Iris Chang and the Power of One by Randy Hopkins and Ying-Ying Chang -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Iris Chang and the Power of One by Randy Hopkins and Ying-Ying Chang

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

My daughter, Iris Chang, passed away on November 9, 2004. What happened on that terrible day is still so vivid in my memory.

-- from Iris Chang and the Power of One by Randy Hopkins and Ying-Ying Chang.

Iris Chang was a journalist and historian who shot to fame with her book, The Rape of Nanking. She later killed herself, in part because of depression linked to her historical research. 

Historian Randy Hopkins wrote this book with Iris's mother, Ying-Ying Chang. They wanted to write a book about Iris's life, her influence, the causes of her death, and the ability of one person to change the world.  It is an interesting format because it is not a straightforward biography. Instead, it is a compendium of materials about Iris, her life, and the impact she had. It is a collection of excerpts from other books, letters, photographs, speeches, eulogies, and other materials. Some of the key materials are reprinted in the back in Chinese and Japanese. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from Iris Chang and the Power of One:

No longer an unknown writer, Iris undertook a series of exhausting book tours to promote The Chinese in America. But, she could not escape The Rape of Nanking.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

This book is about Iris Chang and her world-changing influence. At age 29, Iris, a Chinese American, wrote the wildly popular and deeply controversial book The Rape of Nanking - exposing the atrocity now known as the Nanjing Massacre which followed the Japanese Imperial Army's 1937 capture of Nanking, China. She later wrote another massively researched book, The Chinese in America. At the age of 36, Iris took her own life.

The book first traces Iris' life and tragic end. Reasons leading to her death are covered, with elements that echo in today's headlines. The second part is a revelation of the positive influences Ms. Chang has had upon the world -- a highly graphic celebration of the 'ripples of light' emanating from her life's work.

Show Game by Steve Anderson -- Book Beginning

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Show Game by Steve Anderson

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

I have the bastard, finally, I got him. Target number one.

-- from Show Game by Steve Anderson.

I'm a big fan of Steve Anderson's "Kaspar Brothers" series of WWII/Cold War thrillers. His new novel, Show Game, is a departure from the series. It is a modern-day psychological thriller about a vigilante targeting wrongdoers, starting with a pedophile priest. It looks pretty dark, but good!

Of course, Show Game caught my attention right away because of the priest angle. I've spent the last 18 years doing nothing but going after pedophiles and the institutions that harbored them. I've used the courts, not kidnapping, but I admit I can understand the vigilante idea.

Show Game launches in July, but is available for pre-order now. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from Show Game: 

There's no actual timer counting down but it's not a bad idea. Maybe in a future production.

This is going to be exciting! 

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

The pandemic may be over, but the world is not safe for those who prey on the innocent. A vigilante known by the alias "Alex" knows what these transgressors have done. And taking them captive is only the first step toward vengeance. In order to be set free, they must first play the Show Game . . .

A predatory priest, a double-dealing politician, a fraudulent philanthropist--Alex has ways of making them confess, on camera, for all the world to witness. But the Show Game is building toward a darkly personal finale: exposing society's most notorious and evil abuser.

As Alex gets closer to the main event, investigative reporter Owen Tanaka is determined to unmask the vigilante's true identity and motive. But when a shocking revelation hits close to home, Owen must decide whether to stop a criminal mastermind's devious scheme . . . or let the Show Game play its final round.

Alley Pond Park by Zachary Todd Gordon -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Happy Leap Day! It feels like we are getting an extra Book Beginnings on Fridays this Leap Year. Thank you for joining me. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Jake's secretary called. Her brusque "Twelve o'clock sharp" unnerved me, more command than invitation to lunch in the partner's dining room.

-- From the Prologue to Alley Pond Park by Zachary Todd Gordon.

I wanted to give a two-sentence opening this week because that very fist sentence is too short to provide any sense of the book or even the scene. That second sentence pulls you more into the setting. We know the narrator is an employee, not a customer or client of Jake's. And from her tone, it sounds like there is tension in the workplace. That opening has potential. 

