In Search of Rain From Motel Qu to Pittsburgh by Syed Nourashrafeddin; Memoir About War, Hardship, Education, Trauma, and Happiness

In Search of Rain From Motel Qu to Pittsburgh by Syed Nourashrafeddin; Memoir About War, Hardship, Education, Trauma, and Happiness

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

 In Search of Rain From Motel Qu to Pittsburgh is Syed Nourashrafeddin’s detailed, emotional, inspirational, moving, and meaningful memoir. It covers topics like war, revolution, addiction, trauma, illness, immigration, and the pursuit of academic and financial success and personal happiness.

Nourashrafeddin’s life began in Iran during a tumultuous time in the country’s history. ’He was five years old during the 1979 revolution. He was too young to remember life before the Revolution and knows it from elder’s memories and documentation. They described that life as joyful and filled with vitality. They could drink and smoke in public. Women were free to pursue career opportunities. Artists and singers expressed themselves without censorship. 

All of that changed when the Ayatollahs stepped in. Nourashrafeddin’s description of a country deprived of everything that they once had like destroyed cinemas and clubs, banned music and art, women completely covered is completely heartbreaking. Even as a child, Nourashrafeddin felt that something wasn't right in a country that deprived its people of so much and used their limited interpretation of the Islamic religion to enforce and justify it.

 It wasn't the religion itself that created it because Islam was Iran’s primary religion before the Revolution. It was because the country was taken over by a sect of religious extremists with a very limited narrow view of what their religion meant and demanded that the people follow it.

Nourashrafeddin also grew up during the Iran-Iraq War and he effectively describes the after effects of a childhood in war. He bluntly describes the War as “a war for nothing.” The places where he and his childhood friends pretended to shoot each other in games were demolished by adults who really did shoot each other.

 His descriptions of a city practically annihilated with destroyed buildings, sounds of explosions and air strikes, food shortages, wounded neighbors, and casualties during a futile and needless war are unsettling.

There was also war brewing at home as well. Nourashrafeddin and his eight siblings were raised by an introverted passive mother and an outdoorsy temperamental father who was addicted to opium and heroin, “a world of smoke and addiction,” as his son wrote. His father’s addiction spiraled out of control as he lost his wife, youth, job, money, and eventually freedom to the disease. 

The conflicts at home and outside during the war showed chaos, anxiety, and trauma on all sides. It would be enough to drive anyone to despair and Nourashrafeddin revealed a lot of inner strength and determination to survive it.

Through education, Nourashrafeddin discovered his passion. Starting out as a lackluster student, he became interested in receiving a letter of recommendation to study mathematics and experimental sciences in high school. His goal was to become a doctor to earn respect, serve his community, and care for his family.

 He succeeded in school all the way to receiving a PhD in Molecular Medicine. He also obtained practical experience working in different fields like the military, administrative work in the Health Department, and worked in various medical and science laboratories, classrooms, departments, and fields.

His tireless pursuit of academic success and commitment to education is revealing, depicting him as someone who asked questions, hypothesized, theorized, researched, read, studied, measured, and shared his results. In other words, someone who was born to be a scientist but needed a slight nudge in that direction. Once he received that nudge, he excelled in the field. 

Nourashrafeddin’s adulthood was as eventful as his youth. Financial problems and overwork contributed to friction in an early marriage that ended in divorce. He was imprisoned after not paying alimony and upon release was temporarily homeless and destitute. He had vitiligo which lightened his skin and isolated him further. 

During that time, he indulged in hobbies like mountaineering and traveling to gain some perspective and a new outlook. He also had a better second marriage, found career success in Genetics, and eventually emigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This section reveals that during times of difficulty that are out of one's control, it's important to find positive interests and relationships and that clear the mind, soothe the soul, and lead to personal happiness. It's also important to search for and find new directions in life that provide challenges and propel one to move forward.

Nourashrafeddin’s memoir is about a man who lived through much trauma, sadness, happiness, and success. He told his story so Readers can find ways to push past their own traumas and find their own personal success and happiness.

German But Not German by J.C. Berger; The Parallels Between Past and Present

 German But Not German by J.C. Berger; The Parallels Between Past and Present 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: For obvious current Presidential Administration-sized reasons, many people are reading and studying various times of dictatorships, how those under them rebelled and fought the system, the ways and means that the ideals and values that propel such action are spread, and most crucially of all how the dictatorships were overthrown and the important steps to be taken afterwards to rebuild the country and not make the same mistakes of the past and fall under the spell of another dictator.

One of the most obvious examples because it has been shouted out so frequently lately is The Holocaust under the genocidal tyranny of Adolf Hitler. One of the books that illustrates what life was like under that tyranny is J.C. Berger’s German But Not German about a German-Jewish family whose world implodes because of the reign of a former paperhanger and failed art student with a destructive and fatal vision for the continent in which he lived.

Inge Schoenberg is raised in Germany in the 1920’s-’30’s by her frivolous mother, distant father, bickering but charming uncles, and her stern but loving grandparents. Their internal conflicts of changed jobs, school worries, and a frequently absent and eventually estranged wife and mother become minimal as Hitler begins his reign of terror. Many Jewish families are stripped of their rights, detained in mass arrests, forced to obey dehumanizing laws, and are deported somewhere never to be seen again. The Schoenbergs are left with a very important decision, should they remain and stick things out or should they emigrate.

Let's get the elephant in the review out of the way first. Yes, there are a lot of eerie comparisons between what is happening in the book to what is happening right now. Berger not only gives us a deeply personal story about the Holocaust, he expands it by showing how Hitler got his reign started and how it quickly engulfed the entire country, continent of Europe, and threatened to destroy the entire planet. 

