5 comments about The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars.

1. `The Eves of Heaven` is an "auto-biography" by Thong Van Pham. In fact it is written by his son Andrew, but he takes on the first person voice of his father Thong, similar to the technique used by Dave Eggers in `What Is the What?`. It is difficult to know how accurate it is, or what degree of artistic license is involved, but in a way it doesn't matter because as creative non-fiction it reads like a novel.
   
   Not only is the story highly engrossing, thrilling and fascinating, but it is humane. Thong never seems to loose his sense of dignity and respect for life despite the horrors of violence, drugs and prostitution that stalk him. The lush prose is deliciously sensuous in one chapter, then shifts to scenes of deprivation the next, like a master chef playing the pallet between extremes of texture and temperature - and like the fusion of French and Asian culture that is Vietnam.
   
   `The Eaves of Heaven` covers over 30 years of war in Vietnam as it transitioned from a "feudal" age to the modern world in one or two generations - the Japanese in WWII, the French and then the Americans. One mans lifetime saw it all from start to end. Through this wonderfully written, humane and moving memoir of a single life, I was better able to understand Vietnam, its people and its recent past.



2. Mr. Pham has done his father a great service. This book is something of a memoir written from the perspective of his father through the son's pen. This heart-rending story catalogues the trials, the horrors, and the injustices suffered by the average Vietnamese citizen at the hands of their political elite--on both sides Communists and Nationalists---and also provides insight into traditional family time---complete with "grasshopper" hunting and cricket fights among the children.
   Mr. Pham's description of "the Elder's" moral and physical courage in the face of friends joining one movement or another or physical danger is illustrative of a courageous and dedicated spirit.
   Read the book in two sittings---and was truly impressed with both the style and content.
   Highly recommended---I'm going to read Catfish and Mandala soon.



3. Sometimes a reader is privileged enough to read a book in which the words, sentences, and stories just wash over and envelop you, like a gentle beach wave. This is such a book. I enjoyed Pham's earlier "Catfish" so much that I awaited this latest book of family stories with great anticipation; and I was rewarded. Whether I read this on the subway, a bench, or at home, I was immediately transported to Vietnam, where Pham skillfully describes the villages and cities, the triumphs, pains, tastes, loves, corruptions, kindnesses, terrors and fears of his father's early life (or perhaps lives.) Along the way, I learned more about Vietnamese history and village life than I ever knew before. Pham orders the chapters so that the reader moves back and forth between the decades of his father's childhood and adulthood, all the while progressing to the point we all expect, the fall of Saigon to the VC.
   
   As his grandmother taught, the eaves of heaven dealt good and bad in cycles. Devastating floods brought death but fertile harvests, childbirths brought the risks of a mother's death, and lovely days brought future storms. The lyrical sentences allow you to nearly taste the peach melba ice cream eaten during a courtship, but also let you live the terror of re-education and being pinned down by VC troops in a life or death firefight. The pure childhood enjoyment of eating treats and having cricket fights is a pleasure to read. But one will never again care for the fabled glory of the French Foreign Legion after finishing this book. I finished the final chapter just as NBC began to telecast the Miss Universe pageant from a colorful and cosmopolitan Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang, and all I could do is ponder the tribulations of this memoir and the amnesia of the telecast. Luckily this book captures a forgotten past with all the aspects that the eaves leave in shadows.



4. From 1940 to1976, Viet Nam was in a constant state of war that impacted the people. Andrew X. Pham provides the biography of his father Thong Van Pham, who lived through the three plus decades of war starting with the Japanese invasion of the French occupied region during WW II through the fight for independent from the French and finally the war over the South against the United States. As a child Thong lived an upper crust life being born to a wealthy family. Over the years of war, famine and abuse, the family fortune vanished and consequently the life style.
   
   This is a fascinating biography that also serves as a deep look at the history of Viet Nam. The author rotates his father's life with recent events that brings a harrowing feel as the reader gains a sense of the outcome resulting from the years of turbulence. Well written, readers will marvel at Mr. Pham's capture of the impact of power struggles on everyday people.
   
   Harriet Klausner



5. The Eaves of Heaven is about Thong Pham's life. His son, Andrew Pham, writes in the first person as if it were his father telling his story. In the introduction Andrew writes "I have lent his [Thong Pham's] life stories my words...The perspectives and sentiments within are his." Hence this book is Thing Pham's memoir, distilled as stories he told his son, and further distilled as Andrew Pham recounts them again.
   
