"The Gifted School," by Bruce Holsinger

If there was ever a fictional indictment of overly-invested, status-conscious, out-of-control middle-to-upper-middle-class parents, it is “The Gifted School” (Riverhead, 2019), by Bruce Holsinger. This novel tells the story of the fierce competition for spots at a newly-opening public magnet school for “gifted” children, and the lengths to which ambitious parents go to make their children stand out among the thousands of applicants for places in the school. The setting is an affluent suburb of Denver. The main characters are members of five families. Four of the families are connected by close friendships among the four mothers; the fifth family is from Mexico and does housecleaning for some of the other families. The novel, indirectly and sometimes directly, addresses themes of class, race, gender and privilege. The parents’ hopes and struggles for their children’s achievements and “leg up” in the world are evident even outside of the school competition. One family’s twin sons, for example, are soccer players, and due to their father’s ambitions, they are pushed into competing in ever bigger and more prestigious soccer leagues, no matter what the cost -- financial, physical, and otherwise. There are many twists and turns to this novel’s plot, and it is hard to look away. The characters are drawn well, whether they be female or male, children or teenagers or adults. Holsinger is sharply observant, and makes good use of telling details. A compelling aspect of the novel is the four-way friendship among the main characters, the moms. The author shows how important the friendships are to each woman, and the many ways in which they support each other; he also shows the complexities of the friendships and even betrayals among the friends. “The Gifted School” is horrifying in some ways, taking a hard look at human weaknesses and at issues of privilege, yet very believable, and at its heart, humane in its recognition that we are all complicated, with both problematic and redeeming qualities.

RIP Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison died on August 5, at the age of 88. It feels shocking to type that sentence. Several commentators have stated that they thought that somehow she would be immortal. This eminent African-American writer, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature and many other literary prizes, wrote so originally, imaginatively, and powerfully, and her work was so deeply influential, that it is hard to find words adequate to describe her work. Let me borrow some words from black writers who were influenced by her. Tracy K. Smith, in The Guardian (8/11/19), says that Morrison’s novels “chose black lives as their central subjects, enthralling readers with her commitment to the inner lives of black characters.” Jason Reynolds, in the same Guardian article, praises Morrison for her “audacity,” and states that she “up-ended” all the things that black writers had been told; she told black writers that they were “free – free to write however and whatever they wanted to write.” Morrison herself said she wanted "black people writing for black people." Many writers and critics agree that it is impossible to fully express how much Morrison influenced African-American writers and writing. Even before she started publishing her own work, Morrison influenced the literary world during her approximately 20 years as an editor for Random House, when she nurtured and promoted the work of many African and African-American writers. She published her own first novel, “The Bluest Eye,” in 1970, followed by “Sula,” “The Song of Solomon,” and her most well-known and critically-acclaimed novel, “Beloved” (1987). She received the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 1988, only after a letter signed by well over 40 notable black writers urged the awarding of that prize. Morrison went on to publish several more novels, as well as essays and children’s books; she also taught for years at Princeton University. In 2012, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama. Through her writing (and editing and teaching), this towering American figure deeply influenced writers and readers of all backgrounds. I was one of her millions of readers, was deeply affected by her novels, and taught some of her work as well. Toni Morrison’s legacy will always live on.

