The Book of Flaco

 

In June I went by myself to an author talk at the Sturgis Library. How had I never encountered any of David Gessner's work until now when his writing style is right up my alley? Gessner is a memoirist with a connection to Cape Cod who writes about nature and environmentalism. The workshop itself was short but very worthwhile. It was structured differently than others I had previously attended, and I feel like I learned a lot listening to the author. Titcomb's was there peddling their wares, so naturally, I couldn't leave without purchasing two books. I justified The Book of Flaco because I had it inscribed by the author to gift to my owl-loving friend Elaine, whose birthday is in July. The other book I couldn’t resist was Return of the Osprey: A Season of Flight and Wonder. Gessner began his presentation with beautiful close-up videography of ospreys hunting and nesting.

My wily plan for Flaco was to “gently read” it before gifting it, the problem being, I’m a slow reader and only got about halfway (Chapter 6) before my friend’s birthday. Another problem surfaced when I remembered I can’t even think about Flaco without getting emotional. For sure, his story doesn’t have a happy ending, but Gessner’s perspective on the tale managed to fill me with inspiration.

When I started my “careful reading” on June 10, the sobbing began immediately. Working hard to ensure the tears avoided the text, I picked it up again the next day and managed to plow ahead, gaining marginal control over the weeping. Then, the book sat, waiting for an appropriate moment for me to immerse myself in more blubbering. Meantime, two other books by Gessner and one by his wife expired from my digital Kindle shelf. I managed to read to page 60 of 363 in A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World.

This summer there is a documentary about Flaco playing at the Cape Cinema. Wild Inside follows the owl’s hero’s journey as he escapes from his enclosure at the Central Park Zoo through his winning the hearts of birders and others during his year-long period of freedom. I can’t even watch the movie trailer without dissolving into ugly-crying!

I don’t know if I’ll ever return to The Book of Flaco — I know how it ends after all — but I am grateful to have made it as far as I did into Gessner’s exploration Flaco's  connection with humankind. I will always hold a place in my heart for his story. One New Yorker who documented Flaco’s brief adventures, Ruben Giron, sums it up best.

“I believe Flaco enjoyed his freedom, and he lived it in the way that an owl will enjoy living. He used his intelligence to find places to hide, places to hunt, and he did that, and he’s a hero to me. I mean, it’s what we’re all trying to do. We’re all living our life, trying to find that place of joy in life. Some of us are in cages. Absolutely the biggest cage is our own mind, but certainly being under the precepts of society and culture, there is an entrapment that occurs. We believe that we’re supposed to be a particular way, but Flaco, he could only be Flaco, and he was enjoying that freedom.”

There’s just something about birds and freedom that never fails to tug at my heartstrings.  

Beachcombing at Miramar

Beachcombing at Miramar: The Quest for an Authentic Life by Thomas Bode was mentioned by my therapist from years ago in her book, Little Dipper. Marlene Denessen was a beacon of hope for me during my early thirties when as a young mother, I was seeking clarity in my life. Her book suggestions provided a lifeline for me. I can easily get overwhelmed in the self-help sections of bookstores and libraries so I rely on the recommendations of people I respect. Marlene’s were always right on target.

Discovering in my sixties that Marlene herself had actually written three books that I could purchase online was a revelation for me. She credits this book with helping her through a time of introspection and change, so I knew I had to read it. It only took me five days to devour this tiny, cosmic literary treat.

The subtitle says it all. I have been on this quest my entire life and finally feel ready to enjoy the fruits of my efforts. The author put into words so many of the demons I have wrestled to overcome, especially embracing the somewhat elusive human experience of following one’s own bliss. This book offered me a deeply touching depiction of man’s connection to the environment and his own inner wisdom. The author beautifully mirrors my own beliefs about violence vs beauty and peace vs war.

This passage pretty much sums up my current mood as well as my belief in the healing powers of the beach.

“Throughout my adult life I, too, have been trying to break through an invisible iron wall. I have come closer to achieving that goal here on the sands of Miramar than anyplace I have ever dwelled before. The journey has not been easy; I still have a distance to travel before I fully arrive. But I am on my way toward the center of myself, doing my best to strip away layers of sham and pretense as I go along.”

Somedays I wake up feeling this way too. “As I walk the beach, I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from me, and I’m ready to reach out beyond the boundaries of myself.”

However, I wouldn’t describe my beauty experiences as “the light caress of a woman in the wind.” To me it feels more like an empowering burst of budding confidence strengthened by the intoxicating salt air and penetrating heat of the sun’s rays. Add to that the sound of small rocks flittering against the sand, and my perfect beach day has just been manifested.

The book concludes with the author acknowledging the significance of his role as the Beachcomber. He describes one of his cherished collections—portraits capturing the essence of everyday people. I wholeheartedly agree with his sentiment, especially today.