   Thong Pham witnessed the French occupation of Vietnam, the Japanese occupation during World War II and the American war after World War II ended. His story is one of migration that those displaced by war experience. First he moved from his ancestral land in the Red River Delta (North Vietnam) to Hanoi, and later to Saigon. Recounted are also times when work demands pulled him away from his home and family.
   
   Each chapter recounts an event that as a collection bring out the idyllic life of a Vietnamese child born into aristocracy, the horrors of armed conflict, the helplessness of forced migration, the plight of serving in the armed forces, and the hardships of being captured by the enemy. With these backdrops, the narrative interweaves human actions (both base and noble) that give this book its soul. As a collection of family stories, this book is a treasure trove for the Pham family.
   
   Pham's attention to detail effectively transports the reader "on location" so one can truly feel the rain, see the sunrise and appreciate the events are they unfold. The chapters are not in chronological order, and I found myself constantly referring to prior chapters and prior events to get a better understanding of which events had transpired, and which ones were to come. When I re-read the book, I'll read the chapters so the events narrated are in chronological order.
   
   For those not familiar with Vietnamese history, Pham provides adequate background to help follow the political events that transpire in Thong's life. The Eaves of Heaven is more about human feelings and emotion than about the political turmoil that serves as its backdrop. One realizes that armed conflict and forced migration bring out the best and worst in all of us.
   
   Armchair Interviews agrees.

No comments about Powder: Writing by Women in the Ranks, from Vietnam to Iraq.

5 comments about Persian Girls: A Memoir.

1. A well written book that captures the reader by the details of an ordinary life for two different classes of Iranians before the Islamic gov. With much honesty, the writer shares many details of being a young girl and experiencing life in two different societies, the religious and the modern.With the existing differences among these two societies however they share and value the same traditions of the role of a woman, her powerlessness in her family as well as in the society. The woman's role is defined by the surrounding male figures regardless of family backgrounds such as religion, education, wealth, ...



2. For me, the most interesting thing about Rachlin's very interesting memoir was the incredible strength she showed in forging a life for herself that was so different from the culture she was born into in Iran and for which she had very little or no family support. It is a very personal tale of courage. Rachlin was given to an aunt to raise shortly after her birth and then wrenchingly, for both Rachlin and her aunt, taken away from her when she was about 8. I suspect it was this horrible experience that later gave Rachlin the courage to leave her family to attend college on a scholarship in the United States and to live an independent, solitary and self-sufficient existence in the United States for awhile before she met her husband.
   
   If I am at all disappointed with this book it is because of the emphasis Rachlin places on arranged marriages as the cause of unhappiness in women in the culture she was born into. Rachlin's sister was in an abusive arranged marriage as were other women in her family. I know some couples who are in very happy arranged marriages and I know a lot of women who are very unhappy in marriages of their own making. The divorce rate in the United States certainly attests to that.
   
   No, I would not have liked my life and/or marriage determined for me. And I value the ability to chart my own course. But Rachlin goes too far I believe when she seemingly equates arranged marriages with unhappiness and abuse.
   
   But overwhelmingly, this is a very interesting, and although somewhat sad, nonetheless a charming book.



3. Very interesting to learn about the Iranian culture from an author who is unafraid. I felt her writing portrayed her pain as well as her strength. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!



4. Particularly in the current political climate, I was hoping that this book would provide a fascinating look into a culture that is, at best, underrepresented in mainstream English language books and, at worst, criticized, discriminated against, and even hated; the fact that the author is a woman made it all the more enticing as I simply can't read enough of how my fellow women live, survive, and thrive in other cultures.
   
   PERSIAN GIRLS delivers on all accounts and has made me want to learn more not only about this intriguing woman--cappuccino is on me if you're ever in southern Italy Ms Rachlin!--but also about Iranian history and culture in general.
   
   From Rachlin's difficult childhood with a mother who didn't seem to want her and a father who wanted only control to her struggle for independence and acceptance in America, PERSIAN GIRLS places the reader in the very heart and mind of the author as she rises to each successive challenge placed before her.
   
   From the time Rachlin was taken from the only mother she knew, I found myself cheering her on-a credit to an outstanding opening scene that transports the reader to 1950s Iran amidst a prayer rug, a Koran, rose water, a paraffin lamp, and hot summer nights spent talking about a golden ladder descending from the sky.
   
