travels takes a thoughtful look at its lead character. His family is toxic with an emotionally distant father, an alcoholic mother, a Fundamentalist sister, and a brother who has PTSD since his return from Afghanistan. He looks inward for support and validation that his family weren't able to give him. Ollie enters into a romantic relationship with Mary, another teacher, a relationship that is fraught with frequent arguments, miscommunications, and Ollie's uncertainty about whether he loves Mary or her brother, Mike.

 It's obvious that Garstang made him a Philosophy major to show him as the type of character who would examine his life and choices. His present situation often segues into past conversations with his academic advisor, Professor Russell where they talk about things like guilt, free will, memories, and identity. These conversations focus on what troubles Ollie and propels him to do the things that he does. They also have dark edges in the later chapters when Oliver and Russell’s student-mentor relationship becomes more intimate and disturbing. It makes one wonder how many of their Q&A sessions were genuine and how many were used for seduction. 

Besides Philosophy, Ollie examines his life through writing and travel. He writes a novel about a man named Oliver who travels to exotic locations, lives as a free spirit, and has a troubled romance. There ends up being a lot of parallels between fiction and real life but it is also clear that Ollie's novel is a sense of wish fulfillment. Oliver is the person that Ollie wants to be: bold, assertive, and daring. He goes on similar journeys but the fictional Oliver isn't as bound by these concerns as his author is.

 Ollie asks questions that are never answered. Oliver gets those answers. Ollie waffles about whether he can afford to go to another country and worries about cost and his relationships. Oliver just goes without repercussions. Ollie has a troubled on and off again relationship with Mary. While Oliver has arguments with his partner, they are able to work through them. Oliver is what Ollie wants to be: Someone with many of the same problems but is able to face them and shape himself into a better person.

Besides writing, Ollie uses travel as a means of finding answers. He and Mary travel from Singapore, to Tokyo, to Paris, to Mexico City to work or vacation. Each leg of their journey brings new struggles and disappointments. Ollie and Mary might go to different places but they are the same people every time. They are filled with the same insecurities, worries, conflicts, and ties to their dysfunctional families. A new city where they have to teach a different class of students, see sights, and learn a new language does not change who they are. In fact the relocation only adds more stress to their fracturing relationship. The relocation and the real unspoken motives for the traveling. Ollie is chasing leads to where Scotty might have lived.

Ollie asks his parents and siblings about his Uncle Scotty because the family won't talk about him. They give him evasive answers and contradictory statements which only fuels his curiosity even more. He wants to know about him to see if his disturbing memories were real or fabricated. He believes that if he finds and interacts with Scotty, then Ollie can finally get some answers about why he is stuck in this place of insecurity and frequent conflicts. 

When Ollie learns the truth about why Scotty left, he realizes that everything that he thought about him and the rest of their family was wrong. At first, Ollie envies his uncle's nomadic life but the more he pieces together Scotty’s real story, he realizes that his romantic image was errant. Scotty wasn't living a carefree life or running away from a past crime, he traveled because he felt compelled to. He went to different countries to get away from his own traumatic memories and because he couldn’t find a place that felt like home. In his drive to learn about his Uncle through philosophy, writing, and travel, Ollie realizes that he is more like him than he originally thought and is destined to end up in the same place.

The Blue Girl, Candy Lee Caine by Mickey J “Mike” Martin; Fascinating Portrait of a Troubled Marriage

The Blue Girl, Candy Lee Caine by Mickey J “Mike” Martin; Fascinating Portrait of a Troubled Marriage 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: If ever there was a book that was made for the cliche that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, The Blue Girl, Candy Lee Caine by Mickey J. "Mike" Martin would be it. 

It tells the story of a troubled marriage that gets worse because of the well meaning but thoughtless action of one spouse to another.

Mike Holder met Candice Lee “Candy” Caine Wilson at a college conference in 1969. The staid steady Mike was intrigued by Candy’s vivacious personality, her home life with doting adopted parents, and their mutual desire for a stable home life. The two married one year later.