"Grub," by Elise Blackwell

“Grub” (Toby Press, 2011) is a compelling and convincing satirical novel, an “updating" of George Gissing’s satire,"New Grub Street" (1891). It draws on it, borrows from it, and could never have been written without it,” author Elise Blackwell says in her acknowledgements. Note that one does not have to have read Gissing’s book to enjoy “Grub.” Blackwell also thanks her fellow writers who have told her some of their worst stories about the writing world. “Grub” features five main characters, all young, aspiring writers. They all struggle to various degrees with the writing itself, with figuring out which kind of writers they want to be, with wavering self-confidence, and with how much they are willing to compromise in order to succeed (in the cases of three of the five characters, they compromise quite a bit). Blackwell employs all the usual stereotypes about writers, with humorous effect. There are set pieces about MFA programs, writing conferences, MLA Conference job interviews, obscure literary journals, writers' jockeying with and backstabbing each other, has-been writers and critics, hangers-on, poverty, alcoholism, and more. There are roman a clef aspects as well, such as allusions to “the Jonathans,” and in particular to one of the Jonathans who refused to go on the top-rated television show, as in real life Jonathan Franzen some years ago famously refused an invitation to appear on Oprah Winfrey’s show. There are discussions of literary versus commercial novels, and of categories such as “chick lit.” The two writers who do not compromise are Henry, who believes in “New Realism” and the “open novel,” and who lives in poverty (almost starving himself) because of his purity of focus, and Margot, who writes because she loves writing, and is unwilling to do what she needs to do to become well-known (e.g., book tours, networking, self-promoting). The other three characters are most interested in success, fame, and money, and are willing to write whatever they need to in order to gain those goals. All of these characters and conditions seem quite believable, albeit exaggerated for satirical effect. The one truly unrealistic aspect is that all five of the main characters do publish at least one book each, and in some cases several, while they are quite young, unlike the legions of would-be writers, often with completed novels in hand, who are never able to do so. All of us who love literature have read and enjoyed novels about writers; this purposeful and cheerfully cynical lampoon takes all the stereotypes a bit further, producing a novel both hilarious and at times sad. The repeated recognitions it induces also let readers feel like insiders who know the real scoop…always a heady feeling! I recommend “Grub” to anyone who loves the world of literature and writers, and also has a sense of humor about the absurdities sometimes found there.

"Excellent Women," by Barbara Pym

Following up on my post of 7/20/19 about my visit to Main Street Books in St. Helena: The other book I picked up there (besides the Nina Bawden novel that the owner so kindly insisted on giving me, because I was the only one visiting her store who had been interested in it) was Barbara Pym’s “Excellent Women” (originally published 1952, several editions). I have written about Barbara Pym here before (e.g., on 7/7/13, 8/13/13, and 1/7/14); she has been one of my favorite writers for perhaps 30 years. As a quick reminder: Pym was English, and wrote about a certain kind of educated, usually single woman who was helpful to those around her, active in her local church, had flirtations and even romances that usually came to nothing, and were dutiful but also extremely, albeit understatedly, perceptive, verging on satirical. It appears from biographies that these characters shared many qualities with the author herself, although the author lived in a somewhat wider, less restricted world than did many of her characters. The writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has called Pym and her characters “prim but subversive,” which is a wonderfully concise summary. When I was in the small bookstore in St. Helena, I suddenly and rather randomly wondered if there were Barbara Pym novels available; I asked the knowledgeable owner and she immediately put “Excellent Women” in my hands. I have read that novel – probably Pym’s best-known and perhaps best one – several times (along with most of her novels, also often-read by me), but not for a few years. As soon as I got home, I started reading it again, and it was as wonderful as ever. Funny, sad, laser-like observant, a little acerbic, and unlike any other writer’s work that I know of. Her main character, Mildred, an example of the titular “excellent women,” is a person whom others rely on, and assume will help them; she herself assumes it is her duty to do so, but has wry conversations with herself about this quality of hers. Some of the other characters are the local clergyman, Father Malory, his sister Winnifred who keeps house for him, the dashing couple of Helena and Rockingham Napier who have moved into the flat downstairs from Mildred, and the anthropologist Everard Bone. Their interactions are low-key but fascinating. [Side note: those old-fashioned names! When I was a child of missionaries in India, two of the wonderful "single lady" missionaries there were named Mildred and Winnifred. They were independent and courageous, but the names seemed old-fashioned even then, and had the scent of spinsterhood.] So here I am yet again asking you (if this sounds like your kind of fiction, and if you have not already done so) to consider reading Barbara Pym’s wonderful fiction. You can start with any of her novels (although perhaps not “Quartet in Autumn,” which is very good but somewhat darker than the others); I suggest starting with “Excellent Women.” I don’t think you will be sorry.