   And yet Rachlin's writing style isn't nostalgic or wistful. She presents her life with such an objective tone sometimes that I forgot she was telling her own life story--and this is not a criticism. To the contrary, I felt like what I was reading was a true, fair account of events, and knowing that I'm able to trust the author is so very important.
   
   At times, however, I did feel that there was just a bit held back regarding the working through of her feelings in some of her relationships, particularly the most difficult ones; the fact that some family members are still alive surely had something to do with this, but overall I don't find that this guardedness distracts from the memoir. Rachlin gives plenty of clues into her personality to provide the reader with a sense of what the author might've been feeling, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a little mystery in any book, even a memoir.
   
   On another level, Rachlin's expat status in America really spoke to me, and I'm sure to plenty of other expats as well--the feeling of being caught between two cultures, two languages, two ways of life. On whether she regretted her choice to go to America, in a subsequent interview, Rachlin said:
   
   I have never really regretted my choice to come to America, pursue my own goals. But I am always aware of a loss, a price to pay for the independence I have gained. I don't have easy access and closeness to people I love, because of all the distance between us.
   
   Indeed I wouldn't mind another memoir (or even a how-to!) from Rachlin on her marriage to an American and raising her daughter in a country that is a sometimes enemy of her own. I look forward to reading Rachlin's fiction as well.
   
   I wholeheartedly recommend this memoir to anyone with an interest in women's history, cultural differences, the Middle East, family relationships, love, or, you know, life.
   
   This review originally appeared on my blog here: [...]



5. The front cover of Persian Girls: A Memoir by Nahib Rachlin has a quote from a Boston Globe reviewer saying that the "memoir reads like a novel", which I felt was very accurate. Nahib has provided us with a peek into her world, spanning over fifty years, and immersing us in the culture of Iran and her family.
   Nahib pulls us quickly into her world, showing us her split childhood - life with her adopted mother for her first 9 years, and then life with her birth family. Nahib's birth mother, Mohtaram, was very fertile, she agreed to give a child to her sister, Maryam. It was when Nahib turned 9 that she was considered "of age", able to legally marry, and that is when her father came to get her. When her father took her from her adopted mother, Nahib lost an attentive mother, she gained a sister and confidante.
   
   Nahib's relationship with her older sister Pari is incredibly moving. Both girls loved American movies and the idea of new freedoms for women. I look at my daughters, and hope for them to continue their close relationship - one like what Nahib and Pari had. There were many times as I was reading Persian Girls that I wished I was reading a novel, and that the author could guarantee me a happy ending for everyone involved. The relationship between Nahib and Pari was so intense, and yet fraught with obstacles. Their middle sister, Manijeh, was their mother's favorite, and the obvious favoritism made for a lot of rivalry between them. As time passes, and physical distances between them increase, the bonds between them change and strengthen.
   
   The Iranian Government and its changing laws cast a shadow over the lives of Nahib and her family. Every choice they make has to take the laws and social mores into account. Nahib's brothers go to college in the US, which is seen as a very modern thing to do. However, her two older sisters are married traditionally - in arranged marriages. While all families worry about appearances, in Nahib's father seemed to worry even more than usual. His job as a lawyer seemed tied to how his family is perceived, and he must balance the traditional and the modern.
   
   Parts of Persian Girls feel like a mystery, and one that cannot be solved. Without an omniscient narrator, we only know what Nahib has experienced or discovered. I wish I could see into the heads of many of the characters, but there is an intimate feeling reading one person's memories, one person's truth.
   
   Nahib states at one point in Persian Girls that she feels like she doesn't belong in either culture. I know that feeling is common among many ex-patriots, but I have to wonder if the problems in US-Iranian relationships made her transition more difficult. I found myself identifying so much with Nahid, finding many universal truths within her words, no matter your background.
   
   I highly recommend Persian Girls to anyone who enjoys memoirs and non-fiction, as well as to anyone who enjoys women's fiction or literary fiction - it really is a memoir that reads like a novel. It pulls you in, with vivid imagery of Nahid Rachlin's world. Watch out, though, once you start it you won't be able to put it down easily! I look forward to reading Nahid Rachlin's other books.

5 comments about Outlaw Biker: My Life At Full Throttle.

1. I bought this book on a whim, I needed a small purchase to get my free shipping. But still I was very disappointed. The story was just about some life long loser and it never got to any outlaw club stories. The implication I got from the title was it would be about outlaw clubs and bike stories, instead it was this losers life story and nothing new or interesting in it. Pass on this one.