What starts out as a seemingly happy marriage quickly becomes troubled as Mike climbs the academic ladder for an administrative position. This requires the couple to move around from college to college, town to town, state to state. At first Candy takes the moves in stride being complacent, uncomfortably so. She acquiesces by playing the supportive spouse externally but internally she displays symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder. Mike is unable to cope with the changes in his wife's emotional and mental state, so he tries to look for a solution or even a cause. His curiosity gets the better of him as he looks into Candy’s background and researches her life before her adoption, despite her repeated urges for him not to. The search for Candy's family history reveals some unpleasant things and inadvertently leads to a violent confrontation that tests the Holders’ marriage.

This is a marriage featuring a couple that loves and cares for each other but still are capable of causing great damage towards one another. Candy's mental health issues cause her to lash out and act unpredictably. She isn't always able to control herself and doesn't get the psychiatric care that she needs. Neither her adopted parents nor her husband encourage her to seek mental health services. Instead they attribute her emotions as just quirky personality traits that are just her being herself. 

Mike and Candy's parents don't see the potential danger until it's too late and the danger comes forward. They love her undoubtedly but her parents attributed it to her upbringing (more on that later) and errantly believed that once that was fixed then she would magically recover. They don't account for the long term post traumatic complications that would result or that when she reaches certain milestones in her life like marriage or a career, that she would be unable to handle them.

Mike also inadvertently puts a lot of pressure on her. He commits himself to his academic career and the material gains from it. He assumes that as long as Candy acts supportive and doesn't argue, that she actually is supportive and doesn't have reservations. The constant relocation where she often feels like an outsider isolates her and makes her more dependent on her husband. She feels like if she objects or disagrees, she will seem at best like a nagging shrew or at worst a mentally unstable person. She keeps it all inside and Mike is ill equipped to see beyond that and ask if something is actually wrong or what her actual feelings are about things.

 With some exceptions that peer into Candy's family history, the majority of the book is told from Mike’s first person point of view in hindsight. It's clear that he realizes that he made some colossal mistakes and regrets them. This keeps the Reader from seeing him as an abuser or a sadist who delighted in the pain that he caused Candy. He knows that he was a thoughtless heel and admits it. 

While their marriage is fraught with unspoken tension, it is when Mike researches Candy’s family history that he crosses the most lines. He is repeatedly told by Candy to drop it and that she doesn't remember or want to talk about it. 

He looks up records, newspaper announcements, and talks to distant relatives and family friends without Candy's knowledge or permission (which brings a plot hole that Mike would be unable to find most of that information, particularly official records without Candy herself being present and granting permission but no matter). 

Even when he gets the backstory to Candy's ancestry, that still isn't a clue to drop the subject. He is told about three generations of racism, alcoholism, trauma, mental illness, abuse, and neglect before getting to Candy's immediate family and childhood. It should have been enough to connect the dots and realize that chances are Candy's upbringing was not sunshine and roses but no Mike can't let the search die.

Mike feels that he has to be the problem solver, that learning about Candy's family will get to the root of her problems and she will get better. It becomes a mystery that his mind wants to solve but doesn't account for his wife's emotions or that maybe he's better off not knowing. For a time, the problem is more important than whether the solution leads to more unhappiness.

Mike confronts Candy using some of the most toxic language to do so. He does the “If you love me, you would do this” routine. He guilt trips her that marriage should be built in trust and honesty and browbeats her into talking about her childhood. It's a very emotional chapter that makes the Reader turn against the designated hero and question his motives. 

Is he willing to jeopardize his marriage and his wife's fragile emotional state to find out the truth? Is he potentially an abuser without realizing it? Are they better off separated instead of trying to work through a marriage that is this bad? 

Once Candy talks about her life with her birth parents, the Caines, it becomes apparent why she didn't want to talk about it. She opens up memories of addicted abusive parents, a large unruly mob of loud angry delinquent siblings, and intense poverty and neglect. Candy's past was so traumatic that even though she was adopted by loving parents, the Wilsons, the long term damage was already done. 

Again to his credit, when she finishes Mike regrets asking her and is empathetic towards her suffering. He also sees that the confession of Candy's upbringing, tears open old wounds which never healed. What had once been forgotten or rather forced to the back of her mind is now put out in the open. Her mind regresses, so the comfortable middle aged woman disappears. In her place is the troubled young girl who reacts to violence with escalating violence.

