The Pope and Mussolini

"It is faith that moves mountains, not reason."

Mussolini

This years Pulitzer winners have, so far, rocked my socks off. All the Light We Cannot See was beautiful and touching, The 6th Extinction was interesting, well written, and somewhat terrifying. So I figured to give the winner in the Bio category a try.

The Pope and Mussolini, by David I. Kertzer, was fascinating. It follows the life of Pope Pius XI, who I, being neither Catholic nor historically knowledgeable, had never heard of even though he was the pope during the rise of fascism in Italy, a very turbulent and interesting time. Italy is not the place we generally focus on from the mid 1920's to the end of WWII. When I think of that time I think of the American Great Depression, or the Spanish Civil War, or the rise of Hitler and Nazism. 

Reading this book, I was amazed at how much of a part Italy played on the world stage. Fascism really took off in Italy under Mussolini. The straight-armed solute that the Nazi's used is called a Roman Solute (American's used to use it when reciting the Pledge of Alliance.....fun fact), and Hitler modeled his rise to power and the initial structure of his government after the government Mussolini established when he rose to power in Italy, which he couldn't have done without the support of the Catholic Church.

Pope Pius XI was elected in 1922 and reigned until his death in 1939. He oversaw the creation of the Vatican as a sovereign state and saw the rise of Mussolini. His interactions with the new fascist government were critical in Mussolini's rise to power, and Mussolini helped the church achieve many of its goals. That being said, it was not a harmonious union, each struggled against the power of the other (with 99% of Italy Catholic at the time, the church had an enormous amount of power).  

This book was fascinating. I knew nothing of Pope Pius XI, just as I knew nothing about Mussolini's rise to power, though both definitely had a large impact on the world. The writing was impeccable, the history and the players well researched, and the pace at which it pulled me along was wonderful. This is a book that, I think, deserves the prize. 

You Should Never Ignore a Possible

"Everyone starts out with a little strange in them. It's Just whether or not you decide to keep it."

Katherine Rundell

Rooftoppers

Children's books hold the best stories, from Harry Potter to Island of the Blue Dolphins this has been the case. I think that one of the greatest things stolen from us as we enter adulthood is the reading of fairy tales, their charm, innocence, and joy are things that we always need more of in our lives. 

Rooftoppers delivers all of these things in abundance. Following the story of Sophie, a little girl who was found drifting in a cello case, wrapped in Beethoven's symphony, after the sinking of the Queen Mary, and her search for her mother, is utterly charming. Sophie is "bright enough to start a forest fire (99)," strong, confident, and headstrong. In her search see meets the Rooftoppers, children living on the roofs of Paris, and relies on her guarding, Charles, who tells her that "you should never ignore a possible (228)."

This book was so charming and wonderful, it was filled with the good will of the characters as they found ways to control and belong in the world they live in. I highly recommend this book, for adults as well as children. The story is sweet and the characters are people I hope are real, while the writing is beautiful.

"Music works the same way as magic does, sometimes."

Katherine Rundell

Rooftoppers

Spinster

"Whom to marry, and when it will happen- these two questions define every woman's existence, regardless of where she was raised or what religion she does or doesn't practice. She may grow up to love women instead of men, or to decide she simply doesn't believe in marriage. No matter. These dual contingencies govern her until they're answered, even if the answers are nobody and never."

Kate Bolick

Spinster

The opening lines of Spinster are a hook if I've ever seen one. The statement rings more true than I would ever want to admit in this century, with votes for women, and equal opportunity and all that; every once in a while the well meaning question from a relative asking, "when are you going to get married?" or "when will you find a nice man and settle down?"   In movies the female lead often is married by the end of the plot, Disney princesses become queens. 

Kate Bolick examines that cultural expectation in Spinster, through her five "awakeners" and her own experience and the result is a charming, humorous, thought provoking book that hit very close to home. Her examination of what it means to be single and coupled and what makes a woman a spinster, and the fear of becoming a bag lady are wonderful, and she challenges the expectation, left over from the 1950's, that as a woman "you are born, you grow up, you become a wife (Bolick 46)."

This examination, and comparison of, the expectations of women and men, with regards to marriage, also leads her to ask "Are women people yet?" Of course we are, but politics, law, and culture do not always treat us as we are and that is a problem that everyone should look at.

 I really liked that it discussed that it is generally thought that women have to put a hold on their dreams and aspirations when they get married and have kids. One of the things that really bothered me in Breaking into the Current was that a majority of the women left the canyon to get married and have kids, as if the two are mutually exclusive. This is a theme that is also commonly seen in pop culture interview questions, where the focus is on the woman being a mother, and not her as a musician or an actress. Jennifer Garner once commented on how the most often question she received was "how do you balance your career and your family?" and how her husband, Ben Affleck, had never been asked that question.

Its wonderful to see a book that points out the double standards that men and women face in regards to marriage and family, and to do so well.

Funny, intriguing, and well written, this is a book that I think everyone should read.