2. I have to agree with the review written by Outlaw Schmoutlaw. It had more to do with his life and less to do with his experiences as an "Outlaw Biker".
   
   I don't think being shot by a BB gun counts as getting "shot". Even if it does put your eye out.
   
   It's an interesting story, but not quite what I was expecting. I was hoping for something more in line with Sonny Barger's book.
   
   Swamp Weasel



3. This has got to be one of the worse books I have ever read. I kept waiting for the outlaw biker to show-up. The stories are mainly about anyone who rides a bike and actually takes it somewhere and things happen. He was shot and bitten be a rattle snake when he was a kid. And he was a brat at that. All of the stories were told from a high school humor point of view, none of them funny or really interesting. Save your money and buy one of Sonny Barger's or Hunter Thompson's books.



4. Absolutly the worse Autobiography I have ever read. An unbelievably boring and uneventful biker story. Do not waste a nickel on this book.



5. Dick Hayes's story "Outlaw Biker: My Life at Full Throttle" is perhaps one of the few realistic, centerline stories of a man who adopted the 1%er lifestyle and the motorcycle that goes with it as his way of living life. He is not a Sonny Barger nor a Ruben Cavazos, but rather a run-of-the-mill guy / biker who lived the bulk of his life on the fringes of society with all that entails...that's why he calls himself an outlaw biker.
   
   In the macro picture he's your average 1%er and he describes how really unromantic the daily doings of a outlaw rider are despite the few, primarily criminal, "bright spots" - all that ultimately lead to either the hospital, the courts, or prison from what Dick describes.
   
   As with nearly all bios and auto-bios coming from this slice of the criminal culture, little if any remorse is extended to the victims of the outlaw biker world's dependence on drug dealing, theft, firearms trafficking, sexual slavery, assault, murder, rape, domestic violence and all those other society-killing activities that keep him and those like him rolling on two wheels.
   
   This exclusion of individual responsibility is yet another affirmation coming from the 1%er sub-culture of why Hunter Thompson ended his book on the Hells Angels with this advice from "The Heart of Darkness", the classic tome of Man at his very worst -
   
   "The horror! The horror!...Exterminate all the brutes!"
   
   Cleanly written, easy to put down and pick back up again, kudos to his co-writer for bringing it to life in print.

5 comments about Silent Bob Speaks: The Collected Writings of Kevin Smith.

1. Being a HUGE Kevin Smith fan, I knew that I was going to love this book. But even I was surprised when I had finished reading it by only the 2nd night. I couldnt put it down! The man is one of THE best story tellers out there, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. Hes honest and humble and really comes down to the level of his readers. I enjoyed it immensely. Hence my visit on to Amazon.com today to purchase his newest release!! Buy this book "sirs".



2. Read it in an afternoon and enjoyed it a lot! If you're a fan of K. Smith you'll appreciate it. Kevin puts out a lot of great material. Also, check out his podcast "Smodcast". Type SMODCAST into iTunes for a FREE, yes FREE, audio show with Scott Mosier. It's some classic stuff and you'll bust a gut laughing.



3. Kevin Smith proves himself as a very good writer once again with this collection of his blogs. There is a lot of behind the scenes information given as well as his likes and dislikes when it comes to movies and celebrities. The stories range from funny to serious, but all keep the interest of the reader the entire time. If you are a fan of the "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD series, this is basically the same kind of thing but in book form. The stories are different than on the DVDs, so I didn't mean that the same stories are told that you have heard a thousand times.
   
   So basically, if you are a fan of Smith, this book is a must have that you won't be able to put down. If you're not a fan, why bother with this in the first place? Fans will find enjoyment, but I doubt those Clerks haters will have their opinions changed. This is for the fans, and fans...I can't say it enough, you will like this book.



4. What does it mean to have a cult following? When one speaks of directors like Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Martin Scorcese or Steven Spielberg, the reference is to a director that appeals to a broad audience, as opposed to one who appeals to a smaller group. This limited appeal director can be said to have a cult following, and like with regular cults, the followers are often more avid (or deluded, depending on your viewpoint) than their mainstream counterparts. It's the different between Christians and Movementarians (Simpson fans will understand).
   
