Eight Girls Taking Pictures

Currently Reading: Early Irish Myths and Sagas by Jeffrey Gantz and Wanderlust by Elisabeth Eaves

I am not a photographer, although many days I wish I was. My favorite photographs, like my favorite books, are the ones that celebrate the simple details of life, altering perspective in a way that turns the mundane into art, ordinary into beauty. It is a hobby/career/calling that is rooted in passion and self-expression, just as writing is, which is perhaps why I identify with those who use their camera to say what they need to say. A camera, a notebook, a canvas- we all find a way to make our passions tangible, to make statements that reveal glimpses of what lies beneath. I start with this because I recently read Eight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney Otto, and was paralyzed by how strongly I identified with it, as I laid in bed underlining and marking certain passages, whispering "Yes" or "Wow" at the words that seemed to echo thoughts in my own head.

Such a great title, isn't it?

The novel is a collection of separate but related short stories about eight fictional (but based on actual) women photographers, all in their twenties at the start of their stories. The stories span from about 1915 to the 1980s, covering a century of history and a revolutionary shift in women's history. Each woman is different, each story is different. But each woman is bound together by similar threads- a passion for photography and their art, a desire to express themselves through their work, and the tension that exists in balancing all of that with societal expectations and their roles and responsibilities as mothers, wives, lovers.

Eight Girls is dominated by a celebration of women's creative expression and passion. It also examines how each woman moved within her time period, influenced by the age in which she lived, yet stretching her boundaries further through her work and her life. Some of the protagonists fought against their circumstances, some ran from them, others used them to their advantage. They took husbands, left husbands, traveled the world, or stayed in one place. But each set out to accomplish something, to find themselves, and to express themselves in their work and art, beyond the limited expectations society allowed them. I was struck by the fact that each era seemed to demand something different from its women; the contrast between Edwardian 1915 and feminist 1970 is stark, but the limits and demands on women still existed in both, in contrasting ways- for instance, while at first it was unthinkable to imagine a life outside the home, later it was just as taboo to admit that a life inside the home could be a desired thing. This book seemed to point out that the feminist movement has been just a constant reassessment of how women can and should be defined- and it drove the point that the issue is far from settled, in society or within our own minds.

Photography acts as the common denominator between the female protagonists, and using it as a way to tell these stories was utter genius because photography is all about perspective. It is about choosing what to see, what to focus on, and how to express it. What each photographer does to capture a picture, she also does on a wider scale in determining the outcome of her life. In Eight Girls, photography represented freedom- the excuse for a girl to travel, the way in which the woman can see her lover, the view through which a mother saw her children. It is also vulnerability at its most acute, a self-portrait which none of the women can hide from. Each story starts with the photographer as apprentice, just learning an art for which she is passionate but unfamiliar; the women's ultimate mastery of photography serves to either mirror their own control over their lives, or contrast sharply with the lack of self-mastery they come to have. Through a camera, the photographer can exert control over a moment and an outcome in ways that we never can in life; in this novel, the control and freedom of making art with photographs comes to symbolize the shift in female roles throughout the twentieth century, while demonstrating that that shift is still underway.

I feel this was the first book in quite a while where I fully identified with every piece of it- each protagonist close to my age, on the cusp of womanhood, trying to determine who they are and how to direct their lives.  I felt their desire to fulfill their creative passion, for that desire tugs at me incessantly day by day. But I also understood the struggle of prioritization that comes with wanting to fulfill oneself, trying to balance the tightrope that exists between what I am and what I am required to be. It is the challenge of definition. There is so much to me, to all of us, that one label or one identifier is not enough. I don't want to be defined with only one term: as mother only, as careerwoman only, as wife only. I want the entry behind my name to extend to a variety of roles, all capturing my various shades and hues like a child's kaleidoscope. But how? That is the question of Eight Girls, the ultimate game-changer, the thought that trips each woman up. And, like those women, just when I think I have it figured out, as I stand in the mirror watching myself be the woman/wife/student/careerwoman/writer/reader/cook/follower-of-passions that I want to see, the mirror shifts its focus and I must start again. It's a trick, this balancing act, a trick of perspective. Like taking a picture.

Wind Out of My Lungs

Currently Reading: American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I have been reading so much lately that I hardly know where to start when discussing it all. Tonight, a small discussion and some impressions of The Book Thief, a book about a German girl, WWII, the power of words, and Death as narrator. Here we go.



