Blog Posts by mingh
Ming was named after an evil Emperor. But she reads more than said evil Emperor, including nonfiction and almost all genres. She should read more in the Romance genre but that genre is forbidden on the planet Mongo.
The Map of My Dead Pilots
12/07/11
Having only had the TV show, Northern Exposure, as my reference for flying in Alaska, this was an eye opening look at flying in the last wild American frontier. Flying in Alaska is like flying no where else in America. In addition to the cold, fog, snow, and lack of visibilty, there is the tremendous pressure of flying the mail and supplies to places that have no other means of getting them. All Alaskan pilots know of other pilots who didn't make it.
Colleen Mondor, the author, worked for one of the airlines and notes how the pilots felt about flying during good weather and bad. Also, the pressures that they had from the front office and from each other. Flying in Alaska is like joining a daredevils club. You can't be too cautious.
Mondor writes about famous Alaskan rescues and losses. She notes that many airfields and roads are named after dead pilots. This book is filled with stories of close-calls and those that didn't make it. These airlines are so crucial to connecting people from all parts of Alaska to each other. The pilots know it but it is also very dangerous terrain with mountains hidden behind clouds and icing on planes. When the FAA comes to investigate crashes, it almost always is pilot error. The pilot forget where he was.
This book would be of great interest to those flying single engine or double engine planes or anyone who likes to read about adventure. It is filled with stories of the history of flying in Alaska. There are many sad stories but living like this also makes for many heroes. But sometimes the heroes wonder if it was worth it.
Surviving the Island of Grace
12/07/11
Sometimes love can take you to unexpected places. Leslie Leyland Fields learns this when she marries the son of an Alaskan fisherman. She moves to Bear Island, a small island off of Kodiak Island in the Alaskan peninsula.
There, subsistence living is the norm. No running water for bathing, dishes or drinking. Running to a well to bring up the water that you will need for the day has to be done. If it is washing day, sometimes making three or more runs to fill the wringer washer. Because washing is difficult and time consuming, wearing the same clothes day after day is done making them even dirtier and harder to clean. They also must use oil or kerosene for lighting. As Leslie and others remark, their life has not really entered the 20th century.
In this memoir subtitled, Life on the Wild Edge of America, you learn how the salmon fishermen live and work. Although they have nine months off during the Fall/Winter/Spring, their Summers are nonstop with 20 hour days separated by four hours sleep. It is very grueling and dangerous work setting the nets, picking the fish from the nets and bringing them in to the cannery. This goes on for weeks until they are doing it in their sleep.
Sometimes Leslie is out on the boats and sometimes she is at home doing the laundry, mending the nets, making the meals for the workers and eventually tending to her own children. Leslie, her husband, and eventually two children live alone on an island off of Kodiak island. If they want company, they need to take a small boat known as a skiff to other islands. If the weather is bad or the waters are difficult then they are on their island for weeks at a time. In the Fall they travel or take part-time jobs to help with the expenses. But home is the island.
This is a truthful memoir of the difficulties and joys of living on an island with no electricity or running water, where reading is a major past-time and just watching the beautiful landscape fills hours. Leslie has her faith to help her during difficult times but she is also very capable in her own right. Her Mother would purchase and rehab houses and then re-sell them. All the children were expected to help with the rehabilitation. They were poor but the skills she learned growing up helped to make her adjustment to the island easier.
This is a realistic but loving portrait of the people and environment of the Alaskan peninsula, specifically the salmon fishers. While she is there, she experiences the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its impact on the beaches, the fishing and the economic impact to the small fisher communities. These are hardy people who work hard and love what they do. Having read this book you will appreciate the work that went into your salmon dinner.
Tags: Alaska, memoir, Salmon-fishing
The Forgotten Waltz
12/01/11
Gina has fallen in love with her sister's neighbor, Sean, to the point of parking outside the home he shares with his wife and young daughter. She is not sure why this happened or even how. She loved her husband but this affair has now consumed her. Although he spends a lot of time with Gina, Sean continues to live at home because of his daughter.
The Forgotten Waltz is a story about how families get on with life. Gina marvels that Life hasn't stopped to marvel at her joy with Sean or cry at the loss of her Mother. Life still goes on. And people need to get on with life also.
After her Mother dies, Gina goes to live in the house she grew up in. This forces many memories of her life growing up. Gina tells the story of her life with Sean and begins to see her growing years with her Mother and Father differently. As Sean focuses on his daughter, Gina sees her and her sister's lives through the eyes of her Father who died when she was in her teens.
Gina concedes that her viewpoint is one sided when it comes to Sean. Why can't he spend all of his time with her? Because she doesn't have children of her own, she views Sean's daughter almost as an adversary keeping her Father away from Gina.
Almost a coming of age story for a woman in her thirties, Gina has to learn that her life does not exist in a vaccum. She has to learn to live with the others who surround her.
You Deserve Nothing
11/28/11
Will Silver is a literature teacher at an International high school in Paris. His Senior Seminar focuses on the works of the existentialists such as Sartre and Camus. Both teacher and students are struggling to find meaning in their lives.
