The Soloist, By Steve Lopez

I saw the movie “The Soloist” with Robert Downey Jr.,and Jamie Foxx. I really enjoyed it. I hope they both get nominated for an Oscar. My book club read the book for our October meeting. Steve Lopez is a journalist, so it is all about details and getting it right. As an author one needs less detail. But the book is a beautiful exploration of friendship between two unlikely men.

Nathaniel Ayers was homeless for many years in Los Angeles. He suffers from schizophrenia. Steve Lopez is a journalist with The Los Angeles Times. Mr. Ayers was a promising musician who went to Julliard. These two connect because one loves music and the other loves writing. Mr.Lopez wants Mr. Ayers to be happy and whole. He is very frustrated about how to help his friend who has a mental illness. Mr.Lopez expresses his frustration to a counselor. The counselor says “You literally have changed his chemistry by being his friend.” (page 210) What a wonderful definition of love.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed by Anne Egger, Library Services

BookMarks, By Karla FC Holloway

I was on vacation in Washington, D.C., in the gift shop of the Library of Congress, when I came upon a book that looked good. Karla Holloway is a black woman around fifty years old. She is a professor of English at Duke University. She has written a book, which I love, but the subject matter may be a little esoteric. She talks about libraries and how libraries have shaped her world and black intellectuals through the history of America. She talks about personal libraries, prison libraries, negro libraries, and school libraries. She talks about the importance of books and how they can change lives. She talks about how race can effect what you read and why.

I found it interesting that almost all the people she mentioned loved Dickens and Shakespeare. I guess good writing is good writing. Maya Angelou said “But it was Shakespeare who said , When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes. It was a state with which I felt myself most familiar. I pacified myself about his whiteness by saying that after all he had been dead so long it couldn’t matter anymore.” (Page 96) Karla talks about her son in prison. She sent him books in hopes that would help. She sent him The Ender’s Game by: Orson Scott Card. When she went to visit him, he pretended he had read it and enjoyed it, to please her. Ralph Ellison could not get a library card, so he would check out books under his co-worker’s card. The librarian was suspicious because the book he checked out was by H. L. Mencken. The idea that you could not check a book because of the color of your skin really struck me. I have had a library card since I was about eight years old. I remember as a little girl being very proud of my library card and my mother showing me how to use the library and how to act in the library. The book is composed of short stories which lack some cohesion, but being someone who loves to read and loves libraries I really enjoyed it.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Anne Egger, Library Services

The Zookeeper’s Wife, By Diane Ackerman

I went to Washington DC in June. One of the places I visited was the Holocaust Museum. They have a whole room devoted to rescuers. I thought that was pretty cool. In the museum gift shop I bought The Zookeeper’s Wife. I had looked at the book before, but had not picked it.

A husband and wife lived in Warsaw during the war. He was head of the zoo. His wife was very good at taking care of sick animals. He was an atheist, she was a devout Catholic. He had grown up in Warsaw with a lot of Jewish friends. They wer able to aid 300 Jews during the war. Ms. Ackerman really does a lovely job of describing not only the war in Poland, but also all these wonderful animals. There is a movie called “The Seventh Cross” with Spencer Tracey, Hume Cronyn, and Jessica Tandy. In the movie Spencer Tracey is a german who opposes the Nazi regime. He is put in a concentration camp. He escapes and turns to friends for help. The feeling is of always being to danger and careful not to cause too much notice by the neighbors. I was impressed by how many people aided Jews in Warsaw despite what could happen to their own families if reported to the Nazis.

I thought this book was well done and that Ms. Ackerman did a good job in getting the right feeling of the war in Poland.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Anne Egger, Library Services

The Weight of a Mustard Seed, By Wendell Steavenson

Wendell Steavenson is a female journalist who is British. She was trying to find out why Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussein for so many years. Why those in power didn’t rebel. Did they feel loss, remorse, fear, guilt, for their actions or lack of actions? She interviews the family of General Kamel Sachet. He was an honorable man caught in a corrupt system. He tried to protect his family to the best of his ability. The feeling is similar to Germany during World War II. What could I do? I was just following orders. Who could you trust? Power of any type is illusive, corruption lasts longer.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed by: Anne Egger, Library Services

