Linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy - the monthly link-up for short reviews.
Caroline Moorehead: Village of Secrets.
Defying the Nazis in Vichy France
Moorehead has written a thoroughly
researched and apparently fairly balanced account of what happened on
the plateau Vivarais-Lignon during World War II. It's a remarkable
story - many outstanding individuals but also just many 'unnamed',
quiet people in the background, all working more or less together to
save and protect Jews.
This is an intensive read. Not just the
subject matter - it's also hard to keep up with all the people and
the parallel storylines in the book. Lessons on the power of faith
and the power of a community acting together are on offer. And a lot
to ponder: "What would I do if facing choices like this?" (Just the thought of having to send my 10-year-old away to be cared for by strangers, because that was the only way to save his life... shudder.)
Apparently, many people who only want
to see a part of the story haven't liked the way Moorehead presents
various, even conflicting viewpoints. Here's a piece by the author about it.
Chris Hadfield: An Astronaut's Guide to
Life on Earth
Col. Chris Hadfield was the first
Canadian astronaut to walk in space and command the International
Space Station. But those are just a couple of highlights, and most of
his life has been on Earth. In this memoir, Hadfield is also trying
to explain what it takes to become an astronaut (a lot) and how to
think like an astronaut.
I really enjoyed this and would recommend this without hesitation to anyone who has even the slightest interest in space exploration. Or to teens who are trying to sort out possible career choices (even if their dreams have nothing to do with space exploration), because most of the principles in Hadfield's "thinking like an astronaut" are very applicable to life on Earth, whatever you do.
Hanspeter Nüesch: Ruth and Billy
Graham: The Legacy of a Couple
This is not a biography as such - the
book is organised around topics, not chronologically. There are
plenty of anecdotes, photos and quotes; Nüesch has done a thorough
job of interviewing people and going through books, newspaper and
magazine articles, Billy's and Ruth's speeches and writings, etc.
If you want to know what Ruth and Billy
Graham thought about various issues, how they came to think the way
they did, and how their principles and convictions played out in
practice, this is a good book to read. I enjoyed getting some insight
into how the Grahams' marriage and family life worked.
I also felt that the book was not
trying to put its subjects on a pedestal. Just the opposite: the
emphasis was on God's grace and mercy, which the Grahams knew they
themselves needed every day, all the time. And that made this book even more inspirational. Glory to God, not to the people.
Gretchen Rubin: Better Than Before -
Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives
I wasn't quite as impressed with this
book as I expected to be. Maybe it's just the timing - I'm not
feeling particularly keen to analyse and improve my everyday habits,
even though I realize there's room for improvement.
The positives: I like Rubin's style of
writing, very readable, and it's nice that she keeps giving personal
examples from her own life and the lives of people around her.
In the end, though, I'm left with the
hard work of thinking how this all could be applied to my real life,
and right now, it's easier to close the book, return it to the
library and leave it at that. Maybe I'll put this down on the list of
"books to read when I feel energetic enough to actually apply
them"?
Diana Webster: Finland Forevermore.
Helsinki 1953-1963.
This is a memoir of Diana Webster's
first decade teaching at the English Department of Helsinki
University. More than the university, though, it's about life in Finland at
the time, as experienced by an expatriate Brit. She also tells how
she started working on radio and television productions alongside her
teaching career.
I found this both very interesting and
also very funny. Oh how much life has changed in the decades after
this period, both at the university and in the Finnish society
overall.
Of course for me there's the personal
angle of remembering Mrs Webster fondly from my university days (she
was still teaching there in the early 1990's) but I'm sure that other
readers will appreciate this memoir, too, even if they've never heard
about her or met her. I can also recommend her memoir of her first year in Finland, Finland Forever, as well as the book she wrote with her daughter Victoria, called So Many Everests.
Daughters of Time (An Anthology from the History Girls)
A collection of 13 short stories by 13
different authors. All stories are about strong girls or women and
real historical events. The website says this was "intended for
readers of 9+ years."
It was OK; I liked some stories much
better than some others but mostly enjoyed them all.
A side note, if you're thinking of giving this to a young reader: In many stories, people die. Even sympathetic characters. That's real history, of course, but still, I don't know how well I would have handled that as a sensitive 9-year-old (for me, this would have been much better at 12+). Just be aware; you'll know your young reader best.