Throughout the book, we are given updates about what is going on in a historical context throughout the book. Berger offers not only the historical dry facts, but the perspectives that many had at the time. For example, the publication of Mein Kampf concerned some with the Antisemitic rhetoric but many simply saw it as the ravings of a lunatic, a nobody, someone that no one can or should take seriously. They were wilfully ignorant of what Mein Kampf really was: Hitler's biases for his hatred, goals that he wanted the country to do, and most importantly a master plan of how he wanted the country to accomplish this. It was not the rantings of a madman, it was a cold methodical plan of a hateful person who studied the character of others, knew what buttons to press and what to say to influence them, and a willingness to use other people to carry out those desires. Dare I say it, it was the work of an evil genius that was only recognized as such in hindsight. 

I'm sure many might feel the same about Project 2025, and let's be honest with ourselves, Art of the Deal. Readers didn't take them seriously. They dismissed them. They thought the detractors were exaggerating or part of some conspiracy meant to make the preparers and fans look bad. They didn't want to admit that Art of the Deal point blank explains Trump's behaviors and justifications for his later behavior as a President, someone filled with avarice and heartlessness who only looks at gain for themselves, never apologizes or accepts blame, attacks the critics and accuses others of what he himself is doing, thinks that everything is for sale, and never takes no for an answer. 

These are traits that Trump still inhabits and is often surrounded by Elon Musk and others who also exhibit those traits. We saw and read for ourselves what Trump was really like and instead of seeing Trump as a potential dictator and autocrat, we simply just saw him as an example of 80’s excess. Someone who had power for a time but is now outdated. Others actually took him to be a savvy businessman and thought that his views were admirable. But we didn't see the long term implications that those characteristics that he extolled for business were later used in politics to shape, transform, and change the country to his liking.

Project 2025 was the blueprint for what Trump and his cronies, particularly The Heritage Foundation wanted to accomplish. Many of us read it, recognized it for the plan for dictatorship that it was, and warned people. We highlighted the passages that were particularly problematic and sent messages through social media. We endorsed Harris and other politicians, even Republican ones like Liz Cheney who spoke out against it. We helped people register to vote and made them recognize the importance of voting. We talked about it, warned about it, made videos about it, shared it, and voted against it. 

Unfortunately, we became Cassandra in Greek mythology, gifted with the power of prophecy but unable to make opposing forces listen to or believe us. Most people didn't want to believe it. They told themselves that checks and balances would prevent it. They told themselves that we survived Trump's first term (though not everyone did), so how bad could it be? Maybe some wanted it to happen to gain power for themselves by dehumanizing and criminalizing others. Instead of investigating for themselves, understanding our fears, and working towards keeping it from happening, they chose willful ignorance and the whole country is paying the price. If you don't believe me, then I challenge everyone reading this review to read Project 2025’s manifest for themselves and point by point match their goals and what has already been accomplished. You will see that not only is the Trump Administration following it, it is already looking to exceed the Heritage Foundation's initial expectations. Keep in mind, this is only February, the second full month of the current Administration.

There are other obvious parallels as well. The dehumanization and mass arrests of Jews during the Holocaust can be seen in the dehumanization and mass arrests of immigrants. DOGE’s closures of departments is similar to the Nazi Party reshaping the central German government to make their actions possible without accountability. That also can be parallel to the legislative and judicial branches having a Republican majority to make Executive Orders easier to enforce. Trump chose a Cabinet and advisors that are inexperienced sycophants with criminal and unethical reputations like Hitler chose his inner circle. There are comparisons between the Beer Hall Putsch and January 6 and their aftermaths in which the leaders became convicted felons but served little to no time and still became leaders. Even some parallels between the Reichstag Fire and the Gleiwitz Incident resonate alongside the assassination attempt on Trump. Unfortunately, history runs in cycles and we can either learn from it or make the same mistakes. 

Because of this parallel situation between the past and present, it is very easy for Readers to identify with and understand Inge’s plight. Sure, we may have had familial problems as she did, or other issues related to work or relationships. but they were our individual problems. Under the weight of the traumatic stress of living in a dictatorship, those issues are often cast aside for larger political concerns. 

It is easy to see the confusion, terror, and anxiety when everything around you from schools, to stores, to media, to arts and entertainment sources, to friends and family change to fit the new normal. You don't recognize the world anymore and feel like somehow you landed in some other world. There's a lot of denial and a lack of acceptance clinging to the hope that it will be over soon.

It's also perfectly understandable why it takes so long for Inge and her family to decide to emigrate and for Inge to become proactive in the fight against the Nazis. It's easy to stand on the outside thinking “If it's so bad why don't you just leave.” But then other factors have to be considered like cost, obtaining paperwork and passports, finding employment, living in a new country and getting used to its culture and language, keeping from being stranded in this new place, trying to make new friends, and reuniting with friends and family. They also have to weigh the possibility of whether it's better to remain and fight on the inside, trying to find and retain the values that they once held, even if it means facing prison, institutionalization, sent to a concentration camp, or death. 

Emigration and outright rebellion are not easy decisions to make and this book explores those options. Inge and her family are put through tremendous stress and trauma and some members don't make it. Some have a hard time adjusting to the changing world around them, even when they are safe in another country. They still stand out and have high levels of anxiety and PTSD. Also the older characters are often set in their ways and don't want to adapt. They can only hold onto old times and a nostalgic past while younger characters, like Inge, at least try to find a new path in their current home. In adapting, Inge finds the anger to strike out at those who hurt her family and former country and the courage to serve in the RAF and take a real blow towards those who perverted the world in which she lived.