Peony in Love, By Lisa See

I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I just loved. So when I heard she had another book out I had to read it. This book is good, but not as good as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Peony falls in love with a stranger, her father had already arranged a marriage for her. She dies of lovesickness. She doesn’t find out until near her death, that the srtanger was to be her husband. As a ghost, she watches over him. It is a lovely book, but doesn’t have the weight of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed by: Anne Egger, Library Services

The Bondwoman’s Narrative, By Hannah Crafts

True story — Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was lying in bed recovering from hip surgery and perusing a catalogue of items up for sale at an auction. He came across one item which struck his fancy. The doctor had ordered him to stay in bed, so he sent a colleague to the auction to place a bid for him. He received a true treasure several days later, the narrative of a slave who successfully escaped from bondage in North Carolina and ended up in New Jersey. The author, Hannah Crafts, could not only read and write, but she wrote in the style of Louisa May Alcott and Dickens.

Henry was stunned this manuscript had never been published. He gives several theories why it had never been published. My own theory was Hannah became a preacher’s wife. Perhaps the women of the church would disapprove of her making a spectacle of herself. It is a true treasure on many levels and I hope you will read it.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed by: Anne Egger, Library Services

The Reader, By Bernhard Schlink

A girl friend of mine said, “Anne, I’ve seen this movie at the Manor it is called The Reader and you’ve got to go see it.”

I thought, “Well, I don’t know if I’ll get to the movie, but I’ll buy the book.”

My co-worker the next day said, “Anne, I’ve seen this movie at the Manor it is called The Reader, I think you would enjoy it.”

I thought, “Okay that’s a sign.” I purchase the book and it sits on my bedside table for a while.

Then I go to my book club and I mention this book as a possible selection, even thought I had just started the novel. A lady at the other end of the table who hadn’t heard my recommendation said, “You know what we should read, The Reader.”

I read the book and was really blown away by it. It is a profound book. One of the blurbs on the back of the book says, “A masterly work… The reviewer’s sole and privileged function is to say as loudly as he is able, Read this and Read it again. ” by: Georg Steiner. I completely agree. This isn’t just a book it is literature. Michael is a fifteen year old boy who is sickly in nature and quite lonely. He has a relationship with Hanna who is 36 at the time when the relationship starts. The story is set in postwar Germany. The story is beautiful, haunting, and sad. There are consequences for everyone’s actions. I won’t give it away, but you must read this book.

4 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Anne Egger, Library Services

Enough, By Juan Williams

In 2004 Bill Cosby spoke at an NAACP celebration for the 50th Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. They were expecting Bill Cosby to be funny, sweet Cliff Huxtable, that is not what happened. Bill Cosby chastised the black community in public. He talked about behavior within the black community that was harming itself. 70% of poor black women are unwed mothers, the plague of drugs, crime, and illiteracy among poor blacks. These comments are acceptable in private, but Bill Cosby made them public. There was a lot of criticism towards Bill Cosby, but there was a lot of truth in his speech. I found this book fascinating and I highly recommend it.

4 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed by: Anne Egger, Library Services

Animal Farm, By George Orwell

In the book Animal Farm, George Orwell presents to us important themes in the development of social stratification and political corruption. His story is an allegorical representation of the power struggle that took place in the Soviet Union between political figures Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Essentially in Animal Farm, George Orwell has turned a bunch of farm animals into civic characters, each symbolizing a different part of communist society (the Soviet Union was communist back then). The two main characters of interest, however, are the pigs Snowball (who stands for Leon Trotsky: intelligent, passionate, determined) and Napoleon (who stands for Stalin: militaristic, cunning, confident). In the end, the plot focuses solely on the conflict between the two pigs and their manipulation of the innocent farm animals. I highly recommend George Orwell’s masterpiece. Animal Farm is not only intriguing but also possesses the exhilarating plot of a fantasy novel.

3 Out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Gary Li, Myers Park High School

Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism, By William Link

So, why should we read yet another biography of Jesse Helms? Righteous Warrior by William Link plows over familiar ground, detailing how Helms was involved in the most racist- and red-baiting campaign in modern N.C. history, the Dr. Frank Porter Graham-Willis Smith Democratic primary of 1950. Though Helms always denies accusations that he instigated the worst of these deceitful tactics, Link en-courages the reader to examine his later campaigns.