Candy's breakdown leads to some actions that change the course of the book which for spoiler’s sake won't be revealed. But it changes her and Mike's status considerably and forces him to objectively look at his wife's upbringing and his own thoughtless actions in contributing to her downfall. He sees a woman who was let down not only by her birth family and society but by the people who loved and were closest to her.

 This revelation that Mike unwittingly contributed to Candy's unhappiness makes the ending a bit hard to swallow. It suggests hope and potential support between an older and wiser couple than we met before. However, it is established that they made each other miserable and added to their problems by acting happy when they weren't. 

Candy needed psychiatric evaluation and to face accountability but Mike needs help too. He needs to recognize his own controlling and potentially manipulative nature that led to this conflict. It might do him some good to seek counseling himself and spend time apart from Candy.

Perhaps they needed to temporarily separate and work on themselves instead of staying together. Mike and Candy need to work out their issues apart, strengthen their individuality, and then maybe discuss getting back together. That would have made a better more realistic ending for a couple who may love each other but sometimes love just isn't enough.

 

Tales of Whiskey Tango from Misery Towers by James Aylott; Politics, Love, Crime, and Weirdness Come Together in St. Louis Apartment Building

 Tales From Whiskey Tango of Misery Towers by James Aylott; Politics, Love, Crime, and Weirdness Come Together in St. Louis Apartment Building 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I am quite giddy over the fact that one of the frequent settings this year is my home state of Missouri. It is even better when books are set in St. Louis, the closest city to where I live and consider my home. James Aylott’s anthologized novel, Tales of Whiskey Tango from Misery Towers is the fourth book this year to be set in Missouri, following Somewhere East of Me by Samuel Vincent O’Keefe, The Girl in the Corn, and The Boy From Two Worlds by Jason Offutt. In fact the only books that I reviewed previously that had a Missouri setting were Shaare Emeth (The Gates of Truth) by T.A. McLaughlin, Toward That Which is Beautiful by Marian O’Shea Warnicke, Chasing Dragons: The True History of the Piasa by Mark and Laurie Bonner-Nickless, the short story, “Jewel Box” in Sympathetic People by Donna Baier Stein, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn from 2019-2023. So this year definitely made up for the minimal Missouri representation in previous years.

Missouri, particularly St. Louis, makes a heck of an appearance in Tales of Whiskey Tango. It is practically a character itself in a book that is filled to the brim with fascinating characters. It boasts of a group of fascinating weird characters that inhabit a St. Louis Apartment and deal with issues with love, politics, economics, and crime in the Gateway to the West.

In Missouri Towers, nicknamed Misery Towers, a downtown St. Louis Apartment that overlooks the Arch and the Mississippi River, a group of residents are contemplating their life choices: Nick Pipeman is standing on a bridge thinking of the crises that led to his despair; Colton Chesterfield III was the victim of a very strange crime and is currently inside a coffin alive; Mike Love is thinking about some serious love affairs and is racing towards the one who might be the love of his life; Daris Ballic is drunk and prepared to defend his property Missouri Towers with violence if necessary; Sam Robinson is in despair about an affair that ended; Butterfly wants to dance at her job and forget about her troubles; Gloria McKendrick is at the City Museum and anxious about an important decision regarding her love life; Tyrone Booker is covering his police beat preparing for what could be a rough night; Madison Stone is sitting on the rooftop of Missouri Towers observing the chaos underneath and the approaching storm on the horizon. 

The most important character is certainly the city itself. Readers are treated to the various tourist spots like The City Museum, Busch Stadium, The Arch, Forest Park, The Enterprise Center, and the teams like The Blues and the Cardinals. But we are given more than that. Aylott knows the city and its people.

We are immersed into the local culture like the food (toasted ravioli, gooey butter cakes, thin crusted pizza, and pork steaks), areas (the wealthy Central West End, suburban South side, working class North side, and impoverished East side, along with neighborhoods like the Loop, The Hill, Dogstown, Ferguson, Soulard, Clayton, Bellefontaine, and enough St. name schools and towns to fill an entire Catholic yearly calendar), colloquialisms (“Where did you go to high school” instead of college and the endless debates whether the state is pronounced “Missouri,” “Missoura,” or “Misery.”), music (many blues, alternative, and hip hop artists got their start here), sports (The Blues winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, The Cardinals winning 11 World Series), celebrities (Jon Hamm, Chuck Berry, Veruca Salt, and Nelly are shouted out), controversies (the tempestuous school board meetings and local elections, the Michael Brown shooting and Ferguson police protests, income inequality, the political division between Conservative Republicans and Liberal Democrats with most of Missouri on one side and St. Louis on the other). 