"Rain drops like gray pencil shavings"... "moonlight like a strand of hair"....."a voice like suicide." Markus Zusak has a brilliance with words that pushed me over with a force and a strength as I read The Book Thief. Before I discuss the story itself, I have to mention the words, the writing style, that makes this book so different from others I have read. In this book, similes and metaphors describe the world in different and wondrous ways, as the sun sheds tears and the sky turns the color of breakfast. Verbs do not act the way they should, performing acts in ways they have never done before. Feet scold the floor, Liesl's voice tramples on words as she reads aloud, another voice hands a question to the listener. The use of verbs and metaphors are almost magical in their strength and potency. The twist of words really makes this book powerful. Which is perfect, really, since the book is about words- their power, their strength, their potential for harm and for good.

How can one even find the words to adequately describe The Book Thief? It is beautiful in its story, captivating in its writing. I listened to the audiobook, which was achingly beautiful; I highly recommend listening to it. The Book Thief is a story of human beings- what we are capable of, the dark and the light, the ugly and the beautiful that we have within us and that can be found among us. It is about human potential, human frailty, and human strength. It is a story of the power of words- how they can heal and tear down, build up and destroy. I especially enjoyed that it was a story from the German citizen's point of view, which is often not "done" in WWII novels. Here, we see that everyone suffers in war, that no one is immune from the hate that words can conjure up or the love that words can also produce. It is an essential lesson for many of us who think we understand that time but never can and never will. The book is beautiful in so many ways; so many days later, it continues to haunt me.

I couldn't shake the book off of me, so I scoured the Internet for links and interviews, biographies of the author, book club interpretations. Here is a link to a great interview of Markus Zusak, the author, and of his decisions in writing The Book Thief. However, it does contain spoilers so only read it if you have already read The Book Thief. I also found an interview of him for The Guardian that is about how and why he writes, which is pretty interesting. 

The Book Thief was so thick, so potent with emotion that I know it is a book that I will have to read and reread before I feel as though I have fully internalized it. I especially love books with characters that are so utterly human, I forget they are not real. This book overflowed with these characters- Hans and Rosa Hubermann, Liesl, Rudy, Max, the mayor's wife, Frau Holtzapfel- they all leaped from the page into my soul, as dear to me as my loved ones. Death as the narrator completely changed the entire rhythm of the reading, because it is something so foreign and yet so brilliant. He too is a character that I loved deeply. The story was not predictable, which cannot usually be said about WWII/Holocaust books. It took my breath away, knocking the wind out of my lungs as it dropped me down. It was sad of course, but it also ended so well. A friend described the reaction to the end of the book, after the tears, as simply a contented sigh. Exactly. 

I hope you discover The Book Thief too. I have no doubt it will become part of you, as it did to me.

Geometrically Progressive

Currently Reading: America's Resting Place: 400 Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds by Marilyn Yalom

I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in two days. It was that good.



After David Copperfield, I needed a quick, light read and this fit the bill perfectly. It had received glowing reviews from my sister-in-law, aunt,and coworker, so I knew I would enjoy it. To be quite honest though, I feel it is a book best read outside in the summertime, when the leaves are whispering and one can run through the grass, not during the cold dead of winter; maybe I'll just have to pick it up again in several months when the time feels right!

The book is, overall, about the saving grace of books and reading. Each character, living through traumatic and challenging times during the German Occupation in WWII, found books that spoke to them and helped them cope, even survive. It was fascinating to read how farmers and fisherman leaned on Oscar Wilde, Charles Lamb, and Seneca during food shortage, evacuations, and terror. I have always believed in the inherent power of books to change us, to change the world. This book exemplified my most fervent beliefs. We read for pleasure and enjoyment, it is true. Yet the effect books can have on us goes beyond mere entertainment. Books have the power to build us up, depress us, change the world, destroy it. They inspire us to change our lives, our perspectives, and even to lead us down new paths with new interests. They challenge us to get outside our comfort zones and address truths we didn't even know existed. I will forever be passionate about books, for they lead to everything else.

Since I am short on time today, I merely want to leave you with some of the book's most profound quotes that state, in a deeply elegant way, the power and lure of books in our lives.

"Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true."

"Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books." (Hehe)

And the best for last: "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive- all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment."

I hope you get time to lose yourself in a book this weekend. And I'm curious to know: how have books changed you? Happy reading!

