11.26.2020
Immoral, Freeman - B
This is the first, from way back 15 years ago, in the Jonathan Stride series mentioned a few weeks ago. A teen goes missing and all fingers point to her lecherous stepfather. There's enough circumstantial evidence for the town's aggressive prosecutor to go to trial without a body. Plenty of twists, turns and even a side trip from frozen Duluth to Las Vegas.
11.23.2020
The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from world War to Cold War - Nasaw - B+
At war's end, the living detritus of the conflict, millions of slave laborers, Holocaust survivors, prisoners of war, soldiers and civilians were homeless and starving in Germany. "By October 1, 1945, 2 million Soviets, 1.5 million Frenchmen, 586,000 Italians, 274,000 Dutch citizens, 300,000 Belgians, 200,000 Yugoslavs, 135,000 Czechs and 94,000 Poles had been sent home." This book is about the million displaced Eastern Europeans who refused to go, or had no home to go to. They were Polish Catholics fearful of communism and the Jewish camp survivors. The majority of the million were from the Baltics and the Ukraine, many of whom had fled before the Red Army, some of them displaced workers, but also those who had collaborated with the Nazis. The 1941 invasion of the USSR had afforded those who despised the Soviets many opportunities. Thousands went to work for the Germans, and up to half-a-million men joined the Waffen-SS to fight the Soviets. When the Red Army returned, the collaborators fled west and attempted to hide among the civilian displaced persons, preferably in the American and British sectors. Joining them were hundreds of thousands of intellectuals, clergy, doctors, shop owners and others who knew they would be persecuted by the Reds. Also with them, often on foot and occasionally in cattle cars, were the surviving Jews from all the corners of Europe who had been in the camps.The Jews were barely alive and lodged with fellow countrymen. "The fear of the survivors, in those first weeks and months after liberation, was that the American and British military were going to force them to return to the nations and the peoples who had murdered their families." Allied military policy, and the United Nations Refugee Relief Administration wished to treat all DP's equitably and repatriate them. Most Jews were still in striped pajamas and many were behind barbed wire in the same camps in which the Nazis had kept them. An American observer reported that the only difference is "that we do not exterminate them." The majority wished to go to Palestine. Both Britain and the US State Dept. were opposed. Their policy considerations were straightforward: ignore the humanitarian issues because foisting more Jews on the Arabs would drive them straight into the Soviet's camp. Knowing Truman's concerns and anticipating a change in policy, Ike appointed Jewish chaplains as liaisons, stated that any Jew who did not wish to be repatriated be treated as stateless, and, materially improved living conditions. By autumn, 1945, all DP's were in accommodations sorted by nationality and religion. The only ones willing to return home were the non-Jewish Poles, and by year end, a quarter million of them were repatriated. That said, there were an equal number of Poles who had no interest in living under communism. The Balts and Ukrainians did not wish to be repatriated, and the Jews simply wanted out of Europe.The financial and personnel demands on the US military charged with managing the DP's was such that the Army tried to close the camps. When that failed, they began to try to weed out the war criminals, collaborators, and those who had fought for Germany. Meanwhile, the Jewish problem in the camps continued to fester while the US and UK did battle over whether 100,000 DP's would be allowed to go to Palestine. Added to the mix in 1946 were 150,000-200,000 Jews who were in the USSR during the war and upon returning to Poland, were met with vicious anti-semitism and chose to flee to the American sector. The DP's became a political football with the USSR and Poland demanding repatriation, Britain and America opposed but without a plan for their future. The UNRRA was replaced by the International Refugee Organization (IRO), which was basically a UK-US entity with the objective of resettling those now defined as refugees, who were people who did not wish to be repatriated for any reason, including fear of the regime in their former homeland. Settling a substantial number of Jewish refugees in the US was a goal of the administration and America's Jews, but any possibility of amending immigration laws fell by the wayside when Republicans soundly won the 1946 congressional elections. While America dithered, the UK, Canada and Australia began taking in refugees from Poland and the Baltics because of their severe labor shortages. Brazil and Argentina followed suit. Very few Jews were accepted by these countries. The most desirable DP's were single and capable of work in mines, on farms, or as lumbermen. The Jews didn't fit that bill, and when anti-semitism was added to the equation, they were stuck in Europe for years. The UK was allowing 1500 immigrants to Israel per month. So, illegal immigration exploded. The UN suggestion in response to the British desire to leave the Mandate behind was a partition that the Arabs refused to accept. Both sides prepared to fight. The Jews struck first, committing a major atrocity at an Arab village near Jerusalem and beginning to evict Arabs from Palestine. The British Mandate expired at midnight May 15, 1948. Within minutes Ben-Gurion declared the existence of Israel and Truman recognized the new state. By the end of 1948, 750,000 Palestinians had fled. One hundred and thirty-two thousand DP's replaced them. The same year, the US addressed immigration reform legislation at a time when anxiety about communists sneaking in was at a high pitch. A bill passed admitting 200,000 mostly Catholic and Lutheran DPs, which was labelled "a shameful victory for the school of bigotry" by the Times. Complicating the process was a genuine concern that many of the Balts and Ukrainians were willing Nazi collaborators. Truman's re-election and a Democratic majority in Congress led to the Displaced Persons Act in 1950. It allowed a potpourri of 328,000 Europeans in, but only about 32,000 Jews because by then, the majority of Jewish DP's had been absorbed by Israel. Further anti-communist anxiety occasioned by the Korean War led to legislation that made it easier for former Waffen-SS and other Nazis to come to America. One of the consequences of the two US laws was a worldwide opening of doors in Australia, Canada, and Central and South America. "The Last Million and their children could not escape history, nor will they let the rest of us do so. They stand as living testimony to the inescapable truth that the dislocations and displacements of the war in Europe did not magically end with the cessation of hostilities, but bled into the postwar and the Cold War that followed."