“Whenever I look at them, I become convinced that the hope of the world lies not with churchmen, statesmen, or politicians, but with men and women like these who have banished pretense from their lives.”

This Instagram post also speaks the truth:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZQcuc5imb4/

The Book of Fire

The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri held my attention for about a month but clearly didn’t compel me to quickly zip through it to the end. It was kind of a slow burn for me, a leisurely and worthy bedtime companion during the month of January. Maybe it helped me assimilate into the post-holiday bleakness of the coldest winter I've encountered in years.

People magazine aptly describes the book, “A tender depiction of loss and healing that raises questions about guilt and blame in the age of climate change.”

I really liked the authenticity of the characters in this book, especially the sweet wife and mother, Irini Diamandis, who narrates the story. When a devastating fire rips through their village in present-day Greece, Irini is introspective about the many hardships they face as she is called to hold her family together.

The disaster has brought changes to their way of life and Irini ponders the complexities of human response to tragedy. “Was it Aristotle who said that man is a political animal? Not that we are all born to take an active interest in party politics, but it is in our nature to live in a polis, a community.” Deriving assurance from a reliance on social connections, is one of humanity’s greatest gifts.

Before the fire, Irini reflects on the highs and lows of life and the history of her ancestors. “Over the decades and centuries, there were many joys and many losses that could be peeled back like the fine translucent layers of an onion.” After the fire, she works to remain positive in the midst of so much devastation. “Yes, maybe, life will get better. I will focus only on the things still living; I will ignore the darkness and the deadness that surround them.” Most importantly, she uses all of her resources to mend and strengthen her relationships with her husband, Tasso, and daughter, Charo.

When I finished the book, I needed to reread the beginning. It turns out the plot device of shifting from past to present throughout was a bit confusing for me. I did gain better understanding of the events after reading the first few chapters a second time.

Reviewing the portions I highlighted on Goodreads reminded me how much I appreciated the themes of survival and rebirth. There is something deep within this novel about human connections, us-versus-them mentality, and rising above it all to embrace our own strengths and tolerate the differences of others. There is also a genuine respect for the environment, humanity, and cultural and familial bonds. These threads combine to create a pleasant experience inhabiting the inner thoughts of the main character, Irini, whose sincerity and integrity are endearing.

Lefteri also wrote The Beekeeper of Aleppo which is more well known. Maybe next winter I’ll find refuge in this story, immersing myself into the lives of a Syrian beekeeper and his blind wife.

Burn

There’s something about this book that kept me reading … for a month, but the ending was so, so disappointing. Burn by Peter Heller sacrificed plot for character introspection and intricate (but repetitive) descriptive details.

That said, I think I liked the writing style (which isn’t often the case). I would have preferred more meat on the bones of the storyline which involved some type of armed conflict between Maine secessionists and the US government. There’s also the “ick” factor of the main character’s recollections of his sexual encounters with his best friend’s mother when he was a teenager.

Let’s examine some of my annotations for clues. The main character, Jess, through whose eyes we are viewing the current events, is kind of a lost boy. A good person, wrestling with a difficult past as well as an unclear future. He is thoughtful and makes good decisions under pressure. Here he reflects on the elusiveness of achieving happiness.

“The hammer had dropped so often in his life that when there was peace, when there was enough love, when he was cradled by it—the love of a friend, a wife, a dog—he knew that sometime around the height of his joy or contentment—right at the apex, when it seemed life might right itself like a ship in a cross sea, and turn, and sail smoothly—just then lightning would strike. A rogue wave would rise up and blot out the horizon.”

Waiting for the other shoe to drop is how I have perceived this experience many times in my life. I also identified with this passage that demonstrates the power of positive thinking during rough times. 

“He thought again that he might pretend—that the world was a vessel of beauty and peace. He didn’t have to: The clear cold morning was real. Storey was real—his chosen brother—and he had Jess’s back as always. These woods, in their exuberant transition to a dark and frozen winter, were real. The coffee he would soon pour into cups that would warm their hands, the welcome heat off the fire, the quiet wheezes and pops as the flames burned down were all real. One could focus, couldn’t one? Mightn’t one sit in the full bore of a sun just clearing the trees and drink coffee quietly as the meadow dried and the day warmed? And feel a measure of peace?”

Finally, I do appreciate a doomsday story that incorporates a little Zen wisdom to help ease a character’s emotional pain. Here, Jess ponders, the age-old question that the student asks of the Zen master. “I have gained enlightenment, what do I do now?” The response: “Wash your bowl.”

“I have lost everything, what do I do now? Wash the pot, ha. Maybe enlightenment and total loss are the same thing. That is something to chew on.”

I do admire a character who recognizes something worth chewing on, and I guess the juicy morsel of introspection is the best we can expect from life during these uncertain times. Keep it real, and do what needs to be done!

