Interview with Félix Calvino, author of A Hatful of Cherries

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Félix Calvino, author of the short story collection A Hatful of Cherries. (You can read my review if you haven't already by clicking here.)

I'd like to thank Félix for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions. From what I understand from his emails, this was his first interview. I am honored!

The interview is posted on my Examiner page, and you can read it by clicking here. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

A Hatful of Cherries by Félix Calvino

A Hatful of Cherries is a collection of 16 short stories by Félix Calvino set in Australia and Galicia. I'm always apprehensive when I start reading short stories because I like to know a lot about the characters, and short stories don't give you a lot of room for character development. Calvino does a great job giving readers an idea of who his characters really are in just a few short pages. While I didn't get as attached to the characters in these stories in the way I would have had it been a novel, I felt satisfied with the details I was given about each of them.

Take "An Old Sheep," for example:

As the only woman in the house, mother now set out to establish her authority past the kitchen walls. Though she was an outsider she came from good stock; her mother had presided over her own fourteen sons and daughters, and other relatives of her husband. And she too had been outsider.

Not that mother stated her ambitions. It was more like a low ranting wail directed toward the Lord, asking for patience and strength to endure her Calvary. This infuriated grandfather and she was told to go to hell with her pantomimes and not to interfere with his wine drinking, not to lose sight of the kitchen, the thimble and the washing. But their Holy War was over a piece of ground with rich black soil used by grandfather to grow tobacco, and desperately wanted by mother for her lettuce and tomatoes.

...But I felt sorry for father returning in the evening with the cows. Mother would be waiting in the stables, red-eyed, eager to tell him how unhappy she was because her work was not appreciated. Then she went back to the main house and to her bedroom, washed her face, put on a new scarf and attended to dinner efficiently but sombrely. Later in bed, she gave him a proper and unhurried version of the events, how they had developed and how alone she felt in the world. But these occasional storms were private family affairs and always blew away in the dark, leaving the sky blue again the next day. (pages 39-40)

My favorites stories in A Hatful of Cherries were "Basilio," a sad story of a man who picks up goods and sells them at market, traveling the dangerous post-Spanish Civil War roads while his wife worries about him at home, and "Sylvia," which follows two married men, best friends who share a lover. "Detour" focuses on a young man late to his engagement party when he detours to a more scenic route and his car breaks down in the rain. Calvino provides a shocking ending in just a few simple sentences.

He also does a wonderful job making stories about everyday incidents interesting. In "Restless Hands," he tells the story of a man who quits smoking, and in "The Laundry Incident," the main character finds his clothes stolen off the line on Easter Sunday.

...The socks, for example, should have been replaced long ago, as I have no mending abilities. As for the underpants, I am happy to see them go. Many of them have by now a senile elastic waistband and are therefore a source of irritation, having to be pulled up at regular intervals and in awkward places. Apart from a few shirts of recent purchase, the rest are well past mid-life and will not be missed.

The loss is not of a financial nature. I am more concerned for the safety of future washings. (page 110)

The stories in A Hatful of Cherries are beautifully written, with Calvino painting the scene so that you can picture it vividly in your mind. The prose is sparse, and each story is handled in a gentle tone despite some dark and melancholy themes. While there were a couple of stories whose meanings escape me, I think it is a solid collection of stories that is worth picking up when you're in the mood for short fiction.


Those of you interested in Calvino's work can read the title story, "A Hatful of Cherries," at The Barcelona Review. Also, Félix emailed me recently to say he has been published in the United States for the first time. His story, "They Are Only Dreams," is featured in Fast Forward: A Collection of Flash Fiction, Volume 2, which was released in June. Congrats Félix!


About the author:

Félix Calvino was born in Galicia, on the northwest coast of Spain and grew up on a farm. To avoid military service under General Franco, he went to England where he worked and studied English, his third language. He migrated to Australia in the late sixties, settled in Sydney and worked in the travel, restaurant and wine industries. In 1996 he moved to Melbourne and a year later, a long-held ambition for a tertiary education was fulfilled when he was admitted to the University of Melbourne. There he studied English and Spanish as components of his Bachelor of Arts degree.

His work has also appeared in journals such as Fast Forward Press, Quadrant, Social Alternatives and The Barcelona Review. He is currently undertaking a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing at the University of Queensland.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of A Hatful of Cherries from the author for review purposes.