A Byman Student, Always and Forever

Currently Reading: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Let me start this post with a declaration: I am in love with David Copperfield. I forgot how much I loved Charles Dickens, and I have read enough of him to recognize with pleasure that this is not a love born from obligation (i.e. Charles Dickens is the epitome of a great novelist, therefore I must read his work and love him because otherwise librarians and professors will throw tomatoes at me), but in a "Mr. Dickens, it is truly awe-inspiring the way you can spin words into sentences that I want to hang on my wall" kind of a love.

What can be better than this: "God knows how infantine the memory may have been that was awakened within me by the sound of my mother's voice in the old parlour...The strain was new to me, and yet it was so old that it filled my heart brimful- like a friend come back from a long absence." Or this: "I am glad to think there were two such guileless hearts at Peggotty's marriage as little Em'ly's and mine. I am glad to think the Loves and Graces took such airy forms in its homely procession." Yet it's difficult to pull out specific quotations and air them on the line individually, because it seems the entire book is one sonorous quotation, winging along and imprinting itself into my mind. Every sentence I read makes me thirsty for more, which is why I am so pleased that I have over 700 pages to indulge in.
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Stay tuned later this month for my list of favorite children's Christmas books. It will by no means be a comprehensive list since there are an unbelievable amount of Christmas kid books in this world, but the list will include my favorites, old and new.
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For tonight, I will spend some time discussing Bernhard Schlinck's The Reader, which I finished about a week ago. (Ahem, Mary, if you are reading this... please go get it and read it pronto.) This book surprised me. I saw the movie about two years ago and was intrigued by the plot, so I naturally assumed that the book would be good and worth checking into. Oh baby. Was it ever. Do not be fooled by the dearth of paper between the covers- while short, this book is mighty. I was completely blown away by the intensity and the depth of this book. Quickly, I entered "Professor Byman-class" phase, where I instantly started analyzing the smallest details and posing questions for fellow classmates about the significance of the title, of Michael's desire to pursue a career in law, of how Hanna's fate and Michael's reactions mirrored Germany's fate and the perspective of the post-war generation in Germany. Once a Byman student, always a Byman student, I guess.

I loved this book. (If you haven't caught on yet, I say I love a lot of books. I don't give my love away to just any book, but I am not afraid to give books the "love" stamp of approval if they deserve it.) To make it brief: the book takes place in the decade after Nazi-era Germany. Our narrator, Michael, tells his story as an older man, reflecting back on the trajectory his life took when he was 15. For at that age, he entered into an affair with an older woman named Hanna (for sensitive readers, it does get a bit graphic but not in an unnecessary way). After a happy but tumultuous relationship, Hanna disappears. Michael does not see her again until years later, when he is a law student. There he comes face-to-face with the woman he thought he knew and the secrets she hid from him- and the world- for so long. It is haunting and moving and kept my thoughts chugging along to the point where I had to stop, rewind the CD (I listened to it as an audiobook... the narrator was fantastic), and listen again to the paragraphs I had just missed. As someone who is not only passionate about history but also connected to Nazi Germany through my family history, it raised questions that I have pondered before and led me to ask deeply personal questions as well: who must accept responsibility for what happened in Germany in WWII? At what point are we free from any responsibility or guilt for what happened in the past? How can we accept the role our loved ones played in that terrible time? Is there such a thing as innocence, even for those of us who weren't there? What is the cost of keeping secrets and to what lengths are people willing to go to preserve their self-worth? These thoughts have always been with me- Holocaust class brought them painfully into focus for me when I was in college and The Reader continued this reflection. While I don't have any answers, the book caused me to ask more questions.... which is exactly what a good book should do.
So if you are desperate for a thought-provoking, fascinating read, I highly recommend The Reader. And I would love to hear your perspective on it as well.
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Tonight, the Christmas tree is going up and I'm busting out more carols.


Hobbes says "Merry Christmas"!Hope you're having a great week too! I'll be back on Friday with more poetry.

Faith, Truth, and Silence in the Desert

Currently Reading: The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, The Orphan Sister by Gwendolen Gross, and The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
(Diverse- yes. Awesome- always.)

Scene: a settlement of hundreds of Jewish refugees in an ancient fortress on an isolated mountain, surrounded by a hostile desert and an ever-growing, all-consuming Roman world. The year is 70 C.E. and this is Masada, the last Jewish stronghold against a Roman army and a Roman empire that seeks to destroy it. Those within Masada are a diverse group of men, women, and children, flung from all ends of the Judean world, fleeing the Romans and fleeing their past. This is the stage setting for The Dovekeepers, a powerful and unbelievably riveting book by Alice Hoffman. Here, Hoffman re-imagines a true historical event and infuses it with realistic characters and deep insight. This is the third of Hoffman's many novels that I have read and so far I have not been disappointed. (Now there is a Christmas-morning giggle of excitement in my stomach thinking of her other books that are just waiting for me to knock upon their doors).