In reading about the past, Readers can find parallels with the present, recognize the warning signs, learn how to live under such a system, and most importantly become inspired to find ways to fight and rebel against it. I found my way through reading and writing. Now it's time for you to find yours. 

The Serpent's Bridge (The Serpent Series Book 1) by S.Z. Estavillo; Immigration Controversies Surrounds Murder Mystery

 

The Serpent's Bridge (The Serpent Series Book 1) by S.Z. Estavillo; Immigration Controversies Surrounds Murder Mystery 

Spoilers: With President-Elect Trump's mass deportation plans looming on the horizon after his Inauguration, concerns and issues involving immigrants are very timely.

Soon there will be mass deportations of undocumented immigrants which may cause economic and labor hardship to them and the country. The future Trump Administration is also considering deporting whole families regardless of citizenship, removing the status of DACA recipients and asylum seekers, sending the military and National Guard to enforce their laws, and sending immigrants to detention centers to be processed. If this sounds ominous and familiar that's because it is. Many dictatorships often used mass deportations as a means of control and dominance to remove the latest minority to be scapegoated and derided as “The Other”, an enemy.

These controversies are explored in S.Z. Estavillo’s mystery, The Serpent's Bridge, Book 1 of The Serpent Series. Besides being a tightly woven solid Murder Mystery, it personalizes the immigration debates by giving us three people who stand on opposite sides.

Defect Anaya Nazario just finished a case in which a long time family enemy is finally stopped. She won but is left physically wounded, emotionally battered, and longing for the alcohol that she is in the process of giving up. 

A new case comes Nazario’s way when single mother, Esperanza Flores and her son, Alex witness the nighttime murder of a man by an unidentified assailant. Esperanza's employer, Millie Goodwin, a pastor’s wife, also becomes involved in the investigation when she starts to develop feelings for ICE Agent Eric Myers after his adopted son, Nicky is seriously injured by an unidentified party.

The three lead characters intersect with the investigation and the larger controversies surrounding it. They represent different facets of the immigration experience and pursuit of the American Dream. That makes the book surprisingly relevant for 2024 Readers.

Nazario represents the children of immigrants, those whose antecedents came from another country and made good and whose children are citizens. Nazario’s late father was the highest ranking Puerto Rican narcotics officer and considered the best narc agent on the force. That's a lot to live up to and even though Nazario loved him, she still feels the pressure of filling that void to represent herself, her gender, and her ethnicity in a tough mostly white mostly male dominated field.

It's not a surprise that her flawed behavior is just as present as her dedication to her job. She is brave and protective of her suspects. She is able to make the connections in the murder investigation to arrive at potential suspects and motives but she is also packed with vulnerabilities and insecurities that this case tests.

Nazario falls down, doubts herself, and is caught up in her personal struggles as much as the victims and suspects. In one terrifying chapter, she falls off the wagon so badly that she loses consciousness and has to be cared for by her ex. She also has a dark past which says that she understands what it means to be a woman of color caught in a bad situation which could mark her for life.

Esperanza represents the recent immigrants and their experiences moving to a new country trying to fit in and be accepted. While she has all of her documentation in order, she understands how easy it is to be thought of as “an illegal.” It could be someone with a criminal history or for some innocuous reason like forgetting where they put their papers. She understands because she has been there and knows the struggle to leave one politically and economically unsafe country, move to a potentially hostile and judgemental one, and live there with very little.

Esperanza has very little in her life except Alex and it is he whom she takes pride in. He's a genius who is overly mature with a rational scientific mind. She pushes him to become an American success because she is unable to. She is very protective of Alex and often worries about him in a dangerous neighborhood surrounded by drugs, violence, gangs, and a potential premature loss of life.

It is Esperanza's place in society as a recent immigrant that puts herself and Alex in the situation that they find themselves in. They witness the murder but can't tell anyone about what they saw. It's a conspiracy of silence brought on by fear, mistrust, and suspicion towards the authorities. This conspiracy is the effects of the racism and xenophobia towards newly arrived immigrants and the American society that often protects and even at times rewards that behavior.

The third side in this triangle is Millie. She represents the white American activists who either help or hinder the immigrant cause. While one would expect she and her husband would be anti-immigrants, they are the opposite. They defend them because many are part of their congregation. They help them receive important services like food pantries and counseling. In fact, they help local immigrants so often that they weigh the consequences whether Eric, an ICE agent who attends their church presents trouble for them and their parishioners. 

An early chapter shows the conflict inside Millie. She attended a protest defending immigrants and Eric arrives to not only uphold his position as an ICE agent but so Nicky can share his own personal story. While Millie recognizes that the agent is exploiting the boy's grief for his own purpose, she also sees how parental he is towards him and it moves her. 

Millie has problems in her own life with an unhappy marriage and a troubled son with whom she is estranged. However, she has to hide it all under a veneer of respectability within the community. She denied a lot of her own anguished personal trauma and now she has someone whom she can confide in and fall in love with. Her affair with and empathy for Eric and involvement in the case causes her to question everything that she originally thought and believed.

The investigation causes Nazario, Esperanza, and Millie to examine themselves and their feelings towards justice, personal happiness, identity, racial profiling, and what it means to live in America. The issues raised in the book move far beyond a simple fictional murder and resonates in real life.