The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst

Before picking up The Spies of Warsaw, I had never read a spy novel. My interest in World War II literature drew me to Alan Furst’s latest novel, and after flipping through to the last pages and noticing that most of his novels involve espionage and either the Nazis or the Soviet secret police, I was hoping The Spies of Warsaw would be good because I wanted to check out his other books. I wasn’t disappointed.

The book opens in Warsaw in 1937. Hitler is in control of Germany, but World War II has not yet begun. Furst begins by painting a picture of a secret agent, Edvard Uhl, a married ironworks engineer from Breslau whose affair with “Countess Sczelenska” leads to his involvement in espionage. Uhl, whose identity as an agent is discovered early on in the book, is not a major character, but he introduces readers to Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, a veteran of the Great War and the military attaché at the French embassy in Warsaw. Mercier used Uhl to get information on the tanks being built by the Germans, but when the Nazi police gets wind of Uhl’s activities, Mercier must risk his own life to gather information about the Nazis' plans for war.

Furst shows Mercier at the numerous dinners and other social events he must attend for his job, suffering through them though he’d rather be elsewhere. It is at these events that readers learn of important political maneuverings and get a taste of Polish high society before the war. While the scenes in which Mercier is under cover are exciting, The Spies of Warsaw is not all politics and war. Mercier falls in love with a League of Nations lawyer, Anna, so there’s some sex and romance thrown in, too.

Furst is a talented writer, and his use of description brilliantly sets the scene. Here’s a passage from the beginning of the book where Mercier is shown to readers:

Turning slowly in the shower, Mercier was tall – a little over six feet, with just the faintest suggestion of a slouch, an apology for height – and lean; well muscled in the legs and shoulders and well scarred all over. On the outside of his right knee, a patch of read, welted skin – some shrapnel still in there, they told him – and sometimes, on damp, cold days, he walked with a stick. On the left side of his chest, a three-inch white furrow; on the back of his left calf, a burn scar; running along the inside of his right wrist, a poorly sutured tear made by barbed wire; and, on his back, just below his left shoulder blade, the puckered wound of a sniper’s bullet. From the last, he should not have recovered, but he had, which left him better off than most of the class of 1912 at the Saint-Cyr military academy, who rested beneath white crosses in the fields of northeast France. (page 15)

Here’s another passage that shows Furst’s expertise at building tension and writing action:

…Suddenly, from somewhere to the right of the tower, a light went on, its beam probing the darkness, sweeping past them, then returning. By then, they were both flat on the ground. From the direction of the light, a shout, “Halt!” Then, in German, “Stand up!”

Mercier and Marek looked at each other. In Marek’s hands, a Radom automatic, aimed toward the voice, and the light, which now went out. Stand up? Mercier thought. Surrender? A sheepish admission of who they were? Phone calls to the French embassy in Berlin? As Marek watched, Mercier drew the pistol from his pocket and braced it in the crook of his elbow. The light went on again, moving as its bearer came toward them. It was Marek who fired first, but Mercier was only an instant behind him, aiming at the light, the pistol bucking twice in his hand. Then he rolled – fast – away from Marek, away from the location of the shots. Out in the darkness, the light went off, a voice said, “Ach,” then swore, and a responding volley snapped the air above his head. Something stung the side of his face, and, when he tried to aim again, the afterimages of the muzzle flares, orange lights, floated before his eyes. He ran a hand over the skin below his temple and peered at it; no blood, just dirt. (page 70)

I must admit that my lack of spy and military knowledge made it hard for me to understand some of the goings on in The Spies of Warsaw on the first read. I found myself re-reading certain paragraphs until I felt I had things straight, but that’s okay because the novel is one to be read slowly and savored – despite the fact that Furst had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to turn the pages quickly to find out what happens.

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The Spies of Warsaw is the 16th book I've read for the WWII reading challenge at War Through the Generations.

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If you think The Spies of Warsaw sounds like an exciting read, you’re in luck! I have one copy to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment (hopefully saying more than just “enter me”). Be sure to include your email address if it’s not in your profile. I must have a way to contact you if you win.

For extra entries, you can blog about the giveaway, post it in your sidebar, mention it on Twitter, and let me know the link and/or tell me the name of the best spy novel you’ve read so far.