Alley Pond Park is the debut novel from Zachary "Zak" Gordon. Zak turned his hand to fiction writing after retiring from a career in finance and investment. His wife Wendy Gordon is the author of the dystopian adventure, It's Always 9/11, and the domestic thriller, Wrong Highway. 

Alley Pond Park launches March 26, 2024, and is available for pre-order through Itasca Books.  

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. Please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings if you share on social media.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from Alley Pond Park:

After he left, I tried to get back to work but couldn't concentrate. I paced about the library, my sanctuary, and dear Mrs. Nichols the librarian, busy at the front desk ensuring everything was as it should be, updating index cards, alphabetizing everything by author and subject, noted my distress, approached me and asked if everything was ok.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Seth Matthews was sixteen when his older brother Jonah sped away on his motorcycle and never returned. Seth blames himself, but does he know the whole truth as he sets off on a journey to find Jonah and beg his forgiveness? He yearns to be a good person but his inner demons keep tripping him up. Neither success nor a loving marriage can satisfy the emptiness at his core as he navigates secrets, guilt, and obsessions through two tumultuous decades.

Lines of Deception by Steve Anderson -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me every Friday for Book Beginnings! Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you are on Instagram, Twitter, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up. Find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Max Kaspar learned about his brother, Harry, from the little man who brought him the severed ear.

-- from Lines of Deception by Steve Anderson. Wow! That opening sentence sure captured my attention. How about you?

Lines of Deception is the fourth book in Steve Anderson's Kaspar Brothers series. The series started with The Losing Role, a WWII adventure thriller. This one takes place in 1949, post-war Munich where Max Kaspar now owns a nightclub. I was lucky to get my hands on an early copy. The book launches on March 12 and is available for pre-order, in paper or ebook. 

It sounds like an exciting historical thriller involving Max going behind the Iron Curtain to rescue his missing brother. I love the setting and the description of the plot and can't wait to read it. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the Linky box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head if Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Lines of Deception:

“But please remember one thing: I let people lead me around once, in the war, but I had no choice. I'm not doing that ever again, not even in a cold war.”

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Former actor Max Kaspar suffered greatly in the Second World War. Now he owns a nightclub in Munich—and occasionally lends a hand to the newly formed CIA. Meanwhile, his brother Harry has ventured beyond the Iron Curtain to rescue an American scientist. When Harry is also taken captive, Max resolves to locate his brother at all costs. The last thing he expects is for Harry to go rogue.

Max’s treacherous quest takes him to Vienna and Prague to Soviet East Germany and Communist Poland. Along the way, dangerous operators from Harry’s past join the pursuit: his former lover Katarina, who’s working for the Israelis, and former Nazi Hartmut Dietz, now an agent of East German intelligence. But can anyone be trusted?

A Round-Up of Reviews -- 7 New-ish and Noteworthy Books

BOOK REVIEWS

A round-up of reviews of seven new-ish and noteworthy books. 

Crybaby: Infertility, Illness, and other Things That Were Not the End of the World by Cheryl E. Klein (2022, Brown Paper Press)

Cheryl E. Klein is a "failed perfectionist and successful hypochondriac" who had a hard time accepting that the world would not end when she was unable to have a baby. She writes with humor about things that would leave most people a sobbing puddle. But her self-deprecating, raw honesty is the beauty of the book. If all we saw were her tears, the book would be too impossibly maudlin to struggle through. As a reader, I felt like I understood what she went through as she navigated a series of disasters that brought her to consider the adventure of open adoption.

Plums for Months: Memories of a Wonder-Filled, Neurodivergent Childhood by Zaji Cox (2023, Forest Avenue Press)

Zaji Cox's new memoir is a collection of impressionistic essays about her childhood, living in a 100-year-old house with her single mother and sister. It is intimate, beautiful, and moving.

The Promise of a Normal Life by Rebecca Kaiser Gibson (2023, Arcade Publishing)

This debut novel finds a young Jewish-American woman trying to find her way in 1960s America and Israel. It is a quiet story and the author’s skill as a poet are clear in the lyrical writing. The unnamed narrator describes her slow awakening through a series of vignettes that bounce around in time. From a mismatch of a marriage and other romantic relationship problems, through her struggles with an emotionally distant but domineering mother, the narrator finally comes into her own in the end.