The Soul of a Shoemaker: The Story of Frank Katana’s Daring Escape from Communist Yugoslavia, His Rise to Freedom, and His Journey to Success by Susan Cork; Dramatic Nonfiction Novel About Escaping a Dictatorship To Freedom

The Soul of a Shoemaker: The Story of Frank Katana’s Daring Escape from Communist Yugoslavia, His Rise to Freedom, and His Journey to Success by Susan Cork; Dramatic Nonfiction Novel About Escaping a Dictatorship To Freedom

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: We are the continuation of our ancestors. In our blood lies their stories, appearances, backgrounds, struggles, loves, defeats, and triumphs. Many of those backgrounds stem from immigration coming from one country to another either by choice or by force. Many immigrant experiences speak of poverty, slavery, tyranny, crime, wealth, marginalization and a desire to escape to freedom, choice, and independence. Once we realize that our stories have more in common than they differ, can we understand that immigration is not separated as “us” or “them.” Whether our ancestors lived within one country and ethnicity or several, they combined to make us who we are.

Susan Cork’s Nonfiction novel, The Soul of a Shoemaker tells the stirring story of her father, Frank Katana and his journey from former Yugoslavia to Canada. It is a fascinating story of tyranny, romance, independence, economics, sacrifice and finding one's niche, success, and personal happiness.

The book largely emphasizes three specific points in Katana’s life: His life in rural Mali Bukovec and training as a cobbler, his growing discontent with the Communist system in Yugoslavia and attempts to escape it, and emigration to Canada and building a life, career, and family in this new country. 

Katana's time in Yugoslavia focuses on daily life. When he couldn't find training as a cobbler in his village, he had to commute to a nearby town for training. His shoe making skills came in handy when he and his friend's shoes broke and he repaired them.

There are fascinating details about the community in which Katana lived. He was part of the volunteer firefighting crew and was called in to help neighbors whose homes were on fire and needed rescuing. At a village gathering, he fell in love with Ljubica, a local woman. Even though they spent very little time together, Katana was in love enough to imagine a life with her and write to her after he left the country, certain that she would move to be with him.

The focus on the mundanity of daily life in Katana's village contrasts with the oppressive authoritarian Yugoslavian government surrounding it. Katana wasn't a rebel looking to fight against the system. He was just someone who wanted to survive within it. He said one thing, disagreed with them one time and was brought in for interrogation. 

It's an eye opening experience to read about such a dictatorship and should remind people that in such a government there is no room for disagreement. It's something that many who want or think an authoritarian government is the way to go, such as those who want a certain Project from the Heritage Foundation and other allies of a certain Presidential candidate to come to pass, should remember. No matter how loyal a person thinks they are, no matter how much that they think they will fit in because they aren't the main target that is being marginalized, an authoritarian government will eventually affect them. All it takes is a wrong word, a slight criticism, a defense of someone else and that person will become the next target. Many countries’ cemeteries and grave sites are made up of people who thought that they would be safe from tyranny and authoritarianism and who at worst initially encouraged and supported it and at best looked the other way when they were warned. 

Katana’s escape attempts are particularly suspenseful and are almost reminiscent of a thriller. One chapter focused on Katana hopping on a train fabricating a story about visiting a lover. Unfortunately, his lie was discovered by an officer and he had to make a jump for it off of the train. He then had to flee on foot to the countryside until he practically staggered into Austria. 

Katana eventually settled in Canada where he went through many steps and missteps before he could earn a decent living and send for Ljubica. One of his first employers refused to pay him the full amount of his salary. His first shoe repair business folded. His second got off to a rough start because of his indolent partners who cared more about cutting corners and getting rich than providing quality footwear. Finally, he managed to get them in line and built enough money to be comfortable and secure.

Because of their long distant relationship, Katana's romance with Ljubica is underwritten. However, it does show their commitment to each other to maintain that closeness even while living in different countries and Ljubica still living in oppressive Yugoslavia. Many times Katana received word that she was on her way only to be detained. He went through a peculiar wedding ceremony where he and Ljubica were married en absentia, with a female relative standing in place for her so they would technically be married. Their reunion and official wedding was a moment of triumph and love.

The Soul of a Shoemaker is rich with detail and emotion. It's the type of story that can make Readers laugh, cry, sigh, tense, fume, and clap sometimes within a few chapters. It has a lot of soul and technically a lot of sole. Katana wasn't a famous or notable man but his daughter knew how to bring him to life so that anyone who reads his story will know all about him.

 

Beautiful & Terrible Things by S. M. Stevens; Contemporary Literature Looks At A Beautiful Friendship and Terrible Events

 Beautiful & Terrible Things by S. M. Stevens; Contemporary Literature Looks At A Beautiful Friendship and Terrible Events 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery.

Spoilers: S.M. Stevens’ novel, Beautiful & Terrible Things lives up to its name. It's a Contemporary Literature that is about a beautiful friendship among six diverse fascinating individuals but it is also about the terrible things that happen to them as they try to maintain that friendship against their various struggles.

Charley is a bookseller who has various disorders. She has Depression, OCD, Dermatillomania, and Agoraphobia. Her life is structured and rigid from the time she spends preparing her day in her apartment above the bookstore to the amount of time she plays word searches on her phone. One day, she encounters Xander, an eloquent customer who is also a political activist. Charley eventually accompanies Xander on an outing with his friends and is quickly welcomed into their inner circle. They are a truly interesting bunch consisting of: Terrence, Xander’s colleague and fellow activist, Jessica, a financial analyst and Xander’s roommate, Sunny, a nonbinary solar panel installer who is Xander’s friend with benefits, and Buwan, an artist whose vacation home is the center of the first friendly gathering. Through a difficult few months of prejudice, political activism, violence, sexual exploration, romances, lost jobs, and new opportunities this sextet’s friendship is truly tested.