   Kevin Smith has a cult following and I am one of the cult. He will never have the broad popularity of Eastwood, et al, because that isn't his goal. His movies are crammed with dialogue and limited in action and often the items discussed could be considered offensive. Clerks, Smith's first movie, was almost given an NC-17 rating for the dialogue alone. But to those who don't offend easily, Smith's movies are often really funny. Smith himself is both a funny writer and speaker; as DVDs of his college tours show, he has a definite following and he can be hilarious in person.
   
   Silent Bob Speaks is a collection of essays he has written, primarily for Arena magazine. For those familiar with Smith from other things (his movies, etc.), this fits right in with the Smith they know. If you don't know Smith, this is not the place to start (for example, if you don't know who Silent Bob is, you probably need to rent one of his DVDs first (but not the atypical (although good) Jersey Girl).
   
   Much of the book deals with behind-the-scenes happenings for his movies Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl, with plenty of wonderful asides, such as why he doesn't like Reese Witherspoon but does like David Duchovny. For the most part, he is kind to the celebrities he discusses, and his interviews with Ben Affleck and Tom Cruise will give you some insights into those actors with very little negative material. And, most importantly, the book is really funny.
   
   One reason Smith has his cult following is that he successfully seems like one of the guys. You might like Steven Spielberg, but it's hard to imagine that he'd just like to hang out with you. On the other hand, Smith seems a lot less aloof; his movies are filled with friends of his and his view of himself is nicely self-deprecating. This book is more of what makes a Smith fan a Smith fan.



5. I am a Kevin Smith fan. I love most of his work and by that I mean I wasn't big on the sequel to "An Evening With Kevin Smith" and I wasn't big on "Chasing Amy" or the animated series of Clerks. The rest of his movies I liked a lot or loved. Never read his comics though.
   
   I was expecting a lot from this book. And I didn't get it. This book takes place basically telling the story kind of like production journals of him working on "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back". But while he is doing that he goes off on stories about other topics. Don't get me wrong, I typically enjoy that stuff from him a lot. But this book hasn't made me laugh once and I am a tad over 100 pages into it.

5 comments about Truck: A Love Story (P.S.).

1. I found this book in a small bookstore in Wisc. with a sticker that said "Staff Pick." I bought it thinking it would be a novel, with a plot, conflict, character development, and so forth. In fact it is simply Michael Perry's journal, composed of a loose stack of vignettes and character sketches that are included only because they actually happened, not because they're related or create any dramatic momentum. Instead of plot he relies on "snappy" one-liners and sugar-coated descriptions of the locals, who are frequently seen grinning. The book is structured as chapters named for months, but each month is burdened with a tedious, overreaching theme: September is "Womanhood," October is "Mortality." The thing that bugged me the most was his fake self-deprecation: He tells you right off the bat that he knows nothing about car repair beyond "lefty-loosey, righty-tighty." Then a couple chapters later he's removing the steer wheel, pulling the bearings (?), and describing in obsessive detail the workings of the fuel pump. Turns out he used to drive a truck full-time, and has been fixing farm equipment since his teens, and there was that time when he removed the front seat of the truck and replaced it with another seat that didn't fit so he had to alter it... Michael, you doth protest too much.
   
   I have to admit Michael Perry is a pretty cool guy. This book would be hilarious if he read it out loud. But it's not a novel; it's a stand-up monologue.



2. This book was fun. I laughed out loud at some of the situations and/or verbage. The author has the ability to laugh at himself, give credit where it is due, and make the best of most situations. Thumbs up!!



3. Book was humorous on one level. However, it contained deeper truths about ouselves and our world than we sometimes like to admit. I heard Mr. Perry speak and he has some gritty and resourceful insights on the way individuals respond to incidents and others.



4. I could go on and on about this book, but let's let the man speak for himself. "The amateur study of philosophy," Perry writes, "is like taking a few laps with a NASCAR driver. You're not qualified to do it on your own, you have no business behind the wheel, but for a few laps or paragraphs, you're right in there with 'em, and when it's all over, you've learned something. Or," he adds, "as my local fire chief once said, you've simply exasperated the situation."
   
   Perry hasn't exasperated his situation, in this book a year during which he rebuilds his 1952 International Harvester pickup, plants a garden, and falls in love, in between tangential forays into brother-in-lawhood, deer hunting, being a professional author, sexism, and all the other bits and pieces that make up a whole life in rural America. At times a little wordy (you wish his editor had leaned on him a little more toward the end) mostly it's just one of the best word pictures of life today, funny, sad, smart. It's not given to everyone to be perceptive and a good writer. Perry is, and it is a pleasure to be along for, literally, the ride of his life.
   