The giveaway is open internationally and will end on Sunday, August 9, at 11:59 EST.

You can read an excerpt from The Spies of Warsaw by clicking on the book tour button.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of The Spies of Warsaw from Random House for review purposes.

We're Back and I'm Exhausted!

We're back from The Girl's birthday vacation. We're a bit soggy, as it stormed every day we were there, but at least it wasn't a complete washout. I can't believe I managed to keep the trip a surprise for more than six months! That's a record for me.

We went to Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in Hagerstown, MD. It was only a 90 minute drive, but we threw The Girl off by telling her we'd be in the car for 12 hours. She slept the entire ride, and we woke her up just as we were pulling in. She thought we were only stopping at the campground to check it out, since we'd mentioned wanting to go there, and to use the bathroom, and when we said it was her surprise and she saw the water slides, she was in heaven!

We paid for the birthday package, so Yogi stopped by our campsite with a balloon and birthday card. The Girl was thrilled. Her Auntie Serena and Uncle Cris spent Saturday with her, and she received some bookish goodies, which will appear in my Mailbox Monday post next week. (I was too busy napping and doing laundry yesterday to go online, so I'll post two weeks worth of books next week and spend the rest of this week catching up on blog reading!)

The Girl wants to thank all of you for the birthday wishes! I'll try to post some pics from the trip soon.

Happy Birthday to The Girl!!

Today is The Girl's 9th birthday!! Happy birthday, my pumpkin pie! Actually, I should call her my little apple. Auntie Serena took this photo on our camping trip at Keen Lake for the 4th of July. The Girl won first place in the applesauce eating contest (she ate 2.5 cups of applesauce and would have kept going if all the other kids didn't quit!), and as you can see, she was thrilled...and messy. :)

I can't believe my little girl is growing up. She'll be in 4th grade in the fall, and she's getting taller and taller by the day. I really enjoy sharing my love of books with her, watching her reading tastes evolve, and sharing this blog with her from time to time. She drives me crazy sometimes* but she's really a wonderful little girl, and I can't complain.

We're currently on vacation, another camping trip, this time closer to home. The Girl loves that her birthday is during the summer, so we can go on mini vacations as a present. This one was a complete surprise to her, so I'll give you all the details when we return.

*One of my favorite memories is saying to The Girl in a half-kidding, half-frustrating tone when she was about five, "You love to drive me up the wall, don't you?" And The Girl responded, with a smug smile on her face, "Yes, and soon you'll be on the ceiling." She's a wise one, eh?

A Big Thank You for Brightening My Day!

It's time for a much overdue awards post. You all are just too kind.


The Let's Be Friends award from Natalie of The Book Inn, Sheila of One Persons Journey through a world of books, and Melissa of Melissa's Bookshelf. Thank you all so much!



The Kreativ Blogger Award from Pratima of Peek-a-Boo(k) and Arielle of Bookatopia. Thank you both so much!

For this one, I'm supposed to list my 7 favorite things. I may have done this already, but it's nearing midnight and I'm forgetful. So here goes:

1. My family
2. Books (of course)
3. Sunday naps
4. A notebook and pen
5. Camping
6. Sleeping in on the weekends
7. Watching the birds eat at the feeder outside my living room window


The Lemonade Award from Helen of A Reading Collection. Thank you!



And the Humane Award from Esme of Chocolate & Croissants.

This one says, "The Humane Award is in order to honor certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world."

Thanks! That truly means a lot to me.

These are wonderful bloggers whose sites I discovered only recently. I encourage you to visit their blogs and say "hello."

Interview with Kathy-Diane Leveille, author of Let the Shadows Fall Behind You

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kathy-Diane Leveille, author of Let the Shadows Fall Behind You. (You can read my review of the book if you haven't already by clicking here.)

I want to thank Kathy-Diane for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions.


The interview is posted on my Examiner page, and you can read it by clicking here. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

(Author photo credit: Noel Chenier)

The Wave by Todd Strasser

Anyone who thinks the Nazi party's rise to power in the 1930s and the Holocaust could never happen again should grab a copy of The Wave: The Classroom Experiment That Went Too Far by Todd Strasser, the winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for Children's/Young Adult literature in 1981. The Wave is based on the true story of Ron Jones, who conducted an experiment in his Palo Alto, Calif., high school history class in the late 1960s when students asked how the German people could claim to have known little or nothing about the mass extermination of the Jews by the Nazis during World War II.