We Germans, Starritt - B+
This novel is written as a letter from an aging Eastern Front artilleryman, Oberkanonier Meissner, to his British grandson. The barbarism of war was amplified in the east where neither side offered any quarter to the opposition. It was a "thing of hatred and annihilation." Meissner witnessed years of extreme atrocities by both sides. The common lot for soldiers was starvation and considerable effort went into foraging, including killing civilians, and near the end, rear-echelon German guards, for food. By 1945, Meissner's squad was heading west and hoping to be met by Americans. They wound up surrendering in Austria to Czech partisans and were handed over to the Soviets. Back east, they went to a camp near the Black Sea. Years of fighting followed by three years of captivity led to a fatalistic acceptance by the author of all that came his way. Throughout, the thoughts of Meissner are interspersed with points of clarification or elucidation by the grandson. This is a superb telling of a difficult story that sheds light on the daily trials and tribulations of front-line soldiers and addresses the profound issues of responsibility and guilt by Germans. The author is a grandson of a former Soldaten.
Billy Boyle, Benn - B
This is the first in a decade-and-a-half old series featuring a Boston police detective as a lieutenant on Ike's staff in London. He is to be available to discreetly investigate matters of suspicion, and here looks into multiple murders committed in and around the Norwegian forces and government in Britain. The interesting aspect of the book is its deft exploration of the Norwegians' wartime activities in the UK. However, there is quite a bit of the story that totally strains credulity, leading with the fact that Billy is supposedly some relation of Eisenhower's and calls him Uncle Ike. It is, though, a thoroughly pleasant diversion.
Whiteout, Follett - C
This novel opens soundly with a threat of a plague like illness from a virus taken out of a highly secure experimental laboratory in Scotland. The virus is 100% fatal, but the founder of the business and his security chief put the genie back in the bottle. The story falls apart from there, when the founders ne'er-do-well son teams up with some thugs from Glasgow in an attempt to sell the virus to terrorists. Weak stuff.
11.15.2020
The Vanishing Half, Bennett - A*
This is an extraordinary novel dealing with the topic of race in America. Twin sisters growing up in the woods of Louisiana see their father lynched as children, and come of age in a community almost completely populated by very light-skinned African- Americans. They run away as sixteen year olds and try and find a life in New Orleans. Stella applies for a secretarial job and, once working, realizes that her colleagues think she is white. She abandons Desiree and "crosses over". Desiree marries a very black man, and after her marriage fails returns home to Mallard with her daughter, Jude. Jude grows up experiencing racial abuse from the lighter-skinned locals, and later, as a college student, finds freedom in LA. There she meets her aunt and her privileged blonde haired cousin. Undoubtedly, the most intriguing story line in the book is Stella's. She lives a lie, dissembles around her husband and daughter, is unable to build friendships, is worried that blacks will notice, and is wary, if not fearful, all day every day. This is flat-out an extremely powerful story of not just racial identity, but family and love. This is a truly magnificent book.
The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, And Less Than Four Minutes To Achieve It, Bascomb - B
Running four laps, four quarters, in four minutes was long considered beyond man's capability. Some thought death awaited. The story of its pursuit begins in 1952 with Wes Santee of Kansas, John Landy of Australia, and Roger Bannister of England. All were at Helsinki, and none of them took home an an Olympic medal. Bannister was crucified by the tabloids for letting down his country. All three were determined to improve, and the Oxford grad and St. Mary's Hospital medical student began focusing on the mile. By years end though, Landy had run 4:02.1. While Landy trained, Bannister struggled with a med student's schedule, as well as a graduate study for Oxford on the biology of long-distance running. He was unquestionably a scientist-runner, who grasped the physiological issues he was facing. Meanwhile at KU, Santee convinced the Jayhawk coach to let him out of relays so he could focus on the mile. Throughout 1953, the three men ran, trained, went to school and became the number one story in the world of sports.
On the morning of May 6, 1954, a dark rainy day, Bannister went to work at St. Mary's in London. At mid-day, he went to Paddington Station and took a train to Oxford. Just before the 6 p.m. start, the race organizers asked Bannister and his pacemakers if they wish to race. Bannister said no, but his colleagues said yes. His splits were 57.5, 1:58, 3:00.4, and he finished with a 3:59.4. He had achieved immortality. Seven weeks later, Landy broke the record.They raced each other in the Empire Games that summer and both ran under four minutes, with Bannister the winner. Santee was never so fortunate. Today the record is 3:43.13 set in 1999 by Hicham El Guerrouj. Needless to say, races are no longer held on cinder tracks.