Her Laughter Was a Question

"Because nothing makes me happier and nothing makes me sadder than you"

Nicole Krauss

The History of Love

There are a select few books that make you feel as the characters do. I picked up The History of Love because it had one of the most wonderful dedications I had ever read: "For my grandparents, who taught me the opposite of disappearing." I was then pulled through the magnificent story, loving the characters, until I came to the best closing lines I have ever read: "Really, there isn't much to say. He was a great writer, He fell in love. It was his life."

This was a book that you could read and love just for the writing. The phrasing, the language, the way the words are simply strung together is magnificent. On top of that, the characters are real, and you can emphasize with them, feel what they feel. The story moves at a wonderful pace, following a mans want to know his only son, who doesn't know he exists. This book is a marvel of storytelling, and I cannot wait until I return to it the next time to read it again.

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."

In the Heart of the Sea

"And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea."

Exodus 15:8

Moby-Dick is one of my favorite novels. The story of revenge and obsession, the wonderful bromance between Ishmael and Queequeg, and the language used to describe it all speaks to me on such a wonderful level. So when I found that this tale was based on the accounts of the Whaleship

Essex, I found that I had to know more. 

In the Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick, is the historical account of the Essex and her crew as they sailed from Nantucket around Cape Horn into the Pacific to hunt the sperm whales whose oil (or spermacetti because it looks like, well, seminal fluid) lubricated the machinery and lit the lamps of the world. On this journey their ship was sank by an 85 foot bull whale 3,000 miles from the coast of South America. The crew of twenty loaded into three small boats, only eight of them  survived. 

This book was fantastic. It examined the whaling industry of the early 18th century, and examined the events that contributed to its fall. I find the history of the whaling industry fascinating, though the practice of whaling is appalling, as it was such a big part of the world economy and it drove maritime explorations for quite a while. 

It also looked into the decisions that led to this disaster, and went into depth on what the survivors faced in the desert of the Pacific. The starvation and dehydration they faced was incredible, and I ultimately led to the survivors eating their ship mates in order to push on. A decision that some of them were never able to cope with. 

I highly recommend this book, and I think that every one should read Moby-Dick. These stories remind us of the "slender thread upon which our lives were hung" and how precarious our existence is. I am also very excited for the screen adaptation of the book, starring Thor, to be released this summer. There are things to look forward to, and lessons to be learned by looking back.

River Season

"We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft."

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Well summer has finally hit, and in my world that means that it is time to go rafting. Its like a sickness, and addiction that takes hold demanding to go get on the water. Which is awesome. Unfortunately, it means that my schedule becomes some what more erratic. Some days I'll be to tired to read or on away trips, other days I will have the time to sit and read one or two books. I will try to be as reliable in my posting as I can.

With rafting season starting, I decided to read Breaking into the Current by Louise Teal. The rafting industry is still, if only slightly, male dominated, with 44% of guides on the Grand Canyon being women. This book consists of the stories of eleven women and how they became involved in boating on the Colorado river, some of them in a time when women only accepted in the kitchen or beds of the guides. These women broke that mold, and paved the way to a time where I would be accepted as a river guide. 

Starting with the story of Georgie White, who owned her own company back when there were no women guiding, and working closer to the present, these stories of how these women got into boating were inspiring and well written. I told of good times and bad times on the river, and how wild it is. It was a wonderful read to start the season.

This year will be a great season. Yesterday was a wonderful Needleton down trip on the Animas, and the hits won't stop there. If you want to go rafting, give Mountain Waters Rafting (http://durangorafting.com/)  a call. We would love to share what we love with you, and rafting is an awful lot of fun. 

"Well, I told them to hang on. They just don't make passengers like they used to."

Georgie White

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

"Poverty is a relatively mild disease for even a very flimsy American soul, but uselessness will kill strong and weak souls alike, and kill every time."

Kurt Vonnegut

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Vonnegut always hits home for me, and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, I think, is even more relevant today than it was when it was first published in 1965. This satire follows the adventures of the extremely wealthy Eliot Rosewater as he searches for meaning and order in America, examining the wage gap, the culture differences between the rich and the poor, and the randomness that occurs, some babies being born with nothing and others being born with everything. 

Funny as always, Mr. Rosewater leads a comical existence while trying to eradicate suffering, which causes his sanity to come into question. For anyone who hasn't read it, this book is my favorite by Vonnegut, out of all of the books by him I have read (maybe another will replace it in the future). It delivers wisdom and insights from "the difference between pornography and art is bodily hair" to "honest, industrious, peaceful citizens were classed as bloodsuckers, if they asked to be paid a living wage."

Given the growing gap of wealth in America, there is still a sense of classicism, where the wealthy look down upon the poor working class. I see it in the small town in Colorado where I live. Given that most wealth is accumulated through inheritance, I find this sentiment extremely absurd, and this was reflected in the book.

Whether you're in it for the laughs or the political satire, I highly recommend God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.