A Story Interrupted by Connie Soper (2022, Airlie Press)

This is Soper's first book of poetry. It is a collection of poems about actual places and experiences, not abstract ideas. Soper writes about Oregon, where she lives, her travels in far flung places, and the feelings and memories these locations inspire.

These are exactly the kind of poems I am drawn to. I like something I can latch onto and relate to when I read poetry, I don't like to feel like the whole thing is going over my head. Soper’s poems hit me just right.

No God Like the Mother by Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher (2023, Forest Avenue Press)

The nine stories collected in No God Like the Mother follow the characters from Legos to Paris to the Pacific Northwest. Ajọsẹ-Fisher's emotionally rich stories deal with people in transition, facing hardships and joys. The theme of motherhood -- mothering and being mothered -- runs throughout and pulls the stories together into a beautiful and emotionally satisfying whole.

No God Like the Mother won the Ken Kesey Award For Best Fiction at the Oregon Book Awards.



Prisons Have a Long Memory: Life Inside Oregon's Oldest Prison, edited by Tracy D. Schlapp and Daniel J. Wilson (2022, Bridgeworks Oregon)

Prisons Have a Long Memory is a collection of essays, poems, and memoir written by prisoners at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Editors Schlapp and Wilson started and led a "storytelling" group inside the prison and then worked with an editorial board of adults in custody to compile this collection. The writings were prompted by questions from middle school and high school students affected by the incarceration of their family members. They reflect the difficult internal struggle to atone, find peace, and create community.



Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire, 1871-1918 by Katja Hoyer, new from Pegasus Books.

Prior to 1871, Germany was not a unified nation but 39 separate states, including Prussia, Bavaria, and the Rhineland. In her new book, Blood and Iron, German-British historian Katja Hoyer tells the story of how a German Empire, united under Otto von Bismarck, rose to power only to face crippling defeat in the First World War. It is a thoroughly researched, lively written account of five decades that changed the course of modern history.

Need Blind Ambition by Kevin Meyers -- BOOK REVIEW

BOOK REVIEW

Need Blind Ambition by Kevin Meyers (2023, Beaufort Books)

Need Blind Ambition is the second novel from Kevin Meyers, a former journalist turned college administrator. I love the play on words in the title, the moody cover, and the whole college noir atmosphere of the book.

As with his first novel, Hidden Falls, this story deftly balances action, ideas, tension, and humor. The protagonist Peter Cook, having landed a public relations job at a prestigious private college, finds himself torn between protecting the college and exposing its illegal activity. Peter is a sympathetic hero who also wrestles with his own past trauma. Woven into the story are reflections on the state of college education, its cost, admission policies, and the fallout from the pressure created by our higher education system.

I love campus novels and I love mysteries, so a novel of suspense set on a college campus is my cup of tea on any day. That this one is set in my town of Portland, Oregon, made it even more tantalizing. With a complex plot, realistic characters, and exploration of relevant issues, Need Blind Ambition is an excellent read.


FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

The desire for relevance—and to save his marriage—is ultimately what pushed Peter Cook to leave his beloved Alaska for the prestigious Parker College. Lured by the chance to work with his childhood political idol turned college president, Peter moves his family to Portland, Oregon to help promote his hero’s fundraising initiative that would eliminate financial status from the college’s admissions process.

Peter arrives on campus as the Great Recession looms, the stock market is trending toward disaster, and the opioid crisis has breached the walls of the privileged college. He quickly learns the reality of Parker College strays far from its professed idealistic mission after discovering a plot to cover-up felonious drug activity in return for a seven-figure payday to the Need Blind Campaign.

While plumbing the depths of his conscience for the conviction to do the right thing, Peter’s untreated childhood trauma resurfaces, threatening to cloud his perception when it needs to be at its sharpest. Peter must stabilize his mental health while also trying to parse competing versions of “the truth” as law enforcement investigates the criminal conspiracy.