At a family party for a graduating Senior, Will filrts with a junior girl who is desperate for some meaningful attention. Soon they are having an affair, something that he knows is not right, but against which he doesn't have the strength to fight. In the meantime, a student who hero-worships Will sees him at a very vulnerable moment and struggles to understand his own feelings.
Maksik uses existentialism to ask the basic questions about what is life. You are responsible for the choices that you make in life. The students argue with Will about these questions, some of them are believers in God, and others question their control when they are required to go to school. The discussions in the classroom are well written and interesting to read. Maksik represents the high schoolers well.
The book is written from the viewpoints of the three major characters, the teacher Will, the student Marie, and the young man who worships his teacher, Gilad. They each have a viewpoint and an opinion about what is meaningful in their lives. Even though the story moves to a known conclusion, it is interesting to see the developments of the characters as they learn more about themselves and what values mean to them.
Tags: Academic, existentialism, France
The Descendants
11/20/11
Matt King's wife is in a coma from a boating accident. Suddenly, he is the one responsible for their daughters, one ten, the other eighteen. Raising the daughters has been mainly the job of his wife. As he begins to learn about his daughters lives, something that he has only been invloved in tangentially, he learns that his wife's coma is irreversible.
Matt also is coping with the biggest business deal of his life. He is a descendant of Princess Kekipi of Hawaii and a missionary turned business man. And through that descendance, he and his cousins, have become major landholders. The cousins want to sell most of the land to the highest bidder. Matt is thinking that he would like a local businessman to win the deal so that the land would not be run by some major offsite corporation. Since Matt is the highest shareholder of all the cousins, he can make or break the deal.
Before she was in the boating accident that put her in the coma, Matt's wife, Joanie, rarely was involved in Matt's business plans. Usually, she just ignored it. So it seemed unlike her to want Matt to commit to a particular bidder for the land. Matt thought her involvement might be because the results would affect their daughters. That is until he learned that his wife was having an affair and how the deal would affect all of them.
This is a wonderfully written novel with some very funny and poignant moments. Matt King is a likable if removed Father who now knows he needs to step up his game. He loves his wife and his daughters and wants what is best for all of them. This is a quiet story with great sadness underneath that comes out in their lives, but there is also great hope for Matt and his family.
The Descendants has been made into a movie starring George Clooney. It is currently in limited release in Chicago with a wider release expected in December. Knowing that George Clooney is playing the father will not harm the reading of the book. I can only hope that the movie is as wonderful as this book.
The Buddha in the Attic
11/16/11
Julie Otsuka's beautiful novel tells the story of the large wave of women who emigrated to America from Japan as mail-order brides for Japanese men. Each chapter is written as if from the viewpoint of someone who witnessed it. The fears, hopes, and joys of the women are depicted and the reality of their situations to come. It is like hearing many voices relating their experiences.
Women, who had been brought up in houses with servants, were finding themselves having to pick fruit in the hot California sun. For many, their prospective husbands lied to them and sent pictures of other, more wealthy Japanese men, to represent themselves. The women have no money to leave, having given the money to their families still in Japan.
The time period is the early twentieth century until the middle of the second World War when most of the Japanese in California had to to go to the Internment Camps. Then the chapter changes to the voices of the white women left behind who notice their absence and wonder where they have gone.
In this slim novel is a wealth of experience, with much to be learned about the women who came over with such hopes for a new and wonderful life. How they had to survive and endure is the beauty of the story.
Women, who had been brought up in houses with servants, were finding themselves having to pick fruit in the hot California sun. For many, their prospective husbands lied to them and sent pictures of other, more wealthy Japanese men, to represent themselves. The women have no money to leave, having given the money to their families still in Japan.
The time period is the early twentieth century until the middle of the second World War when most of the Japanese in California had to to go to the Internment Camps. Then the chapter changes to the voices of the white women left behind who notice their absence and wonder where they have gone.
In this slim novel is a wealth of experience, with much to be learned about the women who came over with such hopes for a new and wonderful life. How they had to survive and endure is the beauty of the story.
Tags: Japanese, Literary, Mail-Order Brides
Late Rain
11/11/11
Former Homicide Detective Ben Decovic is still trying to understand the death of his wife at the hands of a gunman. As a police officer, he understands that not every event has a reason. But he keeps thinking that if his wife was only five minutes late for her appoinment she would still be alive. Not able to continue working at the unit that could not solve his wife's murder, he has taken the role of beat officer in a community near Myrtle Beach. Decovic hopes that by returning to the lesser role of patrol, it will help him get away from his memories of her horrible death.
While investigating a break-in at a local strip joint, he is beaten and his gun stolen. The gun is later used to kill two people. While patroling his area he happens upon an investigation into the death of a beverage magnate who was well-liked in the community. The only witness is a man struggling with Alzheimers.
Ben's homicide instincts kick in and he begins to work behind the scenes when he finds the Homicide Detectives unwilling to listen to his ideas. The bodies start to pile up in this mystery and all the mayor cares about is that it doesn't affect the tourists. Is everyone on the take?
