Reading ‘short’ books is a nice diversion, and often an entertaining one.
BELIEVE IN THE WORLD: Wisdom for Grown-ups from Children’s Books collected by Amy Gash and Elise Howard, illus. Eleanor Davis (Quotations) (139 pages)
The authors have collected nearly 400 quotations from a wide range of children’s books, new and old, half of which I have read. Some excerpts are wise, some are whimsical, some are moving and many are inspiring. but nearly each choice is worth pondering. The book is organized into five sections: How To Be Good in the World; How to be Joyful in the World, How to be Strong in the world, How to Be at Home in the world; How to Believe in the World. Specific titles to frame the collection appear in each chapter (e…g., ONE: Kindness; Acceptance, Courage, Confidence, Forgiveness) This uplifiting book is right up my alley blending children’s literature with adult well-being.
NOTE Believe in the World collection of quotations is a worthy descendent to the book WHAT THE DORMOUSE SAID: Lessons for Grown-ups From Children’s Books by Amy Gash (ed) / 1999
Samples
Trust dreams Trust your heart., and trust your story. ~Neil Gaiman, Instructions
“I will do it tomorrow,” said Toad. “Today I will take it easy.” ~ Arnold Lobel, Days with Frog and Toad.
It’s going to be okay. I’ll make friends, and if I don’t I’ll borrow books from the library. ~ Kelly Yang, Front Desk
There’s as many ways to live as people. ~ Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy
Even the silence has a story to tell you. Just listen. Listen. ~ Jaqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming
THE REST IS MEMORY by Lily Tuck (114 pages)
This is a work of fiction, based on fact. After reading an obituary of the photographer Wilhelm Brasse, who took more than 40 000 pictures of prisoners in Auschwitz, the author was struck by 3 photographs of Czeslawa Kwoka, a Catholic girl from southeastern Poland. Tuck was only able to discover bare facts about this girl but has chosen to invent brutal details about this teenage girl, her family and the brutal experiences which led to her death after three months in a concentration camp. Lily Tuck has chosen to fill her pages with short passages (somegtimes one or two sentences in length), weaving in authentic historical facts of Commander Hedwig Hoss, harrowing treatments of prisoners, a short story, ‘This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman’ by Tadeuz Borowski and a children’s tale from Janus Korczak. She provides footnote references throughout (sometimes acknowledging Wikipedia). The Rest is History is a testimony to almost 6 million Poles who were killed of which 2 million were non-Jews who died in prison, were forced into labor, executed or sent to concentration camps. Some readers might have hoped for a more linear narrative of the Polish girl’s life but I was fascinated by Lily Tuck’s back and forth timelines, her brief anecdotal recounts and her blend of fact and fiction. Brief though this is, The Rest is Memory is yet another heart-wrenching publication of The Holocaust history. This book is the first publication I’ve read with a 2025 imprint.
Excerpt (p. 90)
The thread spun from the prisoners’ hair ws used to make yarn, felt and socks for submarine crews and railroad workers. One kilo (2.2 pounds) of hair was worth 0.50 Reichsmark – about $109. By 1943, the twenty boxcars filled daily with the prisoner’s confiscated property, which Rudolf Hess boasted about to Himmler, also held sacks of human hair.
HOW SONDHEIM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE by Richrd Schoch (Nonfiction) (235 pages + Notes and Index) / nonfiction
Stephen Sondheim died on November 26, 2021. Much has been written about him. Much will be written about him. Sondheim transformed musical theater and it is the author’s contention that his works have the power to transform us too. Each chapter highlights a Sondheim musical, presented in chronological order of production. Each title is accompanied by a subtitle shining a light on a central theme (e.g., ‘Gypsy: How to Be Who You Are’; ‘Company: How to Get Close’, ‘Follies: How to Survive Your Past’). In many cases, attention is given to particular songs (‘Being Alive’, ‘Someone in a Tree’, ‘Moments in the Woods’ and ‘Send in the Clowns’ (which gets about 10 pages). Anecdotes and references are aptly filtered throughout each chapter, Richard Schoch makes the case that Sondheim’s greatness lies beyond the clever (genius) lyrics but rest in the ability to reach, relate and reflect on our own personal life stories. Shoch digs deep into the composer’s creative process but moreover helps us realize that Sondheim understands us, reveals us and enriches us. This book is for Sondheim fans and inspires me to see any of his musicals again. And again. And listen repeatedly to his scores on the CD’s (yes, CD’s) I own. I’m not sure that the book will change my life but I was impressed with Richard Schoch’s writing because I though carefully about Sondheim’s as a teacher and how I / we might connect to the themes of his work. Truly, “no one is alone.” How Sondheim Can Change Your Life is on my list of favourites for 2024.
I AM FULL: STORIES FOR JACOB by Dan Yashinsky (2023) (153 pages)
This book was given a SHOUT OUT in one of my grown-up read postings, December 2023. It is a book written in the shadow of grief. It is funny. It is heartbreaking.It is filled with heart. And hands on heart, it was the best book that I’ read in 2023. I was so glad to have read this again recently, and know that I will turn to it again (and again).
Jacob Evan Yashinsky-Zavitz lived a life of courage and resilience in dealing with a genetic condition known as Prader-Willi Syndrom (PWS) which forces those with the disease to deal ewith intense hunger known as hyperphagia. But what a rich life and full life Jacob created for himself especially as a fisherman, a photographer, a jewellery maker, a poet, and a crossing-guard. A tragic death, at the age of 26, as a result of a car accident put his father, family and friends on a journey to deal with grief.