The best thing about this book are the well developed characters. The six protagonists have the type of friendship that makes the Reader think, “I want to live in that city and be a part of that group.” They are from various ethnicities, diverse backgrounds, three genders, and have different outlooks on life yet strive to retain loyal connections with each other.They are almost like the Friends gang, only more diverse and set in the 2020’s. 

The characters go through a lot of development over the course of the book, particularly in terms of relationships. During the novel, two characters tentatively begin a relationship, two more become romantically involved then break up, and one character reveals their amorous feelings towards another. That's not to mention the final pages when some are paired with different people than before, while others take their relationships to the next level. It can get rather confusing to keep track of all of the crushes, romances, and dissolution of relationships. 

Fortunately, the Super Six aren't consumed by romance and the pairings are written realistically without resorting to soap opera tropes like infidelity or love triangles. Some characters click as a couple. Sometimes they have a lot in common or visualize a future together. Sometimes they don't and that's fine as well. As strong as relationships are in their lives, their friendships are stronger. Even after a break up, they still retain those connections and think well of one another. 

As memorable as they are as a team, they also stand out as individuals. The group’s idiosyncrasies develop them and make them come alive. From Xander’s overly flowery language, Terrence’s monochromatic wardrobe, Jessica's insistence on referring to the others by their first initials, Buwan’s dragon tattoos, Sunny’s fascination with marriage and children, to Charley’s superstitious nature, these little quirks and characteristics reveal much about the people who inhabit them in a way that is natural and not cloying. 

Sometimes their quirks are tells of deeper issues especially when we learn that many of the characters have mental and emotional disorders. There's Charley with her various internal struggles. Buwan takes medication for Anxiety attacks. Terrence has an anxious and hyper aware personality stemming from his mother's lessons. Many of the other characters go through periods of loneliness, insecurity, and emotional turmoil as well. 

Once their deeper emotional cores are revealed, much of the earlier behavior that might have been waved off as “just them being them” makes sense and is sometimes seen as sadder and more tragic. These oddities were foreshadowing hints that some things may not always be right with our heroes and they get through their issues by acting out, speaking up, pairing up, hiding, conforming, or fighting against those who threaten them. They are lovable but also troubled.

Besides friendly, romantic, and internal conflicts, the friends struggle with outward controversial issues as well. Charley learns that her bookstore will be closed and she will be evicted. Not only that but one of her friends is involved with the business that wants to purchase that property. She is hurt and betrayed and dangerously isolates herself from everyone else. This economic conflict explores the class structure among the characters and how some in a higher status can unintentionally hurt others by their association.

The characters have various discussions about politics and current events and their beliefs reflect their own backgrounds and experiences. One of those conversations about undocumented immigrants becomes personal for Jessica. In the beginning, she speaks as the child of Colombian immigrants turned American citizens. She distances herself and her affluent family from illegal immigrants insisting that they are different from her. Her self-internalized xenophobia comes back to haunt her when a friend is in danger of being deported. Suddenly, those immigrants that she considered beneath her now have a recognizable face and she is forced to confront her previous views.

Race is a common theme. Terrence recalls many of his mother's advice on how he, as a black man, should go out in public. He has to consider things like his tone of voice and simple gestures like telling a police officer that he is reaching for his wallet before he does. These are things that many of his friends don't have to think about but are central to him so he doesn't get arrested or shot.

Xander encourages his friends to participate in rallies and protests, particularly involving environmentalism, sexuality, gender identity, and race relations. A Black Lives Matter protest becomes climactic when the friends face physical injury and one lands in the hospital. Xander himself displays violent rage filled behavior that he never had before to the point that he frightens Charley who observes him. While they fight for a good cause and have good intentions, the BLM protest takes a physical and emotional toll on the friends that alters their feelings for each other. Things have changed among them forever and may never be fully repaired.

Beautiful & Terrible Things is a book that is a lot like modern life. There are many terrible things, some that can be controlled like a broken romance or a lost job. Some that cannot such as a faltering economy or systemic racism. These things can test us physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, there can be beautiful things as well: a new relationship, time with friends, the pursuit of one's interests or occupation, a pleasant vacation, and a wonderful group that feels like a family and can experience those beautiful things as well.

 

The Peacock’s Heritage: A Victorian Tale of Love, Loss, and Resilience by Sasha Stephens; An All-Encompassing Historical Fiction Novel of An Irish-American Woman’s Eventful Life

 The Peacock’s Heritage: A Victorian Tale of Love, Loss, and Resilience by Sasha Stephens; An All-Encompassing Historical Fiction Novel of An Irish-American Woman’s Eventful Life

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery.

Spoilers:   Sasha Stephen’s The Peacock’s Heritage A Victorian Tale of Love, Loss, and Resilience is one of those Historical Fiction Novels in which you follow the protagonist through several important events and various stages of their lives. 

In this case, said protagonist is Brigid Power McGrath Hayes Lansdowne. The book sees her through poverty, English Rule over the Irish, the Potato Famine, the creation of the Fenian Brotherhood, immigration to England, United States, and the Caribbean, political rebellion, women’s rights, her careers as an accountant, writer, and philanthropist, three marriages, three children, four grandchildren, many close friendships, deaths of friends and family members, and a change in status from poverty to wealth.

We first meet Brigid in the 1830’s as a tenant farmer’s daughter. She endures life with an abusive father, a gentle vulnerable mother, and five noisy siblings. She already shows a resourceful and independent nature. When her father abandons the family, originally periodically and then permanently, Brigid takes care of the household and joins her brothers in gathering peat. She also shows a keen mathematical analytical mind when she manages the family budget (a skillset that proves to be useful in her later career as an accountant and bookkeeper).