Strasser's fictionalized telling of the experiment centers on history teacher Ben Ross and student/school newspaper editor Laurie Saunders. Mr. Ross seems to be a hands-on, show-don't-tell kind of teacher, and he thinks the experiment will get his students involved in the class discussion about the Holocaust. He decides to create a movement called The Wave, whose motto is "Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community, Strength Through Action." Surprisingly, the students obey Mr. Ross's orders, and the movement catches on.

"Now that we understand Discipline and Community," he told the class, "Action is our next lesson. Ultimately, discipline and community are meaningless without action. Discipline gives you the right to action. A disciplined group with a goal can take action to achieve it. Class, do you believe in The Wave?"

There was a split-second hesitation, and then the class rose in unison and answered in what seemed like a single voice. "Mr. Ross, yes!"

Mr. Ross nodded. "Then you must take action! Never be afraid to act on what you believe. As The Wave you must act together like a well-oiled machine. Through hard work and allegiance to each other, you will learn faster and accomplish more. But only if you support one another, and only if you work together and obey the rules, can you ensure the success of The Wave." (pages 59-60)

While Laurie is the main character of the book, readers are introduced to several other students, who basically symbolize the nerds, the jocks, and the losers. The Wave becomes popular because all the students feel like equals and don't have to worry about trying to fit into a certain clique. The movement grows so large it encompasses the entire school, and there are membership cards, arm bands, and rallies. It becomes more than Mr. Ross ever imagined, and even he is caught up in all the excitement. Laurie is worried that the movement is going too far, and when students start being bullied to join The Wave, she realizes it must stop. But how?

At just 138 pages, I finished The Wave in one sitting. I was on the edge of my seat wondering how it would all play out. There wasn't much time for major character development, but Mr. Ross, Laurie, and her boyfriend, David, are fairly well developed. You can see a transformation in the other characters, but you're not really given a chance to get to know them outside of their interactions with Laurie and in class. However, it's not really necessary to get to know all the characters to understand the implications of the experiment.

It's hard to believe The Wave is based on a true story. It's not clear how much of the book is fact, but I don't think it matters. But it's important to understand that not everyone who supported Hitler was as crazy as he was. I'm not talking about the high-ranking SS officers (Himmler, Goering, Goebbels--I believe they and the others in Hitler's inner circle were just as disturbed as he was). I'm talking about the average citizen. Some of them were swept up in the excitement of the parades and rallies and Hitler's animated speeches about improving Germany's post-World War I economy. Others were too afraid to publicly oppose the Nazis. My maternal grandmother, for instance, lived in Germany during the war, and she told me many years ago before she died that they had to listen to Hitler's speeches on the radio. If they didn't listen to him, or they criticized what he said, someone could report them to the Gestapo. I'm not making excuses for these people, but The Wave shows, albeit on a much smaller scale, how easy it is for such movements to get out of hand, how easy it is for people to be manipulated.

The Wave gives you a lot to ponder, and it's one of those books that sticks with you long after you finish reading. The book shows step by step how Mr. Ross begins and perpetuates the movement, but I leave those details for you to discover on your own. The Wave is shocking, and it makes you take a closer look at your own beliefs. How strong are you to stand up for what is right, even if it means being ostracized or worse?

[The Wave was released as a movie in Germany last year. The setting was changed from the U.S. to Germany, and the experiment emerges from a discussion about whether modern Germany would allow a dictatorship.]

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The Wave is the 15th book I've read for the WWII reading challenge at War Through the Generations.

Disclosure:  I purchased my copy of The Wave.

Are You Ready for BBAW?

I'm probably the last person to post about this, but things have been crazy busy as we prepare for a mini-vacation to celebrate The Girl's birthday. I'm sure you all have heard about it already, but the 2nd annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming soon!!

I participated last year, and it was tons of fun. I participated in a couple of the daily activities, interviewed Lourdes from Lost in Books and Rebekah from Ready Set Read Reviews, and bantered with my buddy Serena about writing and writing spaces. I had been seriously reviewing books for only a few months when I signed up for BBAW, and it was the first time I felt like I was part of the blogging community. I "met" so many wonderful bloggers, and my Google Reader subscriptions exploded.