   Some of my favorite Perryisms:
   
   "The world of American culture and commerce functions like a combination of sponge and sandpaper, absorbing everything and smoothing it down so it slides easily into a designer shopping bag." (For years I've been railing against the Pepsi-ization of America. Comrade!)
   
   [describing the village junkman's trailer] "Fully loaded, it has the appearance of a postapocalyptic Costco on wheels." (I expect Mel Gibson as Raggedyman to come walking down the street right behind.)
   
   [A man who has spent way too much time worrying about his hair says this of his do when he graduated from nursing school] "...mousse spikes on top, a mullet in back, and a moustache up front. The bad hair trifecta." (Kinda sorta want to see a picture of that.)
   
   "...a rictus of dither."
   
   "...an epic snit."
   
   I could spend all day thumbing through Truck: A Love Story (P.S.) and coming up with these nuggets, but there's one on practically every page so better you read the book yourself. You'll feel like you've made a friend when you're done. And you'll have laughed a lot, and maybe even learned something, too.



5. "Truck: a Love Story" is a sweet and simple tale, filled with rich observations of life in a small rural town, told by the sort of man you always hoped would marry your sister. Perry comes across as kind and unassuming. He is in love with his town, his truck, and his simple way of life. There is more than meets the eye, however, as Perry's writing and style are articulate and erudite without being anachronistic. Perry manages to walk the difficult balance between being an easy going man and a deep-thinking philosopher of life. When all things are considered, "Truck: A Love Story" is a profound exposition on a way of existence that we have perhaps lost touch with in some parts of America.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in remembering how to feel good about people, small towns, and life's simple pleasures all while having a few laughs at the same time.

5 comments about Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez.

1. As a Bilingual teacher, I believe immigrant children should learn the basics of schooling in their home language; that way, they will be able to communicate with their parents, and they will earn self confidence. This book shows the lack of communication and self-esteem immigrant children are suffering from, in the United States.



2. Richard Rodriguez reflects on his journey from the barrios of California to a seat in the library of the British Museum. He recognizes that the distance has moved him closer to a world of privilege and freedom. At the same time, he acknowledges that he is removed from his family and his background.
   
   Rodriguez bristles at attempts to mainstream Hispanic students through bilingual education. He is not calling for an official language. Its not quite like that. He just feels that students need to have an ability to master the language that, for better or worse, is spoken in the pathways that lead to power in this country.
   
   Rodriguez is very aware of the lessons that others would draw from his story. He points out that a group of people are attracted to having him as a speaker, because it confirms their own politics. Oddly, he doesn't feel that aligned with their perspective, because while they draw some similar conclusions about education, they have nothing else in common.
   
   Rodriguez laments that his book is catalogued and shelved in the wrong category. It is not a book about Hispanics, or within Latino studies. It is a book about class and privilege. That mistake is not likely to change, though, because class is a taboo topic and not something that is given its own space in our book stores.
   
   At one point, Rodriguez mentions that his editor would prefer less reflection and more stories. The editor wanted more anecdotes from Rodriguez' life -- more about his grandmother, for example. Rodriguez doesn't want to do that.
   
   I would argue that this is one privilege that he is not entitled to, even as a person holding a doctorate. He still has to show the reader, not just tell. If he thinks that he cannot tell the personal stories of his life without compromising his message, then he needs to write a few more drafts!



3. Looking beyond the criticisms of other reviewers, one can find in this little book many fundamental truths about education -- what it means to be an educated person, even how education might alienate people or divide families. Intensely intellectual and at the same time profoundly personal, Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory eloquently charts the process of education in his own life, uncovering its magic, measuring its costs along the way, but in the end testifying to its great benefits. Students and teachers alike could gain greater understanding of the process of education and what it can mean through reading this book.



4. This book was a difficult read. I admit openly that it is a strain for me to understand the feeling of minority. I am a middle-middle class white person, privileged by virtue of the fact that my parents stayed together for 53 years until my father passed away, blessed by being an "Air Force brat", which entitled me to meet people of all different races, socioeconomic groups, and nationalities to the extent that I don't see those things anymore. It is hard for me to relate. Rodriguez begins the book by mocking upper-class people for being arrogant, and middle-class people for attempting "cheap imitations of lower-class life". Are there really people in America who divide individuals into classes like that? And if class is so important, to what class would he assign himself? My father taught me to respect all people and that every man's work is good if it is honest work, so I would not presume to judge a person's character by his socioeconomic class.
   