The Law of Innocence, Connelly - B+
This particular year, the author has chosen to return with the sixth in the Lincoln Law series featuring Mickey Haller. Bosch does have a small role helping his half brother. The book is unnerving because a sword of Damocles hangs over Mickey's head right up to the final pages. He is framed for a murder and the prosecution is loaded for bear with a chance to put away a prominent member of the defense bar. He's confined to the local prison where he is at risk, starving and beaten half to death. He and his team find it difficult to find the third party perpetrator who would show his innocence. There is a sense of impending doom throughout. As always, a thorough background on LA is prominent, as is a deep dive into the criminal justice system. And as usual, another great one from Michael Connelly.
House On Endless Waters, Elon - B
An Israeli novelist on a visit to Amsterdam goes to the Jewish Museum, where he sees a video of the Jewish Quarter before the war and what appears to be his mother holding an unknown brother. He is now on a search for truth and identity. He returns to Amsterdam, takes up residence near the apartment his parents lived in and begins to research the past. Simultaneously, he begins to write his mother's story and the slow-motion dehumanization and destruction of Amsterdam's Jews. The more he progresses, the more he learns about a series of decisions that altered, and saved, his life. This is a wonderful story and one that would be very meaningful as an introduction to the sorry story of Europe's Jewry in the war.
Funeral For A Friend, Freeman - B
This novel is apparently part of a long-running series featuring Jonathan Stride, chief of detectives in Duluth, MN. There are two stories here, one featuring a deadly stalker pursuing a young runaway under Stride's, and his wife's protection. The second involves the murder of a journalist in pursuit of an alleged rape by the local US congressman three decades earlier. Unlike almost every major series I can think of (eg. Harry Bosch, Ian Rutledge, Alan Banks and Guido Brunetti), the story is less about the principal, but more about the actual crimes themselves. There are some interesting twists and it's always fun to visit a new locale.
The Forgers, Murrow - C
Eerily written in the first person, this highly acclaimed novel explores the world of rare books, its sellers and buyers, and the occasional interlopers, the forgers. Perhaps because I was reading it before, during and after a trip, I couldn't quite get going, or perhaps, it's a pretentious, tedious bore.
The Searcher, French - C
Cal is a former Chicago cop retired early to rural Ireland and slowly shaping up a deserted and dilapidated shambles of a house. A 12-year-old, Trey, keeps hanging around and eventually convinces him to look for a missing older brother, Brendan. As Cal begins to dig, he learns that the sleepy village filled with affable souls has secrets. Drugs from Dublin may be coming into the area. And of course, drugs bring danger.
11.02.2020
Agent Sonya: Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy, Macintyre - B
Ursula Kuczynski, born in 1907 to a wealthy Berlin Jewish family, became a communist as a teenager. She was naturally rebellious, active, passionate and altruistic. As the Depression rolled over Germany, her husband was offered a job in Shanghai and she went east in 1930. She was recruited by Moscow; her job was to befriend the German ex-pat community and report any and all information. She was sent to Moscow for training and then, back east, this time to Mukden in Manchuria. Now known as Sonya, she supported CCP partisans attacking the Japanese. When someone in her network was blown, she was recalled and sent to Warsaw. She was awarded the Order of The Red Banner for her success and courage. Before the war broke out, she moved to Switzerland, where she married for a second time to a fellow Soviet agent, and together they moved to England near the UK Atomic Research Centre. There, she met another German communist, Klaus Fuchs and became his handler. He never understood why the US and Britain didn't share their secret with their Soviet ally. He passed on an atomic treasure trove that allowed the USSR to eventually build its bomb. While Sonya raised children and passed as a completely domestic homemaker, she also ran a network in the UK and soon, MI-5 was interested. When Fuchs was sent to America, she passed him off to a new handler. She co-opted an OSS effort to such an extent that all of their German agents returned home to Germany late in the war were actually communists reporting to her. When Klaus Fuchs confessed after the war, she knew her time was up, and notwithstanding innumerable and obvious connections to him and the deep suspicion of some in MI-5, she left for East Germany in 1950. She lived in Berlin until her death in 2000. As she aged, she was rewarded with honors, a second Red Banner, and published her memoirs. She even toured Britain. She lost her faith in the USSR, but not the core principles of communism.
All The Devils Are Here, Penney - B
Setting the most recent Gamache novel in Paris seems like a great idea. After all, just how much can be written about Three Pines, close to the Vermont border in Quebec. All of the Gamache family is in Paris when Armand's godfather is run down in an attempted murder. Stephen is very old, very wealthy and a hero of the Resistance. When Armand begins to dig, he winds up finding a vast international plot that quite frankly, strains credulity. There are just too many evildoers and plot twists to believe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)