BBAW 2009 will be held Sept. 14-18. Here's some more information, courtesy of Amy from My Friend Amy. I do hope you all plan on registering!

WHO Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate. In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!

WHAT A week where we come together, celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recognizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards. There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.

WHEN September 14-18, 2009

WHERE Here at the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog! (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)

WHY Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word. I, Amy, the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week love this community of bloggers and want to shower my appreciation on you!

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Please help us spread the word about Book Blogger Appreciation Week by posting about it on your blog, stumbling this post, twittering about it, and telling everyone you know that it’s time to have a party and celebrate book bloggers!

Please register by filling out the registration form! Registering ensures your inclusion in the BBAW 09 Database of Book Bloggers and enters you into the drawing for the BBAW 09 Grand Prize!

Come back often as there will be many updates! And follow us on Twitter!

AWARDS
BBAW Award Nominations will open July 15 on the BBAW Awards Blog.

I can't wait! Once you've registered, be sure to vote for your favorite book blogs! It's a great way to show the bloggers whose reviews and sites you love how much you appreciate them and their hard work. Voting will be open until August 15. And you don't have to be a book blogger to vote.

I'm sure Serena and I will do some joint bookish activities during the week. Now off to brainstorm!

Mailbox Monday -- July 20

It's time for another Mailbox Monday, when bookish folk share the books that have been added to their already overflowing shelves over the past week. A big thanks to Marcia from The Printed Page for hosting this weekly meme.

I received only a few review books in the mail this week, and one was a complete surprise. The others I bought using some Amazon gift certificates I've had for a while.


Here's what I received for review:





The Desert Baron by Conrad Crease (from the author).

Baron Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein played a big role in crushing Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, so this sounds interesting.














The Sky Rained Heroes by Frederick E. LaCroix (from Merritt Talbott at Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists)

I couldn't pass up what sounds like another great WWII book!














When You Went Away by Michael Baron (from Joan Schulfafer Publishing & Media Consulting)

This one was a complete surprise. Not sure if it's something I would have chosen on my own, but I'll give it a shot.










Here's what I bought with my Amazon certificates (2 for me and 2 for The Girl):




Bloody Awful by Georgia Evans

I must finish this WWII paranormal trilogy. This is book 2.


















Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Not sure what I'll think of this one, but it sounds like fun. There are some interesting drawings throughout.













The Dinosaur Museum by the National Geographic Society

The Girl was sold the minute she found out there was a pop-up T-Rex. Ever since she first discovered dinosaurs, she's wanted to be a paleontologist. Not sure how long that'll last, but she added this one to her huge collection of dinosaur books.








Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel R. Russell

When The Girl saw that this was similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, she started reading it right away. So far, she loves it. Hopefully, I can get her to write up a review...and then I think I'll read it myself.





What books did you welcome into your home recently?

East Garrison by G.M. Weger

East Garrison spans only 222 pages, but G.M. Weger tackles numerous themes in this ambitious novel. The book takes place on and around the closed Army base Fort Ord in California, and there's a mountain lion prowling around the site. A young woman, Tracy Dade, is in the final days of her first pregnancy, and she has a lot on her mind. She's not quite stable, which can be blamed partly on hormones and partly on her screwed up relationship with her father, Jack.

Jack is a Vietnam vet suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He depends on a supply of marijuana that he grows here and there to make it through the day. He lives out of his dilapidated van with his old dog, Blondie, and moves around a lot. During the course of the book, he is parked on a rarely used road on Fort Ord tending to several pot plants he is growing in the woods. Jack is one messed up individual. He's long been fascinated with the German military, Hitler, Nazis, and especially the swastika, what it stood for before Hitler made it the symbol of the Nazi party and what it stood for after World War II.

He remembered his boyhood game of goose-stepping in his foster parents' cow field in Fresno with his black, knee-high leather boots. He would pretend he was a German soldier marching, marching, marching in one great glorious line of boys that went on as far as the eye could see. The war with Germany had been over almost a decade -- long enough for everyone to know the terrible things that had happened there -- but he was just an American boy with a fascination for the German military. He had no idea why. All he knew was it still made him quiver. That was what had brought him to the swastika, but even back then, there was more to it than just making a buck. There was something mystical in that tiny scratch mark of a symbol. It looked like a wheel with pieces broken off, or maybe a hooked cross. Hitler was brilliant to steal such a powerful image, and Jack was a genius to find a market for the fake militaria. His cup overflowed for a while.