The Beggar Maid

Bad Monkey

My dear friend, Phil Cunningham was the first to mention the book Bad Monkey to me recently. It jogged my memory about the author Carl Hiaasen whose writing I’ve been a fan of for quite a while. Then Wayne sent me these photos and said he was enjoying the book for its many uses of the word cunt. 

Years ago, prior to Bonnie’s Book Blog, I read either Skinny Dip or Sick Puppy. I can’t remember which. This is par for the course with this author's work. His writing is a tad formulaic and over-the-top, but funny as hell. As a teacher I loved Hoot and enjoyed sharing Hiaasen’s other young adult books with my students.

Turns out Bad Monkey is also an Apple TV miniseries now starring Vince Vaughan. Might be time for another free trial ;)

I’m not going to lie, about halfway through, I lost interest in the book’s trajectory. The location in the Bahamas and the island dialect got tedious for me. I didn’t care for the Voodoo Dragon Queen character, and I even began to worry about the fate of the bad-tempered monkey. Also, the constant introduction of new characters and shifts between different locations became dizzying!

I found myself laughing more at the beginning of the story and then the quirky bits got old. An unexpected twist energized me toward the end, and of course, I needed to know how it all wrapped up. A quick two-week read that I ultimately enjoyed more than I didn't. 

Maybe these quotes will help explain my synchronicity with the main character, Detective Yancy. "He wondered if something was mentally wrong with him for being content with what he had . . ." Yes, the same thought often goes through my head. "Usually when making love he strived for a purely sensory, uncomplicated experience. Incorporating a game or skit seemed too much like a class assignment." Ditto that, let's not make sex into work. And finally, "All I want out of a relationship is neutral buoyancy. Is that asking too much?" Really, it's a simple concept. Why is it so hard to find?

Fun fact: there’s a character named Bonnie in the story who is a sexual felon but not a cunt!

Edited to Add: Yes, I sprung for the cheap three-month subscription and was not disappointed by the Apple TV version of Bad Monkey. Vince Vaughan really brought Andrew Yancy to life, even though he's not at all how I envisioned the character in the book. Many other characters were more appealing to me onscreen as well, especially those in the Bahamas, and a few plot tweaks changed the story's overall tone for the better IMHO.

The Body Keeps The Score

Does reading only two chapters for upcoming professional development count? I was dreading reading The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, MD because I was warned it would be a difficult read.

Trauma IS a tough topic and this book is a very dense compilation of stories about trauma. The challenge is magnified by the fact that it was really just assigned to us as busywork, never to be discussed or implemented at our school. Thus, I resent that this task is preventing me from grading papers and planning lessons. In silent protest, I read only the required chapters, by candlelight as the power is out, while stuffing my face with Cheez-Its on Saturday, January 29, 2022.

EDIT to add that currently in December 2024, I am discussing this book with my dear friend Sue who is reading it for pleasure! I came home to search for my copy, only to discover it was a tragic victim of Dumpster Week 2024. Damn. Now that I’m retired, I actually wanted to give it another go.

Big Magic

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, is like a pep rally in book form. Her words inspire me to just keep writing every day now that I’m retired and there’s a bit more space in my head for creativity.

Even when it feels like every word I write is drivel, the process of getting it out is worthwhile for my mental health. And as Gilbert suggests. “It is fun!” For me, it’s also good practice playing with words and experimenting with my voice.

Interestingly, I read the book in tandem on my kindle and a paperback copy I bought for cheap on Amazon. I like having a hard copy that I can mark up and refer back to on my “empty brain” days, which oddly enough have been few and far between since I stopped teaching.

I love that Gilbert cautions against the perfectionism trap. It’s good advice for the over-zealous editor in me. She also suggests, “Just keep busy,” when inspiration evades us. I’m a huge believer that movement stimulates creative ideas.

Gilbert’s humor infuses Big Magic, and her metaphors for the creative process really resonate with me. In a chapter titled, “Have an Affair,” she compares writing to a brief clandestine meet-up that is sometimes all sneaky lovers can make happen. “Stop treating your creativity like it’s a tired, old, unhappy marriage (a grind, a drag) and start regarding it with the fresh eyes of a passionate lover,” she writes. “Even if you have only fifteen minutes a day in a stairwell alone with your creativity, take it.”

Between Shades of Gray

 “You’re reading it for fun?” my friend asked incredulously when I told her I was reading a book about Lithuanian refugees dragged from their homes to a work camp in Siberia by Soviet soldiers in 1941. There’s really no explanation for why I’m reading Between Shades of Gray by Rita Sepetys, except that I like historical fiction, I wanted to learn more about this time period, and it got good reviews on Goodreads. 

"Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both." —The Washington Post 

The book is a New York Times bestseller as well, and I thought maybe it would be a good suggestion for students of mine interested in World War II. According to Amazon, this young adult book is intended for readers aged 12-17. Maybe... but deeply disturbing graphic descriptions of harrowing living conditions, inhumanity, and sexual references make it inappropriate for my fifth graders.

Told through the eyes of 16-year-old Lina, deported with her mother and brother because of her father’s politics, this story is bleak and heartbreaking. It paints a wretched picture of  “Stalin’s brutal dismantling of the Baltic region.” Details of the devastating conditions and harsh treatment of the prisoners reflect an unsettling account of "what happens to the innocent when world leaders and their minions choose hate and oppression." —Susan Campbell Bartlett, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hitler Youth

The movie adaptation, Ashes in the Snow, is an equally stark but beautifully filmed narrative on how, “One girl’s passion for art and her never-ending hope will break the silence of history.” 

The Boston Girl

I am enjoying this book despite some of the negative reviews it got on Amazon. I guess I just like the way Anita Diamant writes, as The Red Tent is one of my favorites. It was fascinating to me getting inside the heads of the biblical women in that work of historical fiction. The Boston Girl features the life of an immigrant girl in early 1900's Boston as remembered and recounted to her granddaughter.

I wish I could've finished reading this book before my two-week, nonrenewable CLAMS expired!

So, I waited in line again at CLAMS (63 out of 21 copies) to finish reading the last 20% of this book. Despite the two week hiatus, my reentry into the story was easy and I quickly gobbled up the rest of the book. I still enjoyed reading about Addie's life even though I felt like the ending was a little rushed. The huge jump from 1931 to 1985 seemed awkward, and the details were not as satisfying as those in the earlier part of the book. All in all, an engaging read.

Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607

Gearing up for Survivor: Jamestown with my fifth graders in January . . . so I read Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone. This wonderful historical fiction novel with a Lexile level of 820 provides a great review of all the significant details including Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, the Virginia Company, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, palisades, wattle and daub, dysentery and starvation!!  It is a historically accurate representation of the hardships and conflicts endured by the first English settlers in Jamestown, Virginia. Quotes from primary source material are used to introduce each chapter of the story told from the perspective of a young boy named Samuel Collier, an indentured servant.

Bound

Sally Gunning returns to pre-Revolutionary War New England in her second piece of historical fiction, Bound. This book tells the story of Alice Cole, who has been 'bound' into indentured servitude at the age of seven when her family experiences misfortune journeying from London to Boston.

After escaping an abusive master outside of Boston, Alice connects with the characters from Gunning's first book, The Widow's War, and joins them in Satucket on Cape Cod. From there the story follows Alice's quest for freedom and happiness, while also chronicling the historical unrest brewing between the colonies and England.

Alice is a compelling character because she unabashedly shares with the reader her deepest and most brutally honest emotions. She is basically a kind and decent girl who because of unfortunate circumstances is sometimes forced to behave dishonorably. Her frankness and introspection help the reader to empathize with Alice and root for her to find peace and contentment in her life.

Bossypants

Bossypants by Tina Fey had me laughing out loud. I love her obnoxious, snide sense of humor! But, what ultimately makes her book so readable is her intelligence. She knows how to 'turn a phrase,' and her commentary on equality and contemporary social issues gives her writing substance. Still, it's mostly a funny book—an inside look into the life and career of a smart and quick-witted woman.

PS: I wonder whose arms those are...

The Bell Jar

1140LEXILE

First of all, how is it that I had never read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath before? As a matter of fact, I never even knew it was about mental illness and depression among women in the 1950s. Given my family history, this book should have called to me. I wonder if my mother ever read it.

I'm glad I finally read this classic coming-of-age tale but didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Mostly I was inspired to learn more about Plath's tragic and short life and the convoluted history of the book's publication.

The Bell Jar is the autobiographical account of the period of time during Plath's college years when she was institutionalized in a well-known Boston mental hospital for several months after a suicide attempt. It details her struggles with what may have been clinical depression or bipolar disorder. It was first published in England under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. Plath committed suicide a month later on February 11, 1963. The book wasn't published in the United States under Plath's name until 1971, in accordance with the wishes of her husband and mother.

Highly intelligent and perfectionistic, Plath was a typical tortured-artist-type, disillusioned by what she felt was a double standard that prevented women from experiencing life as fully as men. An over-achiever in college, she eventually married fellow poet Ted Hughes and had two young children at the time she killed herself by sticking her head in a gas oven.

In an eerie twist to this story, the woman who Plath's philandering husband had left her for, also killed herself in the same manner seven years later. While Plath had protected her children by sealing off the kitchen in the apartment where she died, Hughes' mistress murdered her own four-year-old daughter by keeping her in the same room. And — I couldn't make this stuff up — in 2009 Plath's son, who was one year old at the time of his mother's death, took his own life at age 47.

True-life-tragedy!