My favorite thing about reading is when I chance upon a novel that pulls me into it with both hands, willing my eyes to the page, whispering with the strength of a yell, "You must read this! There is so much to find here. You will walk away changed."

The Dovekeepers. Doves are synonymous with peace, an irony in this book, in a world broken by strife and hate. It is fitting then, that the women assigned to work in the fortress' dovecotes are all struggling to recreate a life for themselves from the ashes of their past. Hoffman wrote the book in four sections- each one narrated by a different woman. I loved to hear their voices, witness their strength, watch them try to rebuild their lives so far removed from the ones they had known before Rome destroyed their homes and their futures.

There is nothing I did not love about this work. I loved the interpretation of an event and a past that we have never seen and do not recognize but which still relates to us, fervently reminding us that we are not so different from those who walked this earth long before us. I loved the many themes that wound over and under each sentence, infusing the pages with their presence and their strength, their mystery. The beauty and necessity of silence. Shadows and secrets. Questions of and struggles with God's will, fate, faith. Each of these themes surface differently in the lives of each woman, changing them in many ways and leaving lasting impressions upon my own thoughts.

My favorite quote from The Dovekeepers is, "But now I understood that, although words were God's first creation, silence was closer to His divine spirit, and that prayers given in silence were infinitely greater than the thousands of words men might offer up to heaven." Faith can grow in silence. Truth can be found in the shadows. Secrets can bind us together, as well as pull us apart. There is always something to learn about ourselves and the path before us. We only have to be brave enough to face Truth, in all of its forms, before we can become the person we want to be. Check out The Dovekeepers if you can; you won't be disappointed. Have a wonderful weekend!

My Very Own "Celebrating Halloween, October, and Autumn" Book List

Currently Reading: The Burning of Bridget Cleary by Angela Bourke

I hope you are all having a happy October! So far, I have celebrated by baking an apple crisp and visiting Edward's Apple Orchard with Nate, my dad, and my stepmom. What a great weekend. I hope yours was just as fun. I have a funny tradition that I started long ago and have kept up every year. Whenever a holiday or time of year rolls around, I tend to gravitate toward books that reflect it. By doing so, I feel I achieve a deeper appreciation and connection to the season and the world around me. My book is not an escape; it provides a deeper level of experiencing the season. And since it is finally October, it is time to read my autumn/Halloween books!