It was much later that he discovered the swastika's true meaning of good fortune. For years he tried to explain the lucky nature of the symbol. Most people thought it was okay when it was pointed left and only Nazi when it was pointed to the right, when in fact it didn't matter which way it pointed. (page 3)

Jack sees ghosts -- particularly a Major General Fritzsche who is always barking orders at him in German -- and he's on a quest to understand the Truth. It was difficult to follow the scenes told from Jack's point of view because he's not in his right mind.

The only other characters mentioned in detail in East Garrison are Tracy's husband, Will, a federal police officer who does his best to strictly follow the law, and Angela, who works with Tracy at California State University Monterey Bay's Media Learning Complex and whose birth defect has prompted her to spend much of her time fighting for environmental causes.

Tracy is preparing herself for the birth of her child, and Angela gives her some books about the goddesses to help Tracy find the strength to get through the ordeal. When Tracy is in the beginning stages of labor, she decides that is absolutely the right time to seek out her father on the Army base to make amends. She wants to get rid of the anger and other emotions she feels for her father to clean the slate before her baby makes an entrance. Angela insists on accompanying her, and that's where things get messy -- literally.

I don't want to give more of the plot away, but I think it's important to note that readers with weak stomachs will want to avoid this book (along with those who can't read books where the animals don't come out okay). I didn't expect it to descend so fast into the gruesome, and I found myself having to close the book, close my eyes, and take a few deep breaths to keep from throwing up. This also is the point in the story when I knew I was going to have a hard time with this review.

Weger is a talented writer. She drew me in from the very first page with her cast of eccentric characters, and there were so many themes being explored -- impending motherhood, family relationships, marital tensions, environmental issues, the effects of war -- that I wasn't bored for a second. However, so much happened in the last 60 pages, and the tight structure just fell apart for me. I thought I was on Tracy's side, but I couldn't relate to her anymore. A hospital scene after Tracy gives birth was too unbelievable. And the final chapter was so all over the place with talk of faith and Truth and post-labor hormones that I was left scratching my head.

Overall, the book was only okay for me. The writing was good, the characters were interesting and fairly well developed, and it held my attention until the very end. But the ending left me feeling unsettled and unsatisfied.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of East Garrison from Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists for review purposes.

Interview with Steve Luxenberg, author of Annie's Ghosts

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Luxenberg, author of Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret. (You can read my review if you haven't already by clicking here.)

I want to thank Steve for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions. The interview is posted on my Examiner page, and you can read it by clicking here. I'd love to know what you all think.

(Author photo credit: The Washington Post)

Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg

Steve Luxenberg grew up believing his mother, Beth, was an only child. About five years before his mother's death, he learned that she had a sister who was institutionalized when they were both young children. He never spoke to her about it, but when she died in 2000, the family learned that Beth's sister, Annie, died in 1972 at the age of 53. Luxenberg wondered how it was that he and his siblings knew nothing of their aunt and why there was no evidence at all of Annie's existence -- other than the notice from the cemetery about placing flowers on the family graves, which triggered the investigation into his mother's past.

Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret is the story of Luxenberg's mission to learn about Annie's life and why his mother went to such great lengths to conceal her existence. The book details each step on his journey, from the initial questions about whether it was right for him to dig up his mother's secret to a reassessment of his mother's life.

Luxenberg learns early on how difficult it is to obtain Annie's medical records, despite her being long dead and his being her next of kin, but he eventually manages to dig up some of the records and begins piecing together Annie's life. It's not an easy endeavor; Annie was institutionalized in 1940, and many of her medical records were destroyed. Also, a number of people who knew Beth and her family before her sister was institutionalized had passed away.

In Annie's Ghosts, readers go along with Luxenberg on his journey, as he presents information in the order in which he uncovers it. We learn that Annie was born with a deformed leg, which ultimately was amputated and replaced with a wooden prosthetic. She had a low IQ, was diagnosed with a form of schizophrenia, and was institutionalized without any hope of being released. But Luxenberg, in his quest for the truth, goes beyond presenting the simple details. He speaks with numerous doctors and mental health experts to find out how Annie's condition was perceived from the time of her institutionalization in 1940 to her death in 1972 and compares it to how she would have been treated today.