In the Prologue to the book, Dan Yashinsky writes: “I started writing this chronicle about six month’s after Jacob’s death trying to find a way to remember, to grieve, perhaps to find a shred of meaning in this unspeakable loss.” Dan Yashinsky, master professional storyteller, began gathered texts that make up this requiem. The ongoing journal that Dan kept recording his son’s adventures and misadventures, the unforgettable expressions Jacob uttered at all stages of his life, the trials and triumphs he experienced provided the a rich source for the author to pay tribute to his son by presenting narratives in Jacob’s imagined voice as his guide. The anecdotes and reflections are written in the first person. A collection of poems, speeches, letters, notes and photographs are compiled to paint a mighty portrait of this heroic hat-loving, fishing-loving, food-loving, joke-loving, family-loving human who learned to embrace his disability rather than ignore it.
At his funeral, Jacob’s brother said: “love continues to exist in the world, even though (my) little brother has gone to be with his ancestors. Somehow, love remains”.
This is a life lived with love. This is a book of LOVE. This is a book of remembrance.
KILLING TIME by Alan Bennett (103 pages),
In this slim volume, master playwright and storyteller, Alan Bennett invites us into council home for the elderly, where a quirky and endearing cast of characters seem to get by from day to day, as their days fade. Residents and staff include a compulsive knitter, a chiropodist, an archaeologist, a hairdresser and a pervert who enjoys showing off his willy. Set during Covid, staff are hospitalized and protocol is disrupted. and the seniors hang on to what’s left of their memories as the threat of death overhangs in Hill Top House. I cared for these characters and found myself laughing out loud often by their behaviours and utterances. (“Am I dying?” she said to Phyllis. “Dying?” said Phyllis. “Let’s get old age out of the way first.” Like reading his other books – The Uncommon Reader and Smut: Two unseemly stories –spending time with Bennett’s writing, however brief, is an absolute delight.
Excerpt (p. 91)
“I suppose you can’t have sex with it (Covid) either. No singing, no praying, no sex,”
“You can have sex if you’re in a bubble.”
“Where do you get them?”
“What?”
“These bubbles.”
LAGOM: What you need to know about the Swedish art of living a balanced life by Barbara Hayden (2019/ 85 pages) / nonfiction
This was a lovely gift from a lovely friend in Helsingborg, Sweden. Lagome (“Lah-gome”) means ‘just enough’ and presents the Swedish lifestyle that you do not want to have too much of something and by pursuing extremes youwill not be able to enjoy life. Such chapters as ‘Take Enough Breaks in Your Day;. ‘Learn to Listen More’, ‘Perform Acts of Kindness and ‘Lagom as a Part of Being Mindful’ offer sound advice. The invitations to “Work on Your Own Capsule Wardrobe’ and ‘Declutter Your Home’ and ‘Eat Less’ makes sense to me. Lagom invites readers to think about when we get ‘just enough of everything we need, we will lead a happier, healthier life. Thank you Lagome for helping me think about where I am in life and where I might go in order to lead a balanced life. Thank you, Petra for the gift.
THE PARTY by Tessa Hadley (112 pages)
This novella was recommended to me by a salesperson at Waterstone’s book store. The story is set in Bristol and is centred on two sisters Moira and Evelyn, who attend a party in a dockside pub and become intrigued (and repelled) by two worldly men who approach them. In the third part of the novel, the two sisters accept an invitation to visit the mansion that Paul owns with his brother and sister. On this night, Moria and Evelyn, come face to face with the mysteries of human desire and in the end they learn things about each other, about themselves as they venture forth into adulthood.
THE YEARS by Annie Ernaux / 2008 / English Translation by Alison L. Strayer / 2017 / Memoir (231 pages)
Seven Stories Press claimed that this autobiography that is ‘at once subjective and impersonal, private and collective.”
This hybrid memoir spans the years 1941-2006. by Nobel literature prize-winning author (2022), Anne Ernaux. She uses the pronoun ‘we’ instead of the expected ‘I’ of autobiography and when writings about her personal history from childhood, youth, and adulthood, she uses the third person voice (i.e., she). Drawing on notes from six decades of diaries, the author takes a close-up look at French society just after the Second World War into the early 21st century by giving reference to personal photos, books, song titles, radio and television and movies. The author digs into such issues as consumerism, illegal abortion, a troubled marriage, her mother’s Alzheimer and experiences with cancer in rather short passages. The writing is fearless, critical and both personal and universal and certainly original.
THIS IS THE STORY OF THE CHILD RULED BY FEAR by David Gagnon Walker (Script) (60 pages)
This is a rather short script about a production that involves a narrator + audience involvement by having 7 readers volunteer to read different parts (as well as audience members reading the chorus). This is an intriguing excerise in interactive storytelling. The story is a fable of sorts about an imaginary civilization where characters confront their anxiety and fears about a collapsing world. The playwright’s notes suggests taht this is a play “about worry and wonder, loneliness and community, beauty and despair, stories and life.” The collaborative nature of this play is intriguing. The narrative is often poetic and abstract. What’s missing from an independent reading is the video visuals that appear throughout. This piece is an interesting premise by an emerging Canadian playwright, that I hope to be able to see someday.
SHOUT OUT
FIRE by John Boyne (167 pages)
“Fire takes the reader on a chilling uncomfortable, yet utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition” ( from book jacket blurb)
Freya works as a surgeon in an Irish hospital who has a strong reputation for specializing in skin grafts. She lives a rather privileged existence but she is haunted by a trauma from her past. When she was twelve years old she was tormented by two teenage boys, two years older than her and a cruel incident has haunted her and spurred a life of revenge. Fire is the third book in ‘The Elements’ quartet (Water, Earth, Fire, Air). Each of the books is a stand alone, although narrative elements thread each book. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. John Boyne is at the top of my list of favourite authors. Fire is a chilling, chilling, spellbinding read.