I absolutely love my October books. Autumn and October cause me to reflect on the world around me, on life, on death. My passion for meandering through cemeteries is increased tremendously as the days become crisp and the world prepares to "give up the ghost" and sleep for another season. While I enjoy searching out new books every year, I often use this month to reread my favorites, for reading these particular books at any other time of year just seems wrong. Many of the books are historical fiction, especially related to historic witch hunts. (My interest in the Salem Witch Trials is dwarfed only by my love of Irish history and genealogy). Others have creepy or mysterious aspects that lend themselves perfectly to a cemetery autumn read. (Note: I love to read in cemeteries. It's a wonderful way to enjoy nature, it's peaceful, and it's quiet. Call me crazy but there is something wonderful about cemeteries.) None of the books on this list are horror or thriller books, for I have never acquired any sort of fascination for those types of books or movies. Halloween (or Samhain, as the Celts called it) is not about murder or gore- it's about saying goodbye to the light season, remembering our ancestors, and anticipating the new year. So tonight, in honor of this wonderful month and the season which accompanies it, I give you my top "Celebrating Halloween, October, and Autumn" Book List in the hopes you will perhaps become inspired to pick one up yourself.
1) Salem Possessed by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum
            A wonderful historical analysis of the events that led to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Boyer and Nissenbaum are two of the field's most eminent historians and they really know their research. Their argument is compelling and gives the witch hunts an entirely new perspective. I have read many books on the Salem Witch Trials and theirs is by far one of the best analyses of those terrifying nine months. A great read for the curious scholar who is looking for some shivers down the spine.
2) Widow of the South by Robert Hicks
            I read this as an audiobook last autumn, which was a fantastic experience. Widow of the South is based on true events during the Civil War and beyond. The book is about a Southern woman named Carrie McGavock whose plantation home becomes a hospital for dead and dying Confederate soldiers after a battle rages near her hometown. Appalled by later efforts to disinter and dispose of the soldier's remains several years later, Carrie, who is suffering from terrible grief for her own losses, decides to have the soldiers' bodies brought to her plantation and creates a cemetery for them, which she tends until her death. While the battle scenes and soldiers' experiences are interesting, the most meaningful and haunting part for me were the book's heavy- and often heartbreaking- discourses on life and death from a Southern woman's perspective.
3) The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
            One of my absolute favorite October books. Part fantasy, part Salem Witch Trial history, with splashes of genealogy thrown in, Deliverance Dane is about a PhD history student who starts researching one of her descendants after finding her "Physick Book." As she delves deeper into her family history, the main character discovers some surprising details about her ancestors and herself. The end is a bit over the top if you're not expecting it; however, I still relish reading it every year. My favorite memory with this book is from last year, finishing the final chapters as I sat on my mother's porch during a late October afternoon, the leaves outside quietly celebrating with me.
4) The Raging Quiet by Sheryl Jordan
         Please read this book. I cannot stress enough how much I love this book and I am fairly confident that if you love books at all, you will at least enjoy this one. Historical fiction centered in medieval England, The Raging Quiet is about a woman and a man who were different- and then punished for it. (Don't worry, it has a good ending). Marnie is a farm laborer's daughter who marries the landlord in order to save her family's position. Raven is a man whom the local people believe is possessed with demons. Marnie discovers the truth and befriends him, which causes the local people to turn on her as well. I love this book because it causes the reader to understand and face fear- and not the type of fear that is often advertised through horror movies, but the real fear of what people can be capable of when ignorance prevails over reason. If you read anything from this list this month, please read this one.
5) The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
                A wonderful classic for the season and one that I read for the first time last year. While not my favorite of Hawthorne's (I prefer The Scarlet Letter but most especially Young Goodman Brown), this was nevertheless a creepy book that brings up many questions and musings about our ancestors. How much of their influence remains within us and to what extent? Can we ever break away from our families' reputations and legacies? I haven't read any scholarly discourse on this book, but I believe this book reflected Hawthorne's own haunting thoughts on the legacy and taint of his ancestors, especially since his great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the leading magistrates during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials (which is why Nathanial Hathorne changed his name). For a genealogy nerd like me, it definitely provokes contemplation, even long after reading it.
6) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
             Another fantastic classic, especially for Halloween. The plotline is quite familiar even to those who have never read it, so I won't recount it here. It's a quick read, and often amusing, but the end is truly scary, awakening our deepest fears about darkness and the unknown. What did happen to Ichabod Crane?
7) Brides of Eden: A True Story Imagined by Linda Crew
            This book does not seem at first glance to fit into my Halloween/October book list, but believe me, the creepy/chills down your spine factor is there from the start. Brides of Eden, based on a real event in the late 1800s, is about a man who came to a small town proclaiming to be the returning Savior. While it sounds almost amusing, this man ended up convincing almost the entire female population of a small Oregon town that he was both the Holy Spirit and Jesus, come to deliver them from the end of the world. Reading about the cult he ultimately created from the imagined perspective of one of the women inside of it is intense and horrifying. The sinister aspects of this story are numerous and the book will continue to haunt, long after you read it. Perfect for this time of year.

And my October books for 2011? Well, I cheated and started early, because I was just too excited. (I also decorated my house on September 15th. I go all the way.) :) This year, I am reading The Burning of Bridget Cleary by Angela Bourke, which is about an Irish woman who in 1895 was burned and killed by her husband, father, and other male relatives because they believed she was a fairy changeling. This is an absolutely true story; Angela Bourke does a phenomenal job presenting her research and making the broader connections between this event and other aspects of life, religion, and the political climate during this period of Irish history. Horrifying but addicting, this book had me from the first chapter... I am loving it. After that, I hope to try two new books: Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt and The Witch's Daugher by Paula Brackston.The first is a historical fiction account of a family living through a terrible witch hunt in England in 1612 (who is seeing a trend in my book choices here?), while the second seems to be a novel about a woman who is a witch and has been granted immortality but must reap the consequences for this gift. Both very intriguing; I am quite excited to dive in to both! Plans always change though, so The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane might be picked up as well. We will see! Let me know what your favorite spooky books are! Have a great week!