In his first U.S. Senate race in ‘72 against Nick Galifinakis, a U.S. Congressman of Greek descent, he brandished the slogan, “Jesse: He’s One of Us.” That Galifinakis was a Marine Corp veteran and Duke Law graduate did not prevent Jesse from questioning his Americanism and patriotism. Carolina residents may recall the controversial “white hands” TV ad, in which the Helms campaign falsely accused opponent Harvey Gantt of favoring minority hiring quotas. After a look-see at such ugly stuff, Link suggests, readers may draw their own conclusions about the accuracy of Jesse’s denials. Link also probes Helms’ cozy relationships with nearly all Central and South American dictators, such as General Pinochet of Chile and Robert D’Aubuisson of El Salvador. Despite the mountains of evidence these neo-fascists secured and maintained their power through mass murder, repression, and terror, N.C.’s senior Senator defended them and their death squads because he believed they were buffers against Communism. Even when a Socialist government was democratically elected, as in Chile, Helms would label it “Communist” and then support its opponents, often militaristic authoritarians.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing episodes is how Helms exploited the Soviet downing of KAL 007 in 1983 as a political opportunity (KAL 007 was a Korean passenger plane the Soviets insisted they thought was a spy plane). The Senator had met two pre-school age girls in the airport before they boarded the fateful flight, and he gradually embellished the story of their brief encounter throughout that election year. Eventually Helms claimed he had played a child’s game with the two girls, witnessed their mother read Bible stories to them, and that the youngsters had blown kisses to him as they boarded the plane. Jesse’s conscience permitted him to use this much exaggerated and tear-jerking story in fund-raising letters in his 1984 Senate campaign as well as on the campaign trail.

Link suggests that despite all his attention-getting bluster, Helms was not as effective as he appeared, as many of the issues he fought for over his many years in the Senate are no longer on the public radar. For examples, he opposed Martin Luther King Day, and he advocated putting prescribed prayer back in the public schools. In fairness to Helms, Link also reports how the former Senator’s office admirably served his individual constituents and how Helms himself genuinely loved an adopted son, Charles, a victim of celebral palsy. Indeed, Helms seems to possess a generous, pleasant, and even courtly personal side that conflicts with his public persona. In addition, Helms did seem to soften in his later years regarding his views on poverty in third-world countries, homosexuality, and the AIDS epidemic. However, Link hints these modifications in his positions are mere footnotes in a political career marred by intolerance and unapologetic appeals to racism.

I read Righteous Warrior because a couple of questions had always nagged me about ole Jesse. First, how did Jesse get to be Jesse? Second, how could many North Carolinians who voted for progressive candidates like Terry Sanford and Jim Hunt support him, too? Link indicates Jesse got to be Jesse while a commentator at WRAL-TV in Raleigh in the 1960s. On several of his Viewpoints editorials, Helms accused a young UNC English instructor of attempting to morally corrupt his freshmen by teaching the classic poem, “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell. Even after Helms knew an investigation that included interviewing each student had cleared the teacher of any wrongdoing, Helms continued to repeat the unfounded allegations on his TV program. Link concludes when Jesse realized he could get away with such falsehoods on the public airways, he was encouraged to continue the practice. How Jesse enjoyed getting votes from some folks who also supported more progressive candidates is partially explained in a poll taken after the 1984 Helms-Hunt Senate race. One question asked if Helms had run against Hunt for governor instead of Hunt running against Helms for Senate, how would they have voted? Surprisingly, Hunt would have won in double digits! Why? The poll concluded: “Voters liked having an ideologue for senator and an effective manager for governor.” I suspect many fellow North Carolinians — both native Tar Heels and transplants — have similar questions that may have nagged them about this politician who represented us in the U.S. Senate for thirty years. Righteous Warrior is 643 pages of solid data, interestingly told, about one of the longest serving U.S. Senators in history. Furthermore, Link’s biography reminds us that many of the issues Helms exploited during his three-decades will be with us in the 2008 election and beyond. May the Almighty have mercy on us!

4 Out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Mike Shinn, Academic Learning Center