Aylott gives a total sensory journey for Readers to experience a city that, unless they are local, many may not think about very often. Once read about it, few Readers will forget this fly over city. They may even want to stop by and visit once in awhile.

Tales From Whiskey Tango is a brilliant ensemble of a novel that explores the characters through their interests, personality traits, obsessions, and occupations. They stand out in different ways. Their personal journeys connect with one another by various means. Mike Love is a real estate agent who compares his life to his favorite Bruce Springsteen songs like “Born to Run,” “Born in the USA,” and “Thunder Road.” 

Gloria is a trapeze artist, newly arrived from Kansas and is fascinated by rom coms, specifically those starring Molly Ringwald. Mike and Gloria are weighing a potential romance but workplace conflicts, old flames, and different expectations throw challenges their way.

Mikes’ boss Daris is a Bosnian immigrant turned naturalized citizen and is hyper aware whether he seems American enough to his employees and clients. He treats his properties and sales leads like they are battlefields and his agents like Mike and Nick are soldiers in a war. 

Daris’ top agent, Nick is considered charming but has some very odd fetishes that affect his relationship with Zoe, a former circus clown and Gloria's roommate and is involved in criminal activity that could jeopardize his career.

 Nick and Zoe and Mike and Gloria's romances are observed and gossipped about by Madison whose favorite activities are sunbathing topless and spying on her neighbors.

Sam has an obsession with prostitutes and when he has an assignation with Alice, his latest, he has a notion to make her over Pretty Woman-style to be an ideal companion. But Alice is no Julia Roberts. She gets very tired of being controlled.

 Colton is a billionaire and ex-con whose darker side and hidden disreputability come back to haunt him when he is caught in a bizarre crime involving Reginald, a desperate gunman and Butterfly, an aging exotic dancer. 

As Tyrone tries to keep the peace in a city that is simmering with hatred and racism, he has to get to the roots of various crimes that involve many of the other characters.

Tales of Whiskey Tango isn't afraid to explore the beauty and ugliness of its setting and characters. Everyone is left to their own devices to make choices towards their own conclusion. They and the city lie in wait. 

The book explores each character and what led them and the city into this precarious position where they are waiting for romantic closure, crushing despair, escalating violence, delayed justice, waiting for a decision, to move forward, to live, to fight, or to die. Just like those storm clouds in the horizon, the characters will come and decide fates that they had been moving towards.

Said The Spider to the Fly by Findlay Ward; Moving, Honest, and Triumphant Contemporary Literature About Intergenerational Domestic Abuse

Said The Spider to the Fly by Findlay Ward; Moving, Honest, and Triumphant Contemporary Literature About Intergenerational Domestic Abuse

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Findlay Ward’s Said The Spider to the Fly covers a very important and very familiar topic for this blog: domestic abuse. In fact, this is the fifth book this month alone after A Cat's Cradle by Carly Rheilan, A Woman Like Maria by Gabriel Costans, Red Gifts in The Garden of Stones by P.A. Swanborough, and When Banana Stains Fade by Frances-Marie Coke deal with some form of abuse. (Other books about domestic violence this year include American Odyssey: Devil's Hand by B.F. Hess, I Was a Teenage Communist by JC Hopkins, Dancing in the Ring by Susan E. Sage, Freeze Frame by Rob Santana, Virtuous Women by Anna Goltz, How We Were Before by Jonathan Kravetz, Boy From Two Worlds by Jason Offutt, Tipani Walker and The Nightmare Knot by Jessica Crichton, Masters of the Star Machine by Joe Crawford, Somewhere East of Me by Sean Vincent O'Keefe, Girl in a Smart Uniform by Gill James, The Peacock’s Heritage by Sasha Stephens, Journey of Souls by Rebecca Warner, and What Happened at the Abbey by Isobel Blackthorn). 