   Overlooking this obstacle, I see that Rodriguez, like all good writers, writes from his own experience of life. He was intensely impacted by the transition from Spanish to English in his life. His mother insisted on English being spoken in the home, according to the recommendations of well-meaning nuns, but as a result, the author lost an integral part of his home experience, the music of his native tongue. Additionally, he lost connection with his mother and father, because while his mother attained a rudimentary grasp of the English language, his father never quite caught on, so his relationship with his wife and children was radically changed. According to the author, his father lived voiceless in his own home, which was a sad state of affairs for the former head of the household.
   
   Rodriguez states that he is against affirmative action as it is legislated, where the only requirement to qualify is to belong to a minority group, such as African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans. When he realized that he had received an exceptional level of early schooling during his years in private Catholic school, it became clear that he was not really socially disadvantaged at all. At that point in time, it was evident that there were many other students out there who were far more needful of the benefits of the affirmative action program. Furthermore, Rodriguez equated the meaning of the word "minority" with "alienated from the public (majority) society", and found that by becoming a student, he did not consider the term "minority" to describe him. Neverthless, for reasons that are somewhat blurry, he accepted the benefits of the program, went on to denigrate the program publicly, only to have it thrown back in his face by minority leaders who did not appreciate him rocking the proverbial boat. Eventually he apologizes for taking the benefits that someone else was more deserving of receiving; however, he acknowledges that it is unlikely they will ever read his apology.
   
   The author's apparent love of his parents, his obedience to them and respect for their struggle in a strange country, was wonderful to see in the beginning of this book. Rodriguez's recognition of his parents is well deserved, for his father and mother made considerable sacrifices to give their children a better chance in the world than they had personally experienced. They left their Mexican town filled with memories, family, and friends, to take their children to a land of increased opportunity. They worked hard and managed to send their three children to private Catholic school. They attended an Irish-American church instead of the Mexican church they preferred in their homeland. He says that his parents coped well in America, with his father keeping steady work, and his mother managing the home, which was situated in what Rodriguez describes as "among gringos, and only a block from the biggest, whitest houses". Although they knew none of their neighbors and routinely struggled to manage daily concerns in a strange language, they had huge families of relatives visiting them from time to time, and a family life immersed in laughter and joy. This is evidence of the consistent efforts of loving parents to provide a lasting heritage that eclipses ethnic or socioeconomic constraints. Unfortunately, halfway through the book, Rodriguez tells us that as he became more and more proficient in English and enlarged his circle of English-speaking friends, he became ashamed of his parents and hated their foreign ways. In the final chapter of the book, we find his mother begging him not to air his disloyalty to and disappointment in his family openly in his writing, but he does not honor her request. This book is all about him, to the very end.
   
   The author continually reminds us of his socially disadvantaged upbringing, the fact that he is the son of "working-class parents". Forgive me if I don't buy into this thinking. He attended private school, for Pete's sake. That costs money. I grew up listening to my parents' stories of the depression, when people were lucky to even have a job, and of life in post-war Germany , where children rifled through garbage cans for food. To this day, my mother keeps her pantry filled with extra cans of food, extra bags of staples such as flour and sugar, all sorts of extra non-perishables, against that kind of want. I went to Florida 's horrendous public schools and my parents couldn't afford to send me to college, so I got Pell grants and Perkins loans and Stanford loans for which I am still paying. So I should feel sorry for him, because he was on scholarship based upon his ethnicity? It is appalling and demeaning the way he calls himself "the scholarship boy" throughout this text. If accepting the funds was so detestable to him, he should have passed the opportunity on to somebody who would appreciate it. In the interest of clearing his conscience, I think from now on, he ought to thank the taxpayers, pay his taxes and pass the help on to the next generation of needy students. Or if he feels that guilty about the financial aid he received, set up a scholarship fund for financially-strapped single parents who are women (the group I fell into as a student) with all the profits he's getting from this book.
   
   Rodriguez also states that he was "victim to a disabling confusion". He hasn't suffered a traumatic brain injury or been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease. He is referring to his inability to speak Spanish easily once he became fluent in English. As a speech-language pathologist, I can definitively state that linguistic learning differences don't make a person a victim. To me, Rodriguez's alleged issues with language and intimacy seem disconnected with the issues of bilingual education or affirmative action. In fact, he is such a gifted speaker and writer, that he makes his living using these skills, and is evidently very successful, or I wouldn't be reading this book.