Along with Annie's story, he tells the history of the public mental health system, particularly in Michigan, where his family was from originally, so that readers can understand Annie's world. Although these sections of the book moved a bit slow, overall I thought the story was riveting. Luxenberg pushes to the forefront the issue of family secrets, whether they should be brought to light, and what to do with them once exposed. He expresses frustration with the fact that his mother essentially wiped Annie out of her life and did all she could to keep Annie hidden, but he wants to understand her motivations and doesn't cast judgment.

Luxenberg also tells the story of his cousin, Anna Oliwek, who knew Annie during her institutionalization. Anna, a survivor of the Nazi massacre of Jews in Radziwillow, has a fascinating story of her own (but you'll have to get your hands on a copy of Annie's Ghosts to find out for yourself).

Annie's Ghosts is an emotional story about mental illness and the limitations of the public mental health system and raises the question of how far someone would go to keep a secret from those closest to them. We all have family secrets, but Luxenberg was brave enough to sort through his. Luxenberg's more than 30 years as a journalist (he's currently an associate editor at The Washington Post) shines through in his writing, and he knows just the right questions to ask to get the information he covets. Annie's story is heartbreaking, but Luxenberg does his best to give her the voice and recognition she didn't have during her life. I highly recommend this one.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Annie's Ghosts from Hyperion Books and the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for review purposes.

Dirty Little Angel by Chris Tusa

"That's not something you should know, Hailey," he said, rubbing his forehead with a pale hand. His voice grew soft. "You're just a g*****n kid. You're supposed to be having fun. Doing what kids do. Not worrying about whether your stupid parents are screwing around on one another."

"I know but . . ."

"This family. I swear to God, it's like we're drowning in quicksand or something. We're up to our eyes in it, all of us. And we don't even know it."

"I know, Cyrus. But you can't protect me from everything, you know."

"This family's poisonous, Hailey. The only way you're gonna make anything of your life is to get as far away from us as you can. Just promise me you're gonna go away to college when you graduate. Please, Hailey. Just promise me that." (from Dirty Little Angels, page 83)

Dirty Little Angels is Chris Tusa's first novel, but you'd never know it. He brilliantly captures the thoughts of a 16-year-old girl, telling the story of Hailey Trosclair, who is trying so desperately to save her family. The Trosclairs live in the New Orleans slums; her mother has been ill since a miscarriage six months before the book opens, and her father has been out of work just as long. Hailey's mother comes from an affluent family who disowned her when she got married, and rather than look for work to support his family, her father spends all of his time at the poolhall and with his waitress/stripper girlfriend.

In telling Dirty Little Angels in the first person, we know Hailey's every thought, which is a scary thing with regard to this story (at least from my point of view as a mother of a young girl). Hailey's best friend, Meridian, is very promiscuous, obnoxious, and definitely not someone you'd want your daughter to be around constantly. But Hailey's parents aren't taking an active role in her life, as they are preoccupied with their marriage and financial troubles. Her older brother, Cyrus, does his best to take care of her and protect her, but he has problems of his own. He runs with a bad crowd and has a criminal record. With Hailey tagging along, he gets involved with Moses, a hoodlum with a twisted view of Christianity who plans to convert a dilapidated bank into a drive-through church. Moses is the type of guy who thinks sinners need to pay for their sins, and he is the one to handle the punishment. His involvement in Hailey and Cyrus' lives leads to their eventual downfall...and that's all I'll say about the plot.

Religion is one of the main themes in Dirty Little Angels, as Hailey prays for her family to come out okay, and these prayers go unanswered. Meanwhile, her mother has become religious and is shoving her beliefs down everyone's throats, forcing Cyrus to "get saved" after his arrests. It's interesting how Hailey is affected by both her mother's and Moses' views of religion.