Domestic abuse is a very difficult thing to discuss and opens such raw emotion and trauma in a person's life. It also opens dialogue on this and other connected concerns such as problems within the legal system, the restrictions of gender roles, the negative aspects of marriage and divorce, the conspiracy of silence within certain occupations and communities, how religious views, social status, politics and economics play into the abuse and aftermath, and the psychological after effects of that trauma.

Said the Spider to the Fly is the kind of book that reveals how domestic violence can be felt through three generations of the same family by either tolerating abuse, becoming abused themselves, or being traumatized by such a situation in their past. 

After Rachael’s grandmother, Dorothy,  dies, she goes through her things, particularly her journal. Dorothy’s book recounts a traumatized childhood, marriage, vacations on Turtle Island, and a secret that the island possesses. Reading this account, causes Rachel to recognize the connections to her own unhappy relationship.

Said the Spider to the Fly weaves the past and present with similar themes. It shows Readers how abuse takes many forms, can still be experienced years even decades after the abuse ends, and has two interesting characters that represent separate generations and how they treat those conflicts.

Dorothy represents an older generation that grew up in a tempestuous toxic home life during the 50’s-60’s. Her father was a bad tempered violent man who hurt his wife and children. Dorothy became an expert in remaining silent, docile, and obedient to avoid her father's rages. Her older brother, Jimmy, took on an almost parental role by engaging Dorothy in various activities like fishing and hiking to keep her away from their father. Because of the time period, Dorothy’s mother was unable to leave or file for divorce, so they had to endure it.

Fortunately, Dorothy has a much happier marriage with her husband, Bob who is a kind empathetic loyal man with a corny sense of humor. (He told dad jokes before the phrase was coined.) Despite this, Dorothy can't quite shake the trauma of her childhood. She is anxious about her children's welfare and second guesses herself when her daughter, Lisa, starts seeing a man who sends red flag signals. 

Dorothy is a woman with PTSD and while her opinion about Lisa's boyfriend turns out to be true, she is also shown to be very anxious and hyper vigilant of the signs. It's natural to protect one’s younger relatives from the same trauma that had been faced before and Dorothy explores this.

Rachel represents the current generation. While she has more options about whether she can leave an unhealthy relationship, she chooses to stay with her partner, Bradley. The reason, that she stays with him is not because of society pressure but within her own mind, psychological pressure.

 Rachel at first doesn't recognize that Bradley is abusive. She reads about Dorothy's memories of beatings and slappings and other symptoms of physical abuse and thinks that it has nothing to do with her. Instead of being physical, Bradley mostly relies on verbal and psychological abuse. He belittles Rachel, acts condescending towards her opinions, makes fun of her when she makes a mistake, gaslights her, and leaves her feeling isolated, worthless, and dependent. This also is a similar pattern with her mother, Lisa, and Lisa’s husband. 

By the time Rachel recognizes Bradley's behavior, she is so beaten down by his words that she won't leave him. Not that she can't but that she won't. His manipulation and verbal abuse has worked to the point that he left her in a mental prison unable to see an escape.

This book goes out of its way to show that abuse is abuse. It doesn't matter if it's a punch, a purposely hateful word, an unwanted demand for sex, withheld money, it's still abuse. In fact verbal abuse is one of the hardest to prove and leaves long lasting mental and emotional scars. The fact that both Lisa and Rachel, mother and daughter become involved with similar men shows exactly how those scars are recycled.

While abuse is a frequent motif in this book, another is nature particularly that of Turtle Island. Turtle Island is a frequent setting in this book. It is the source of many happy memories that Dorothy experiences over the years with her family as they go on entertaining vacations. It is a source of joy but a source of pain as well. It is also where the Intergenerational tensions within Dorothy's family are resolved in violent ways.

Turtle Island has a strange hold on the people that visit it. The appearance of a raven and a mysterious boy suggest something supernatural but it is not overdone. Instead they are manifestations of the toxic home life that Dorothy, Lisa, and Rachel have to endure. 

The more that abuse is present within the people, the more nature adapts to it. The shouts, slaps, accusations, name callings, punches, lies, and isolation become fuel for something vengeful and violent that had long been buried but needed to be addressed.

Said The Spider to The Fly is a moving, honest, and complex book on how domestic abuse affects generations of families in a seemingly endless cycle but it is also triumphant when the cycle finally stops.