Some of the emotionally hardest passages to read are those concerning the Potato Famine and the impact that it has on Ireland, particularly on Brigid’s family. She and her siblings reveal all of the physical and psychological pain that comes from starvation including emaciated bodies, inaction, fever, hallucinations, and weakened immune systems. In one particularly scary moment, one of Brigid’s brothers succumbs to fever while he hallucinates demons attacking him. It is nightmarish as families are forced to eat dirt from the ground, what remains of animals, and fight one another for the few meager scraps that they can get. It takes a strong person to survive such an ordeal but fortunately Brigid is that kind of person.

Brigid’s independence and bad temper shine through when she calls a priest out on his platitudes that speak of lofty thoughts but little practical assistance. She also rails against her father over 

 his relationship with his mistress whom he eventually lives with. Brigid is someone who certainly knows her own mind and isn’t content in taking a submissive subordinate role to anyone.This resourcefulness and independence come in handy when her father arranges a marriage with a much older farmer and she runs away to Dublin where she carves out a life of her own.

In Dublin Brigid begins a bookkeeping career and makes many friends including an interfaith couple, Irish rebels, and various other citizens. One of the most important is Niall McGrath, a banker who is part of the Saor-Eire (Free Ireland) Movement. It is Niall that inspires Brigid to become part of a group that wants Ireland to break free from English rule and become an independent country. For someone who is as independent minded as Brigid, the thought of a life without English rule is quite appealing, especially since she personally saw how wealthy landowners treated people like her family and many of the English laws and backhanded assistance that prolonged the Famine. 

Brigid’s marriages symbolize her ascension and stages in life. Her marriage to Niall is youthful and passionate and is shared between two people who are looking forward to starting their lives. They are in the early stages of their careers and jump headlong into the Rebellion cause by attending protests and demonstrations, eventually moving to England to take an even more active part. They are in a higher place than Brigid was previously, though not yet wealthy. There is almost a careless giddy demeanor that carries over into their marriage as Brigid and Niall become part of the larger world and try to define what concepts like “freedom,” “love,” “sacrifice,” and “independence” really mean. 

Brigid’s second marriage comes from a different place. It is to Finnbar Hayes, a college professor and  leader of Saor-Eire then the Fenian Brotherhood, which is more drawn to violent actions against English oppressors. By the time that she and Finn begin courting, Brigid has experienced loss and is trying to rebuild her life with two small children. Though young, she is more aware of loss and pain and is desperate to hold onto those she loves knowing that she could lose them. There is less recklessness and more caution in her feelings towards Finn. Finn being a leader of the Movement rather than a member like Niall shows awareness of responsibility and larger stakes in his actions. If Niall went down, the Brotherhood would lose a dedicated member but if Finn went down, an entire Movement would fall along with all of the member’s friends, families and sympathetic allies. This involvement widens Brigid’s circle of friends as she empathizes with their plight.

Brigid’s marriage to Finn also changes her status as well. When they emigrate to the United States, Brigid and Finn pursue careers that bring security and respectability. For the first time, Brigid is in a financially secure position and is not only able to care for herself and her family but others as well. Finn obtains a professorship and remains involved with politics and the Fenians while Brigid helps various people by donations and volunteer work such as tutoring and mentoring. She also writes various articles and books that illustrate her views. Both she and Finn now become leaders and spokespeople of their communities as they embrace mid-life. 

Suspense plays a large part of Brigid’s life during her first two marriages. There are many secret meetings between characters that have code names. There are demonstrations and revolutionary acts which result in violence and prison sentences. While Brigid is in England, a young boy becomes her eyes and ears giving her warnings about raids or betrayal. These exchanges remind the Reader that lives hang in the balance and it takes a lot of courage and resilience to take action against an authority that thrives off of economic divide, rigid class distinctions, and imperial ambitions.

Brigid’s early marriages are filled with the tension of people who are caught up in causes that are greater than themselves. Sometimes that involvement requires them to sacrifice much: the chance of marital serenity, time with loved ones, trust of others, and even a long life with the one whom they love.

Brigid’s final marriage to John Lansdowne, a retired sea captain, is borne from loneliness and a desire not for passion or respectability, but for companionship. John is sympathetic to various causes but is not politically involved which is probably a relief for her. Since Brigid had been politically active in her youth and marriages, she is more than willing to embrace the serenity that comes with age. She has the finances to care for herself and those that she is close to and does not have to live with the political tension and financial insecurity that hounded her younger years. 

In response to that security, many of the conflicts in Brigid’s life are more personal particularly when she and John settle in Barbados. She discovers some things about herself and uses that information to continue helping others. She becomes personally involved in the lives of friends and family members by helping them move forward in their paths in life. It becomes just as much their journeys as it is Brigid’s. She is helping them in their early steps when she was forced to navigate hers in Dublin by herself. She wants to be the mother, mentor, and friend that was unavailable to her. 

 In some ways. The Peacock’s Heritage is reminiscent of Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell, which was also about the Irish immigrant experience in the United States and covers an extensive historical period from the Irish Potato Famine to the early 20th Century, however the presentations couldn’t be more different. Captains and the Kings was about a man who claws and connives his way to the top, becomes embittered by his wealth, faltering relationships, and deceitful colleagues, and ends up surrounded by the trappings of his riches but utterly alone. The Peacock’s Heritage is about a woman who is also an Irish immigrant who climbs to the top of high society but instead is enriched by her widening circle of friends and family and becomes more involved with her community that carries over into four countries. It reminds us that true wealth is remembering where you came from and lending a helping hand to those who are going through the same struggles and haven’t reached that point yet. 