Need Blind Admission by Kevin Myers -- BOOK BEGINNING

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me every Friday for Book Beginnings! Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you are on Instagram, Twitter, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up. Find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

TIE IN: Sadly, Freda at Freda's Voice is taking a break from her weekly blog event, The Friday 56, Her event was a natural tie in with this event and there was a lot of cross over, so many people combined the two. Freda needs a break, but I hope she is back soon. Please visit her Freda’s Voice blog even if the Friday 56 is on hold indefinitely. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

William James was beyond saving when the Parker College security guards discovered his body sprawled near the community garden by the border of the affluent South Parker neighborhood.

-- from Need Blind Ambition by Kevin Meyers, out now from Beaufort Books.

Need Blind Ambition is the second novel from Kevin Meyers, a former journalist turned college administrator. I love the play on words in the title, the moody cover, and that first sentence. Wow! It really grabs you, doesn't it?

I only just got my copy and haven't started it yet. I can't wait! A novel of suspense set on a college campus is my cup of tea on any day. (I'm adding it to my list of campus novels right now.) But that this one is set in my town of Portland, Oregon makes it even more tantalizing. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS 

Please add a link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag. Have fun!

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It feels so strange to post my Book Beginning without a Friday 56 teaser! Here is more informaiton about Need Blind Ambition:

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

The desire for relevance--and to save his marriage--is ultimately what pushed Peter Cook to leave his beloved Alaska for the prestigious Parker College. Lured by the chance to work with his childhood political idol turned college president, Peter moves his family to Portland, Oregon to help promote his hero's fundraising initiative that would eliminate financial status from the college's admissions process.

Peter arrives on campus as the Great Recession looms, the stock market is trending toward disaster, and the opioid crisis has breached the walls of the privileged college. He quickly learns the reality of Parker College strays far from its professed idealistic mission after discovering a plot to cover-up felonious drug activity in return for a seven-figure payday to the Need Blind Campaign.

While plumbing the depths of his conscience for the conviction to do the right thing, Peter's untreated childhood trauma resurfaces, threatening to cloud his perception when it needs to be at its sharpest. Peter must stabilize his mental health while also trying to parse competing versions of "the truth" as law enforcement investigates the criminal conspiracy.

Need Blind Ambition asks: how far will a college stray to protect its reputation?

Plumbs for Months by Zaji Cox -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here on Book Beginnings on Fridays! Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

It's some kind of wolf -hawk biped, brown-gray with an aggressive V of anger, or maybe strength, on its brow.

-- From the first chapter, One Toy, in Plums for Months: Memories of a Wonder-Filled, Neurodivergent Childhood by Zaji Cox (2023, Forest Avenue Press). 

Zaji Cox's new memoir is a collection of impressionistic essays about her childhood, living in a 100-year-old house with her single mother and sister. It is intimate, beautiful, and moving. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the Linky box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings.

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THE FRIDAY 56

TIE IN: TheFriday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’sVoice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Plums for Months:

It's language arts that's the best part of middle school for me.

My nose is always in a book outside of school anyway — sometimes literally, because how could you not smell that wonderful new book smell? — and so reading and studying reading and writing about reading is heaven for me.

All booknerds can sympathize with this passage, I'm sure!

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

As a neurodivergent child in a hundred-year-old house, Zaji Cox collects grammar books, second-hand toys, and sightings of feral cats. She dances and cartwheels through self-discovery and doubt, guided by her big sister and their devoted single mother. Through short essays that evoke the abundant imagination of childhood, Plums for Months explores the challenges of growing up mixed race and low-income on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon.

 

 

Gemma Whelan, author of Painting Through the Dark -- AUTHOR INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: GEMMA WHELAN

Painting Through the Dark (2022, Shangana Press)

Gemma Whelan is an award-winning director, screenwriter, educator, and author. Her own experiences as an immigrant from Ireland inform her perspective on art and culture. Gemma was the founding Artistic Director of Wilde Irish Productions in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Corrib Theatre in Portland, Oregon, where she now lives.

Painting Through the Dark is her second novel. 

