Review: White Teeth

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers

In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers by Don Blanding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a very short book, can easily be read in under an hour. Although if you’re one to peer for a long time at a drawing of a flower and contemplate the accompanying poem it may take longer.

There are under twenty of these flowers that can be found in Hawaii. The poems are six or eight lines which praise the flower on the opposing page. The poems are okay, nothing that seems remarkable. The images are done fairly realistically but have a sort of soft focus as well.

My copy, which came to me through generations of my family (my great-grandmother knew the author) also includes an insert about where you can buy the images for framing so as not to cut up the book itself. It also advertises other paper products with these images, like stationary or cards. I'm sure those are no longer available now since this was published in the 1940s.

The description in goodreads about this book is incorrect, as there are more than 8 flowers in the book, although maybe only that many are native to Hawaii and the others are not native. I’m not sure about the horticulture history.


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Review: The Virgin of Waikiki: A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics

The Virgin of Waikiki: A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics by Don Blanding
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a very short book, a poem, only one, that can easily be read in just a few minutes of time. There is a very short introduction by the publisher which states the author delivered this poem at an event and, “It was felt that a number of appreciative souls who were not present…were deserving of the pleasure which this rare and piquant piece affords to Epicurean literary tastes.” The first printing was a small private batch, when quickly sold out there was another, then this third which seems to be the first to include the illustrations.

I am not a fan of the poem, the drawings that accompanied the text, however, I did enjoy. This was printed in 1933, so the humor and social mores were different during that time.

The poem is about a “spinster” woman aged 40, living in Waikiki near the beach, who was still a virgin. Spoilers: (view spoiler)[She had a dour countenance. People made fun of her. The neighbor lady sought to change things and gave her a romance book. The spinster read it and was filled with passion at what she’s been missing in her life. In a crazed way, she goes out and seeks it. (hide spoiler)]

The very end of the book contained an envelop of types that covered up the last image, or maybe page. Since it was already opened, I cannot be certain of exactly what was hidden.

The poem was a simple rhyming scheme. I will hold out on my opinion on Blanding’s writing overall until I read a longer work of his. I do have several of those, as this book and several others belonged to my great-grandmother, who knew the author. They were in a writing group together, although she never published. The books have been handed down through the generations, with the latest from my dad to me a few years back.



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Review: Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage

Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Highly enjoyed this biography of Abigail and John Adams. The book perhaps was more of a biography of Abigail than of John.

Both Abigail Smith and John Adams came from pious backgrounds with families well established in America before the revolution. They married while John was 29 and Abigail just 19. And quickly after their marriage their lifelong habit of letter writing began, as John being a lawyer, would travel to the various colonies for work. This also established a pattern for their marriage with John being absent from home much of the time.

Since they were great letter writers and their correspondence survives, even to their numerous relatives and friends, it enables books like this. The book was not so narrow to only discuss their marriage. It is a wider biography which discusses their entire lives. Such as how John became involved with the revolution, and the long years apart while he was in Europe serving the new country while Abigail dealt with living in a revolutionary war zone, while managing a farm. During this time women did not own property or assets, yet to keep the family afloat Abigail bought land and other assets in John’s name. She even started trading goods to keep the family afloat during this time of struggle.

There is a lot of material here in the book. To note, one surprising fact is how their young boys spent many years apart from one parent or another, or often both. The family believed in Duty and their children learned the lesson well. Duty to others came before self. The youngest boy barely knew his father as John was in Europe for much of his life.

It was noticeable the author’s opinion that John Adams was not a monarchist, as many of his detractors, and historians state. She proves this several times in the book. This being the only book about him I’ve read, I cannot say, but she makes a convincing argument.

Their lives are quite detailed, until we get to the post-presidency of John Adams and near the end of their lives. Other than discussing the renewed friendship with Thomas Jefferson, the latter era is glossed over. Now I would like to read a biography of their eldest son John Quincy Adams, he had an unusual childhood.

I had this book for many years, not sure why I waited so long to read it. This year of a focus on American history finally gave me the impetus needed.


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Review: Burn Down Master's House

Burn Down Master's House by Clay Cane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the introduction the author states this book will make you uncomfortable and he definitely achieved that. We have four stories that could be four individual short stories. However, they build on each other. The main character in each story changes, but in the last they all come together more fully. The book takes place in the time of slavery in the South in United States with the main characters being enslaved, with a couple of exceptions.

The first story introduces us to Magnolia Row, the plantation, one of the cruelest in the area. After the events in this story the slaves scatter. The characters in all of the stories are all related in some way to Magnolia Row. In the last story the civil war has begun.

Each character finds a way to fight for their freedom, often in brutal way, paying retribution on their masters. But not always. In one story we have Charity Butler who is gains her freedom (for a time) by the laws in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This story in particular is based on true events.
Several other aspects of these stories are historically accurate. It does take some of the more brutal parts of history, but also shows how people persevered and reclaimed their lives. The book overall feels one sided, with very minimal white people being decent. The characters are not very nuanced. However, it does have one black man being just as cruel when becoming a slaveowner himself.

I listened to the audio which is narrated by the author, but did not really enjoy the narration style. It made a difficult book even more difficult to get through. The words were enunciated very deliberately and slowly, with a pause after every word. I had to speed up the narration more than I typically would to find a better reading pace, which helped. If there is any interest in reading this book my suggestion is to avoid the audiobook.


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