Reading a book like The Peacock’s Heritage is a dizzying and at times overwhelming experience. When the book is closed, the Reader is exhausted as they felt that they lived a whole life with Brigid, but they are also glad that they got to know such a fascinating dynamic character during such interesting times.

Weekly Reader: In Freedom's Light by Sharon Gloger Friedman; Moving Historical Fiction About Prejudice and Freedom

 

Weekly Reader: In Freedom's Light by Sharon Gloger Friedman; Moving Historical Fiction About Prejudice and Freedom 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Sharon Gloger Friedman’s Ashes has long been a favorite book of mine since I began this blog. In 2019, it came in second in the inaugural “New Book Alert” countdown and has led to an ongoing interest in reading detailed historical fiction novels about strong independent women fighting to make their voices heard during difficult circumstances and time periods that did not always welcome a woman’s voice or perspective. In Ashes, Miriam, a Jewish immigrant flees with her family from a Russian pogrom, to New York City. She finds work and gets involved in labor unionization during the time of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Miriam’s journey from dutiful daughter to labor activist is compelling as is the terrifying imagery of the fire and the lives lost because of management indifference and negligence.

Friedman set such a high standard for herself that her next book would have to be something else to match Ashes. Luckily, her follow up, In Freedom’s Light, is that something else. While it also tells the story of a fictional Jewish woman emigrating to America and captures a distant time period with great description and detail, it differs in terms of storytelling and characterization. Ashes tells of a tragic event in American history from the point of view of an individual who is greatly affected by the great sweeping changes around her. In Freedom’s Light tells of various events that capture the minutiae and reality of everyday life through several decades and how the characters struggle with conforming or challenging those circumstances. 

In 1785 Valencia, Spain, Anica Amelsem put herself, her husband, Efren and her daughter, Isabel in big trouble for refusing a cut of pork in the marketplace. She is a converso, part of a Jewish family that was forced to convert to Christianity. This practice began during the Inquisition under the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and even in the 18th century, suspected Jews can get arrested or even executed. (Friedman’s notes state that this was retained into the 19th century). Efren’s family had long ago converted with no ties to Judaism, but Anica’s family continued their rituals and beliefs in private, so private that Anica never even shared them with her husband until now. The gossip and rumors are enough to worry the Amelsems and they decide to flee for America, with Isabel and a loyal servant, Mariana in tow, to find work and live with Efren’s uncle Philip  in Charleston, South Carolina. They are nervous but excited. After all, America just won a war declaring independence from Britain and it is a country of liberty and equality where everyone can worship at any altar they choose and is free to live how they want. Right? Right?

Well wrong. Upon arriving in South Carolina, Anica and Efren discover the less rosy side of the United States when they see Philip’s plantation of slaves. The couple befriend the slaves and speak out against the cruel institution and the abuse inflicted by Philip, his family, and overseer. Anica and Efren discover that the promise of freedom and equality  aren’t evenly handed out to everyone so they intend to use their status to help others receive the benefits of that promise as well. 

It is important that Anica and Efren would understand the slave's plight. Having been marginalized and treated as second class citizens in their country and forced to hide parts of who they are because of prejudice and Anti Semitism, they recognize the racism, hatred, malice, and hypocrisy in a country that does not permit equality to many of the people living there. Sometimes it takes a fellow outsider to understand the problems of the people around them and shine new light when locals are desensitized, apathetic, or actively participating in such problems. 

Anica and Efren immediately show kindness and treat the African-Americans humanely, something that angers Philip and his overseer, Jesse. They only see workers that they bought and now work for them while Anica and Efren see fellow human beings. They take the time to learn their names and relationships and bond with them as friends. For example, when a young boy, Daniel, is beaten by Jesse, Efren physically defends him and makes sure that Jesse will never hurt him again. Efren becomes a father figure to Daniel and he begins to understand his purpose living in his uncle's plantation.

Anica and Efren are in a difficult situation. Since they don’t own the plantation, they can’t free the slaves. They can defend the slaves from abuse, but Philip doesn’t care. He mostly gets drunk and goes to the city to hang out with prostitutes. They could leave, but who would protect the slaves then? Things would be just as bad if not worse than before, because there would always be the fear that they would run to the Amelsems for safety. The only thing that the couple can do is remain for now, befriend the African-Americans at the plantation, defend as many as they can from physical and sexual abuse, agree to turn a blind eye if they escape, and let them know that there are at least two white people that care about them. Efren makes plans for him, his family, and as many new friends as they can, to leave by creating a shipping business independent of Philip’s interests.

One of the most touching relationships in the book is that of Anica and Ruth, one of the housemaids.

Anica befriends Ruth and their bond is so intimate that she shares her Sabbath rituals of lighting candles with her. This bond continues to the point where the two women end up becoming best friends and their young children, Hannah and Benjamin become close friends as well. Even after the Amselems finally leave the plantation, Ruth comes with, not as a slave, servant, or a maid. Instead, she is a free woman,family friend, and honorary sister to Anica. 

It is telling that the book takes place between 1785-1845, between the Revolutionary and Civil War. Through the experiences of Anica, Efren, Ruth, and others we see that transition between 

the United States winning its independence and being torn apart. We see the daily lives of the people and how things like the Fugitive Slave Act, the eventual publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and various other things would eventually lead to the Civil War. None of these things have happened yet, but Friedman’s book provides the fertile ground and environment in which such events could occur. The fertile ground that Isabel, Hannah, and Benjamin's generation will have to struggle with.

Through the characters of In Freedom’s Light, we see a world that is on the brink of having such terms as “freedom,” “liberty,” and “equality” questioned and how within a few decades of the book’s end, there  will be  explosive results between people who are unwilling to recognize freedom in others and those who will defend them. The actions of Anica, Efren, and others show that freedom can be more than words on on an old document. They can be felt, meant, and understood by everyone. 