Gemma talked with Rose City Reader about Painting Through the Dark, her writing, authors she loves, and more:

How did you come to write your new novel, Painting Through the Dark?

My novel is based on certain experiences I had when I arrived in the U.S. several decades ago at the age of 21, with no contacts and little money. This particular story mirrors a situation where I landed in a menacing household and felt trapped and powerless. People with power and influence tried to use that power to coerce me, and they also assumed that because I was a young Irish woman with no resources, I should be grateful for what they offered me.

Most of the story takes place in San Francisco in the summer of 1982. What drew you to this setting for your novel?

I fell in love with San Francisco when I arrived there. To me it was a mecca! It whispered freedom. In my twenties, it felt like a place I could discover who I wanted to be. The city itself is stunning — the hills, the setting on the bay, the cable cars, the architecture, the different neighborhoods. I wanted San Francisco to be a character in my story.

What is you background and how did it lead to writing fiction?

Very shortly after I arrived in San Francisco I signed up for an acting class and knew immediately that theatre was what I wanted to do. I loved that you lay on the floor (gorgeous hardwood with sun streaming in…) and actually breathed! Imagine a profession where you began with the breath! And where the process called for you to go deep into yourself and also to explore the inner workings of others. I had always been an avid reader and loved words, and theatre was a continuation of this. I studied directing at UC Berkeley in the 80’s, and in the mid-90’s enrolled in an MFA program in Cinema at San Francisco State University. That’s when I started writing. Two of the screenplays I wrote then became the basis of my first and second novels (Fiona: Stolen Child and Painting Through the Dark.)

Your main character, Ashling O’Leary, leaves Ireland for San Francisco to become an artist and uses painting to fight the demons in her past. Why did you choose painting as her medium?

She made that decision! It was possibly a way to express what she wanted to without using words. Words would have been too direct. With painting she could experiment with color and texture and light and dark and discover what she needed to express. The Ireland of my and Ashling’s youth was one of silences, taboos. You weren’t supposed to speak of certain things. Painting is a way to get around this and is also a direct line to emotions.

Did you know right away, or have an idea, how you were going to end the story? Or did it come to you as you were in the process of writing?

I had an idea of the outcome but had no idea how it was going to happen, how it would work out. I had several drafts where Ashling took different paths, but none felt right. In the end I had to let the writing lead me to finding the right way for Ashling to work her away through to the place she arrived at. I also learned that her art had to lead her there.

What themes do you hope readers will find in your novel?

Resilience, overcoming obstacles, belief in yourself, belief in art and that it can change us, and the world.

What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

I hope readers might see some of their own journey, or that of someone close to them in Ashling. She’s tough, and she has to negotiate her way through hard and often frightening circumstances. I also hope that it shows how art can heal, that it can be transformative.

What is your favorite review or compliment you received about your book?

A friend wrote: “It is living in my soul. The story, the wonderful characters, the emotional landscape, your poetic descriptions, the depth of feeling, and the skillful expression of human behavior with nuance and color, and above all, believability, you have written the story of so many people.”

Were books an important part of your household when you were growing up?

There were a lot of books in my house growing up and I worked my way indiscriminately through the library. I loved carving out time for reading. In the long summer holidays, I’d disappear for hours on end and seek out a place to read – a hidden place up the fields or by a river on the farm where I was raised. I also sneaked out of bed after lights out to sit on the landing where I could catch some light. That was before I got a flashlight so I could read under the blankets.

Who are your three (or four or five) favorite authors? Is your own writing influenced by the authors you read?

Ann Patchett, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colm Toibin, Samuel Beckett, Tana French. So many more! I’m not consciously influenced by the writers I love and can only hope that some smattering of their brilliance seeps in somewhere! Beckett is light years away from Garcia Marquez in style and content. I can immerse myself in the lushness of Garcia Marquez, and also appreciate and connect to the stark beauty of Beckett.

What are you reading now?