The action moves pretty fast in this dark mystery of secrets and lies. Hopefully we will get to see more of Officer Ben Decovic.
Ben's homicide instincts kick in and he begins to work behind the scenes when he finds the Homicide Detectives unwilling to listen to his ideas. The bodies start to pile up in this mystery and all the mayor cares about is that it doesn't affect the tourists. Is everyone on the take?
The action moves pretty fast in this dark mystery of secrets and lies. Hopefully we will get to see more of Officer Ben Decovic.
Tags: Mystery, Noir, South Carolina
Once Upon a River
11/06/11
Fifteen year old Margo Crane has grown up on the Stark River in Michigan. Her world revolves around her family's life on the river. Although the men go into town to work for the family's metalworking company, their homes are on the banks of the river, just a short boat ride to each other's houses.
Her unhappy Mother abandons her and her Father to find a new life. This is the start of a very difficult life for Margo. Margo's Father, understanding the rough life on the river, has told Margo to avoid all drunken men including her own family members. When her drunk Uncle takes advantage of her, her father tries to help and is killed by Margo's cousin. If anything happened to her Father, Margo was supposed to live with the family of this Uncle. Now she feels she has no one and takes her boat and drifts down the river to escape and try and find her Mother.
Once Upon a River is Margo's story of survival. She knows how to hunt and fish and build fires, but she is very naive and young when it comes to interacting with people, especially men. She meets some good men on the river, but most treat her poorly, until she finally meets a man who has more to lose than she does.
This is a dark, but beautifully written story of a young girl growing in to womanhood and learning the ways of her environment. She meets many people on the margins of society where she, too, is living. But Margo has an indomitable spirit and the gift of survival. You can only cheer for her, knowing that she, like her great idol, Annie Oakley, will be one of the survivors.
Tags: River Life, Survival, Teenage Girls
A Noble Killing
11/03/11
The Inspector Ikmen series takes place in Istanbul, a city of many colors that swirl in Barbara Nadel's newest addition to the Inspector Ikmen series. A young girl has been found burned to death in an apartment fire. The rest of her family is unharmed. When they find out that the girl had a boyfrend, Inspector Ikmen and Inspector Suleyman wonder if it is a honor killing. Nearby a piano teacher is brutally murdered in his home. When Inspector Ikmen discovers that the murdered man is homosexual, he wonders if this is also an honor killing. With so many people from small villages and towns coming to the city to find work, are honor killings following the conservative villagers to the city?
Nadel is very good at showing the diversity of Istanbul. There are liberal and conservative Muslims, Gypsies, Christians and Jews who have lived side by side for hundreds of years. In addition, the class wars of the Sultan years still resound loudly, the clash of old famly and money versus new. For the most part, this is a police procedural that takes you to all parts of Istanbul, from bars to water-pipe shops. But how all of these different religious and ethnic groups converge is what the reader will enjoy. That and the enjoyment of watching and listening to Inspector Ikmen work to solve the mystery. Inspector Ikmen is calm and patient and tolerant of anyone who obeys the law. He has good instincts about people.
You do not have to have read any of the books in the series to appreciate this title. Whether its a good mystery that interests you or just a chance to fall into a different and changing world, A Noble Killing is a good way to spend an evening.
Nadel is very good at showing the diversity of Istanbul. There are liberal and conservative Muslims, Gypsies, Christians and Jews who have lived side by side for hundreds of years. In addition, the class wars of the Sultan years still resound loudly, the clash of old famly and money versus new. For the most part, this is a police procedural that takes you to all parts of Istanbul, from bars to water-pipe shops. But how all of these different religious and ethnic groups converge is what the reader will enjoy. That and the enjoyment of watching and listening to Inspector Ikmen work to solve the mystery. Inspector Ikmen is calm and patient and tolerant of anyone who obeys the law. He has good instincts about people.
You do not have to have read any of the books in the series to appreciate this title. Whether its a good mystery that interests you or just a chance to fall into a different and changing world, A Noble Killing is a good way to spend an evening.
The End of the Wasp Season
10/11/11
Scottish Detective Sargeant Alex Morrow, five months pregnant, is investigating the brutal murder of a 24 year old woman whose mother has just died. The woman was able to call 999 but was not able to talk directly to Emergency Services. So they have the phone call and can hear some of what happened but they are struggling to find a reason for the attack.
However, Alex Morrow has some secrets of her own. Her Father was a notorious criminal as is her brother and nephew. She has left the family behind and their name, but lives in fear that her co-workers in the police department will find out
In Kent, England, an older man who has invested and lost people's money in the recession has just hung himself. His son and daughter, both schooled in posh private schools, rush home to their Mother. Then the phone calls from their Father's other family begin.
Author Mina takes the reader on an adventure of secrets, finance, and what family and love means in this absorbing mystery. We get to see how DS Morrow starts put the pieces of these different events together into one puzzle. She struggles to work in an environment where men are suspicious of female officers and even more suspicious of pregnant ones.
Great characters are developed in this literary mystery. The action moves along at a steady pace as DS Morrow begins to see the big picture. This is Denise Mina's second crime novel and here is hoping we have more.