Weekly Reader: Gilded Summers (Newport's Gilded Age Book 1) by Donna Russo Morin; Moving Novel About Friendship Reveals Gilded Age Gender, Immigration, and Economic Conflicts

 

Weekly Reader: Gilded Summers (Newport's Gilded Age Book 1) by Donna Russo Morin; Moving Novel About Friendship Reveals Gilded Age Gender, Immigration, and Economic Conflicts

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: There are many comparisons between now and The Gilded Age. Among them are the strong economic divides between rich and poor, the prejudice between Americans and immigrants, and the questions towards gender roles and how much progress women have actually made over the years.

Those struggles are remembered and paralleled into real modern life within the novel, Gilded Summers by Donna Russo Morinn, the first book in Morin's Newport's Gilded Age series. The series involves two women from different backgrounds who become best friends and have to deal with many of the issues of the day such as the division between the haves and have nots, the struggles that immigrants face when settling in the United States, and the fight for women's rights.

In 1895, 15 year old Pearl Worthington lives an upper class privileged life in Newport, Rhode Island. (Fun fact: Gilded Age Newport is also an important setting in the book Mistress Suffragette by Diana Forbes.). Pearl seems to have a life that most would envy: a large mansion, summers spent in the country, the current fashions. and her family's friends have famous last names like Astor, Oelrichs  Fish, and Vanderbilt. She appears to have an enviable life but nothing can be further from the truth.

Pearl has a talent for drawing and illustration but cannot pursue it in any meaningful way except as an ornament for a potential marriage. She would love to study at the Rhode Island School of Design. Maybe pursue her art to a professional career like acquaintances from similar wealthy homes, Mary Cassatt and Edith Jones (later Wharton).

Pearl is weary of the small mindedness, malicious gossip, and verbal cruelty of the social set. She longs for the freedom granted to men like her brother, Clarence, in which they can step out of line and misbehave and no one would think anything of it (in fact many encourage that behavior in men) but a woman is marked for life.

Pearl is supported by her father, Orin, who is very busy but encouraging to her pursuits. However, Orin is dominated by his wife, Milicent. Milicent is emotionally abusive towards Pearl and expects her to fulfill her expected role to marry wealth, have rich children, and live the life of a society matron no questions asked and no arguments made.

Meanwhile, the Worthingtons take on new servants, widower Felice Costa, and his daughter, 15 year old Ginevra both who recently emigrated from Italy. Felice is hired to teach a very reluctant Clarence to play the violin. (Felice is a gifted violinist and luthier.) Ginevra is hired as a house maid to mostly sew clothes. Eventually, Ginevra moves up to becoming Pearl's lady's maid. 

Like Pearl, Ginevra also feels limited by her role in society. Most of the Newport elite treat their servants like robots. They don't talk to them. They just expect them to serve their food, clean their houses, take care of their children, and so on in their own world only to come out of it to collect their payment. To the wealthy, people like Felice and Ginevra are nobodies and treated like nobodies. Ginevra watches Pearl and her friends and family, as well as the handsome men paraded in front of Pearl and feels like she lives in a separate existence from others. They are depersonalized and made to feel less than human.

That depersonalization exists among the servants as well. Many like Mrs. Briggs, the housekeeper, look down on the Costas for being new arrivals and on the lower levels of the service pecking order. Even kitchen maid, Greta, who is among the lowest in the servants' hierarchy, mocks Ginevra's accent and thinks of her as stupid. 

The Costas are also judged as immigrants. Many German and Irish immigrants, especially ones who arrived years ago look down on the new Italian arrivals. People mock their accents and some want them to return to their own country. 

Like Pearl, Ginevra dreams of a different life. Her talent for sewing leads to an interest in fashion. She begins to make Pearl's clothes creating embellishments and adding a personal style. She has dreams of being a fashion designer or opening a clothing boutique but like Pearl feels limited by her gender, economic status, and ethnicity.

Despite their differences, Pearl and Ginevra develop a genuine friendship that looks past their statuses and sees the real women inside. The friendship between Pearl and Ginevra is beautiful because it helps them get past their previous limitations. Together, they share their talents as Ginevra observes Pearl's sketchbook with awe and Pearl admires the beautiful gowns that Ginevra makes. They also talk about deeper issues like how they feel stifled by the people around them. Their friendship allows them to open up and see the world through different eyes.

Pearl and Ginevra are not only able to see their limited roles but those of the people around them. Pearl sees the "Swell Set" for what it really is and finds out what goes on inside the palatial Newport homes. She sees dissension and infidelity in marriages that are happy only in appearance. She and Ginevra see cheating spouses and the other half of the marriage that would rather look the other way than lose everything. They also see these same people look down and judge anyone else by the standards that even they can't live up to, such as when three society women including "The" Mrs. Astor, critique Milicent (the same set that she aspires to join). This is a few years before these women are also revealed to fall short of their own expectations and one files for divorce.

The two friends, particularly Ginevra, also experience first hand the sexism of the day when men feel like women are their property to do as they wish. This comes to a head when an intended fiance of Pearl's also wants Ginevra. He wouldn't mind marrying one and having the other as a mistress. His intentions eventually become violent but Pearl and Ginevra are there for each other in every way possible. Their friendship is strengthened by this incident and finally propel themselves to go after the freedom that they longed for.

Gilded Summers is a beautiful novel about how friendship can help see people beyond their race, ethnicity, sex, and income. Far from gilded, this book is pure gold.