I’m reading an ARC of a novel, About the Carleton Sisters by local author, Dian Greenwood. It’s a story of three vastly different sisters in middle age, facing the consequences of past decisions. The writing is sharp and incisive, the first-person narratives allowing us inside the heads of these fascinating women, all grappling with demons from the past, and facing down long held secrets. It’s a stunning debut—due out in June by She Writes Press.

Do you have any events coming up to promote your book?

I’ll be at the Garden Home Library in Portland on May 16, 6:30 pm, hosted by former Oregon Poet Laureate, Paulann Peterson. On May 21 at 4 pm, I’ll be at 21ten Theatre with veteran Portland actor Vana O’Brien. All readings are on my website.

What’s next? Are you working on another book?

I’m working on a book set mostly in India, and partly in Sri Lanka and Guatemala. As their marriage crumbles, a young American midwife with indigenous Guatemalan and Irish parents takes her husband back to India where he was abandoned, adopted, and raised, to try to understand the roots of their conflict. While Kiran heads for the past, Frankie — overwhelmed by the state of lower caste Indian women — resolves to face a future free from the bonds of society’s — and her own conditioning.

THANK YOU GEMMA!

PAINTING THROUGH THE DARK IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, INCLUDING THROUGH SEVERAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES LISTED ON GEMMA'S WEBSITE.

No God Like the Mother by Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here on Book Beginnings on Fridays! Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

“Come close, keep warm." 

Mama whispered through Papa's snoring as it hummed high and low behind the curtain.

-- From the first and title story in No God Like the Mother by Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher (2020, Forest Avenue Press). This book of short stories won the Ken Kesey Award For Best Fiction in the 2020 Oregon Book Awards.

The nine stories collected in No God Like the Mother follow the characters from Legos to Paris to the Pacific Northwest. Ajọsẹ-Fisher's emotionally rich stories deal with people in transition, facing hardships and joys. The theme of motherhood -- mothering and being mothered -- runs throughout and pulls the stories together. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the Linky box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From No God Like the Mother:

“Do you often carry the sun with you?” he asked, in a thick French accent. 

She nearly allowed her rose-tinted pout to curl into a smile before her brain calculated that this had been a weak line.

-- from the story, "Thief."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher was born in Chicago, raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and returned to the United States with her family in the early nineties. She won the Oregon Book Awards' 2020 Ken Kesey Prize for her debut collection, No God Like the Mother. She is also an Oregon Literary Fellow and a relentless student of the human condition. Ajọsẹ-Fisher’s work has appeared in collections such as The Alchemy, The Phoenix, and The Buckman Journal, and one of her stories was recently anthologized in Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher's No God Like the Mother follows characters in transition, through tribulation and hope. Set around the world--the bustling streets of Lagos, the arid gardens beside the Red Sea, an apartment in Paris, and the rain-washed suburbs of the Pacific Northwest--this collection of nine stories is a masterful exploration of life's uncertainty.

Painting Through the Dark by Gemma Whelan -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here on Book Beginnings on Fridays to share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. If you want, you can share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

A scraping of tires on stones woke her.

-- from the Prologue (June 20, 1982) to Painting Through the Dark by Gemma Whelan.

The surge of passengers propelled Ashling through the tunnel into the expanse of the San Francisco airport.

-- from the first chapter, San Francisco (May 31, 1982).

Gemma Whelan is an Irish-born author, director, screenwriter, and educator. Her new novel, Painting Through the Dark, is the story of a Ashling O'Leary, a young woman who leaves Ireland for San Francisco, determined to banish her demons and make a new life for herself as an artist.

The snappy dialog and vivid scenes propel this compelling story. I look forward to reading it straight through!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Fleeing from the emotional shackles of her family in Ireland and the convent where she was training to be a nun, the feisty 21-year-old Ashling O'Leary arrives in San Francisco in 1982 with a backpack, a judo outfit, her artist's portfolio, a three-month visa, and a determination to find a way to speak up about the abuse of girls and women in Catholic Ireland. As she becomes embroiled in a whirlwind of love, art, and deception, Ashling learns that her success as an artist and a human being depends on dealing with the ghosts of her past and speaking out on behalf of others.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginning post in the linky box below. Use the hashtag #bookbeginnings if you share on social media, so we can find each other.