On Not Posting Here on "Just Fine" Books

I post here about a high proportion of the books I read, but definitely not all. In some cases a book is too “light” (e.g., the beachiest of “beach reads”), or just doesn’t seem to warrant a post. And in a few -- very few -- cases, I haven’t posted about a book because it was so good that I thought I couldn’t possibly do it justice! But most often the reason I don’t post is that the book is “just fine,” not great but not at all "bad" (in my opinion – of course many would disagree with some of my opinions.). If the book is good to excellent, or at least has notable or intriguing qualities, I do generally post about it, with pleasure. Occasionally, if the book is very bad or very disappointing, I write about it, because there is a disconnect between what I was expecting (based on reviews, or on my liking of earlier books by the author) and what the book was actually like (again, in my humble opinion). But those “just fine” books are the ones I fairly often don’t write about. Here is a list of some books I have very recently (within the past few weeks) read but have not posted about, for that reason. “Laura and Emma,” by Kate Greathead. “Conversations with Friends,” by Sally Rooney. “Normal People,” by Sally Rooney. (I know that these two novels by Rooney have received high praise, but I just didn’t like them very much.) “State of the Union: A Marriage in Ten Parts,” by Nick Hornby (mildly interesting). “Rules for Visiting,” by Jessica Francis Kane. (I thought I would love this novel about reconnecting with old friends, but it was too low-key for my taste, mildly depressing, and even a little dull.) “Trust Exercise,” by Susan Choi. (I have read a couple of Choi’s other novels, and always end up feeling slightly disappointed with them.) “Nobody’s Looking at You,” by Janet Malcolm. (I have been reading Malcolm’s work for many years, and like it very much, but I had already read some of the essays in The New Yorker and elsewhere, and the topics of others were not particularly interesting to me). “The Altruists,” by Andrew Ridker. (I read this novel less than a month ago and I have already completely forgotten what it was about, so that says something….) “The Other Americans,” by Laila Lalami.” (This novel admirably addresses important social topics, but I just didn’t get particularly caught up in it.) Again, I have to say that in many cases my feelings about these novels are very much a matter of individual taste, and I can easily imagine other readers might value and like them more than I did. I also have to say what I have occasionally said before on this blog and elsewhere: I sometimes feel that it is presumptuous of me to judge these perfectly fine novels when I couldn’t possibly have written them myself, not having the gift for fiction writing. But I remind myself that writers need readers, and that readers need to hear the views of other readers, either to help them decide what to read, or to compare notes when they have read the same books. Thus the necessity and usefulness of book reviews, criticism, literature classes, word of mouth, book clubs, and yes, book blogs!

A Very Special Independent Bookstore in St. Helena

(NOTE: Apologies to those of my Facebook friends who also read this blog; you may have already read a version of this story a couple of days ago on FB. This is the first time I have “cross-posted”!) During a very recent short outing to St. Helena, in the Napa Valley, I stumbled across a wonderful small independent bookstore, Main Street Books. It sells new and used books, and despite its small -- actually tiny -- size, has an extensive and very well curated selection. I was browsing, and the person working there (I think she is the owner) was very helpful in answering questions and finding books for me. Her depth of knowledge about books in general, and about the specific books in her store (she seemed to know practically every book, and where it was shelved), was obvious and impressive. We had a great conversation about books, women authors, reading habits, and other book-related topics. And when I was about to pay for the two books I chose, she said that she wanted to give me one of them, because she loved the author (Nina Bawden), had had the book a long time without anyone choosing it, and was glad it had finally found someone interested in reading it. This experience reminded me, yet again, of how important and special independent bookstores are. Apparently, from what I read online about the bookstore after I got home, it is a longtime and well-loved St. Helena institution; I hope it will be there giving readers pleasure for many, many more years!

My Very First Kindle

The Kindle e-reader was first sold in 2007. Stephanie Vandrick bought her first Kindle in 2019. Yes, 12 years after the Kindle’s arrival, and way after most of my family and friends did so, I finally did what I had resisted doing for a long time. At first I resisted adamantly, on the grounds that I want to hold and read books only in their original paper form. Then gradually I resisted less adamantly, for two reasons. First, I began to be slightly persuaded by my daughter and others who spoke of how convenient e-readers were, especially for travel. And second, I knew that it was probably inevitable that at some point I would give in and buy one, and I didn’t want to be too embarrassed by having to eat my words. The event that convinced me to get the Kindle, finally, was that I was invited almost a year ago by my editor, at a press I have published with in the past, to contribute a book to a new and innovative series that will be available only as e-books. This series will be inexpensive and accessible to more academics and students around the world in our field of English language education. While writing the book (still in process), I suddenly realized (I can be slow to put two and two together sometimes!) that in order to read my own book and others in the series, it would be quite helpful to have an e-reader myself! It turns out that I could download e-books on my laptop as well, but I decided that this was the time to finally take the plunge and buy a Kindle. After a quick survey of friends about which type I should buy, I purchased one. I can’t say I am totally taken by it; I am still very much wedded to the traditional hard copy. But after reading a few books on the Kindle, I somewhat begrudgingly understand its value. I can’t imagine, though, that it will ever become even close to my primary mode of reading. But I won’t say this too strongly, because what I have learned is to “never say never.”