Tusa is a great writer, and his talent shines through in his descriptions. I could picture the characters and the scenes clearly in my mind. Here are two of my favorite passages:

That night I dreamed of Mama's flesh creaking as the doctor unstitched the trapdoor in her stomach. Her insides looked like crushed red velvet, and the baby's skin was blue as a robin's egg. I imagined the stitches in her stomach, tiny black mouths puckering between the folds of her belly. I remember wondering where the baby's cries had gone, if they had stayed inside Mama's body after the doctors stitched the trapdoor shut. (page 1)

When we got there, the officer brought Cyrus and me into a white room with glass walls. A few minutes later, another man came in and sat down. He was an older fat man with a stubbly chin and a bald liver-spotted skull. He had tiny baby teeth that looked like someone had plugged little white Chiclets into his gums, and you could smell Old Spice seeping from his pores. His hips looked wider than they were supposed to be, like he'd had someone else's hips welded onto his skeleton, and his chest looked like Brandon Piggert's chest the summer he'd grown little midget boobs after shooting up a batch of steroids. The skin on his face was pocked, and it reminded me of the girl's face from The Exorcist. (page 64)

Tusa's characters are attention-grabbing, and I felt attached to Hailey from the start. I felt so bad about her family problems, and I cringed each time she made a really, really dumb decision. I had to remind myself that I, too, was impulsive as a teenager, though on a much less dramatic scale. With Hailey's descriptions of her sexual experiences and a few acts of violence, Dirty Little Angels is a dark, gritty novel not for the faint of heart.

My only complaint is that the ending felt rushed. Rather than tie up all the loose ends, Tusa opens up a new can of worms on the last two pages. While it wasn't a horrible ending, it left me wanting to know more about what happens to Hailey and the ramifications of the action in the last scene. Still, I enjoyed the book overall, I'd definitely recommend it, and I certainly would read more by this author in the future.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Dirty Little Angels from the author for review purposes.

Mailbox Monday -- July 6/July 13

My Mailbox Monday post for this week features 2 week's worth of books, as last Monday I was passed out on the couch after coming home from our July 4th camping trip. I was awake enough to open up the few packages that were waiting for me (couldn't let them sit unopened, of course), but the excitement of new books was too much for my tired bones and I conked out shortly after.

Before I show you my new books, I want to thank Marcia from The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday, where bookish folk talk about the books they purchased, received for review, or otherwise obtained over the last week.

Here's what arrived in the mail:


The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson and Martin Dugard (from Miriam Parker at Hachette) I've never read non-fiction by Patterson, so I'm really looking forward to this one.



Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay (from Random House via Shelf Awareness) The description caught my eye, and I figure if I don't like it, it sounds like something my husband will enjoy.


Lizzi & Fredl: A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith by Dr. William B. Stanford (from Kelley & Hall Book Publicity & Promotion via Bostick Communications) I can't pass up what looks to be an interesting Holocaust story about the author's parents.



The Rapture by Liz Jensen (from Random House via Shelf Awareness) This one sounded too good to pass up, and my husband is interested in reading it because he loves disaster-related books and movies.



The Saint and the Fasting Girl by Anna Richenda (from the author) I'm always looking for some good historical fiction.



A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve (from Miriam Parker at Hachette) I just couldn't refuse this one, since Shreve is among my favorite authors.



Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn (a contest win from Savvy Verse & Wit)



The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock (from Anna Balasi at Hachette) Another book for the WWII reading challenge at War Through the Generations.



The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst (from Random House for a book tour later this month) I haven't been participating in many book tours lately, but I couldn't refuse this one because it's a WWII-related book.

I received these books from Belle at Ms. Bookish from a giveaway:



The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King



The Sky Is Falling by Kit Pearson...another WWII-related book



Paging Aphrodite by Kim Green



Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn by Kris Radish



The Riddles of Epsilon by Christine Morton-Shaw

And I caved and went with Serena to her library's rockin' sale on Saturday, and picked these up for about $5. Most of them are WWII-related, of course.



The Wave: The Classroom Experiment That Went Too Far by Todd Strasser



Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli



Floating in My Mother's Palm by Ursula Hegi



Spy/Counterspy by Dusko Popov


No. 12 Kaiserhofstrasse: The Story of an Invisible Jew in Nazi Germany by Valentin Senger--I couldn't find a pic of the copy I purchased, and there wasn't much info about the book online.

So I'm going to be buried under books until further notice, but I'll enjoy every minute of it!

What books did you welcome into your home recently?