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Painting Through the Dark:

The supposedly holy none had told her that her words were sacrilegious, that she should look to her vows, and bow to the greater authority of her superiors. That night Ashling packed her bags and left the convent forever.

Painting Through the Dark by Gemma Whelan -- MAILBOX MONDAY

 

MAILBOX MONDAY

I actually got this copy of Painting Through the Dark a few weeks ago. But I also got a new hip a few weeks ago! I am finally feeling a little normal and walking around again, so am back to my computer and a To Do list a mile long. That list includes sharing this new book I am excited about. 

Painting Through the Dark is a new novel by Irish-born author Gemma Whelan. It is the story of a young woman, Ashling O'Leary, determined to leave Ireland and her demons behind and make a life for herself as an artist in San Francisco.  

The book is a page-turner, filled with vividly visual scenes and dialog that make the story speed along. I look forward to reading it right through to find out what happens to Ashling!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Fleeing from the emotional shackles of her family in Ireland and the convent where she was training to be a nun, the feisty 21-year-old Ashling O'Leary arrives in San Francisco in 1982 with a backpack, a judo outfit, her artist's portfolio, a three-month visa, and a determination to find a way to speak up about the abuse of girls and women in Catholic Ireland. As she becomes embroiled in a whirlwind of love, art, and deception, Ashling learns that her success as an artist and a human being depends on dealing with the ghosts of her past and speaking out on behalf of others.

YOUR MAILBOX MONDAY BOOKS

What books came into your house recently?

Join other book lovers on Mailbox Monday to share the books that came into your house lately. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts. You can also find the hosts' favorites at posts titled Books that Caught Our Eye.

Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf, and Emma of Words and Peace graciously host Mailbox Monday.

Winterland and Prisons Have a Long Memory -- MAILBOX MONDAY

MAILBOX MONDAY

A couple of interesting -- and different -- books came my way last week. 

Winterland by Rae Meadows (2022, Henry Holt)

This novel starts in the Soviet Union in 1973 when eight-year-old Anya is chosen to be part of the famed USSR gymnastics program.  It is a story of competitive sports and the story of Anya missing mother. 

Winterland comes out November 29 and is available for pre-order. I was lucky to get an early review copy from LibraryThing. 

From the publisher's description:

In the Soviet Union in 1973, there is perhaps no greater honor for a young girl than to be chosen to be part of the famed USSR gymnastics program. So when eight-year-old Anya is tapped, her family is thrilled. What is left of her family, that is. Years ago her mother disappeared. Anya's only confidant is her neighbor, an older woman who survived unspeakable horrors during her ten years in a Gulag camp--and who, unbeknownst to Anya, was also her mother's confidant and might hold the key to her disappearance. As Anya moves up the ranks of competitive gymnastics, and as other girls move down, Anya soon comes to realize that there is very little margin of error for anyone.

Prisons Have a Long Memory: Life Inside Oregon's Oldest Prison, edited by Tracy D. Schlapp and Daniel J. Wilson (2022, Bridgeworks Oregon). 

This is a collection of essays, poems, and memoir written by prisoners at the Oregon State Penitentiary.  Schlapp and Wilson started and led a "storytelling" group inside the prison and then worked with an editorial board of adults in custody to compile this collection. 

This book is part of Schlapp and Wilson's efforts at Bridgeworks Oregon, which started with them forming the band Luther's Boots to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison album. I've known Danny since before we started college and I think this work he is doing in prisons is amazing. 

From the publisher's description:

Danny Wilson and Tracy Schlapp assembled the storytelling group Ground Beneath Us at Oregon State Penitentiary in May 2019. For the past three years, they have mentored men in writing about life inside, using questions posed by middle and high school students as a springboard. Over seventy thousand children in Oregon are impacted by incarceration. These kids have questions they may be afraid to pose to their family members who serve time: fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters. Prison life requires a person to do difficult personal work and redefine oneself. This writing is testimony to that work. The result is a rich anthology filled with poetry, essays, and memoir that together present a picture of life at OSP and an exploration of the internal struggle to atone, find peace, and create community. Adult in Custody editorial board members have assembled a selection of powerful stories to be shared with the outside world. Wilson and Schlapp provided editorial support and guidance to the writers. Prisons Have a Long Memory will be presented within prisons and neighboring communities throughout Oregon thanks to support from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Oregon Humanities, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

YOUR MAILBOX MONDAY BOOKS

What books came into your house recently?

Join other book lovers on Mailbox Monday to share the books that came into your house lately. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught Our Eye.

Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf, and Emma of Words and Peace graciously host Mailbox Monday.

It's Always 9/11 by Wendy Avra Gordon -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Welcome back to Book Beginnings on Fridays, where participants share the opening sentence (or so) of the book they are reading this week. You can also share from a book you want to highlight just because it caught your fancy.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

"All I do is sell food particles."

I was sitting at a picnic table overlooking the Pacific Ocean with Ryan, drinking Galactica Zinfandel from the bottle.

-- from It's Always 9/11 by Wendy Avra Gordon. 

Gordon's second novel came out last year. Set in a dystopian "not to distant future," It's Always 9/11 is the story of a family trying to live a normal life in the middle of increasingly difficult daily circumstances and scary political developments. Until they decide they can't sit passively by, waiting for things to change. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginning post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings. Thanks!

   

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From It's Always 9/11:

"Children's books are hardly a state secret, are they? There's an online competition, and if I get enough votes, I get free fabric."

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION

Most people say wait it out.

After all, President Kaspar isn't as bad as expected. He's banned fracking, improved medical care, even provided every American over eight with a free cell phone! So what if the number of news channels has shrunk to three, and no one can afford email anymore? Even when a health crisis in New York City shakes the country to its core and raises the specter of authoritarianism, President Kaspar explains it all calmly in his cardigan sweater.

Most people say wait it out.

New York City transplant Tessa lives in a leafy Portland, Oregon neighborhood with her husband Larry and teenage son Holden. They are 3,000 miles away, but that is too close for comfort.

They can't wait it out. They take a different path--one that will shatter their lives, their identities, and change the course of a nation.

To Live and Die in the Floating World by Stephen Holgate -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Oh, I am looking forward to this long holiday weekend! How about you? What do you plan to read?

I'm in one of those weird situations where I've started several books at the same time for different reasons. I always have a book by my bedside and an audiobook on my phone. Then I have auxiliaries: like a coffee table book in the living room for in the evenings, an eBook on my Kindle app for emergencies, a poetry book by my bed to read one poem every morning, and a collection of WB Yeats poems at my office I've been struggling through for years. 

But right now I have extras on top of my usuals. I started an airplane paperback and I signed up for a Wind in the Willows read along on Instagram before my Instagram account got hacked (I'm still working on getting it back). It's those two extras that are discombobulating me. My bookish balance is off. I need to do some serious reading this weekend to pare my stack back to its normal size. 

How many books do you read at one time? Does the number remain consistent?

Please share the opening sentence (or so) of one of your books here on Book Beginnings on Fridays! Or you can share a book you feel like highlighting, even if you aren't reading it at the moment. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

It was nearly midnight, and I was drunk and thinking of heading back to my dump at the Ecu d'Or when the Irishman Rory Gallagher came through the door of the smoky, flyblown bar on the pimply backside of Montmartre.

-- To Live and Die in the Floating World by Stephen Holgate. That opening sentence certainly paints a scene!

This adventure story finds an American ex pat working on a canal boat in Burgundy, France. When he risks a romance with a mobster's girlfriend, he puts both their lives in jeopardy. The question is, which will catch him first, the gangsters or his own past?

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please link to your Book Beginnings post and use the hashtag #bookbeginnings if you post on social media.

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Thumb-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
If this widget does not appear, click here to display it.

THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From To Life and Die in the Floating World:

Before he got her out the door she stopped, looked over her shoulder at me and called out in English, “Stout fellow!”

She said it in the way you might say “good boy” to a dog, but I felt as pleased as if she had pinned a medal to me.

 Have a good Memorial Day weekend!