5. Esteemed a classic, this work has the merit, upon first reading, of making the reader feel he has been initiated into the long lost tribe of truth tellers, something akin to the book readers of Fahrenheit 451. We meet somebody for whom education is a real thing, something that is life changing, enlightening, and it estranges him from his family, and of course from all people, because the sophistication he gains from his education makes him an enemy to the ignorant. Much is lost, but what is gained far outweighs that loss. He knows it, and we get the message. Bravo, Richard Rodriguez.

5 comments about The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter's Worst Nightmare.

1. An amazing book. I read it in a little over 24 hours. I knew that Kristin had gotten better before the book was written so during the part where mother and daughter talk about the difficult years, I just could not put the book down until I knew she was ok again. As a mother and a daughter I could understand both points of view and the best part about the book is it's parallel recounts of the same experiences as described by mother and daughter. I felt every emotion there was to feel. I cried with the daughter during her difficult times, and I cried with the mother during hers. They are both such strong women, true survivors who show us that nothing is for granted, things can happen to everyone and that there is no stronger bond than family. One of the most emotional moments for me was when Kristin crawled through the window at night of her mom's apartment and curled up to sleep on the floor next to her bed after which Mom put her hand on her back and they lay there in silence yet having said everything there needed to be said at that moment. I think about what I would've done in those various situations. I don't know, I've never experienced anything like that (I am married to an addict, but in different ways, and I am going to learn more about codependancy). Yet I am elated and happy to know that both authors are doing well now and helping to get other people on their feet. Thank you for sharing your story with us and teaching us about hardships, love and forgiveness.



2. Being a recovering alcoholic myself, this compelling story really hits home! It tells the REAL life struggles of addiction. From the first page to the last page, this a memoir you will not want to put down! I recommend "The Lost Years" to anyone who has struggled with addiction, or to any family member who has seen their loved ones go through the stages of addiction! When reading this book, you actually feel as if you are Kristina. The cold, lonely life on the streets. You can feel the fear, anger and the downward spiral into hell that she was on! You can feel a mothers' tough love with her daughter! This is an awesome read and it gives a person hope, and let's the addict know that people DO recover and the person suffering with an alcohol/drug addiction, can get better to live a happy, sober, productive life!! Thank you Kristina and Constance for a terrific, well written story!!
   Deb Earleywine



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to any parent who is living in the throes of addiction with a child. It is a quick, easy read that evokes a multitude of emotions. Both the mother's and the addict's views and struggles are expressed well.
   I left the book out for my addict to read and she enjoyed it, too.
   This book also gave me the courage to let go of my daughter with the best of intentions......



4. This book gives an excellent look into the uncertain feelings of a teenage girl, and how her choices changed her life. Her events and life walk are depicted from her view, and then from her mother's view. There is an instant snap back to that awkward teenage time. Where do you belong, how do you fit in, and how do you cope? The popular kids (the IT group) share the same fears as the ones who seem to 'not fit in.' It does not matter the way others see you; what matters is the way you see yourself! The way teenagers find comfort is the turning point...some bully their way through and others turn to substance abuse. Either way, it is a dark place that requires the courage and will to come out of (whether one is using bad behavior or substance abuse) or you will most certainly disappear (end up all alone in this world or die). The selfish part of life allows one to foolishly think he/she is the victim and put the blame on the people around him/her. This true view story illustrates how naive reactions and destructive behaviors can shatter a family. This is a must read for parents of approaching teens. This could happen to you!



5. Having lost a sibling to alcohol and drug abuse at a very young age, I wish that this book had been available when he was struggling with his addiction. Perhaps our family could have had some knowledge of the help that was available through Al-Anon. This book is a remarkable account of courage, and I encourage any family facing these issues to pay close attention to what Constance went through to heal herself and protect her other children from this terrible disease and the horrors that go along with it. To date, I have not read anything that even comes close to touching my heart and soul the way that Kristina and Constance touched mine when I read this memoir. I could not put it down.

5 comments about The Pages In Between: A Holocaust Legacy of Two Families, One Home.

1. Erin Einhorn has produced what is perhaps the most important contemporary work in any field regarding Polish-Jewish relations, a step toward healing that is just as important to those two cultures as Barack Obama's election was to white-black relations in America. But that is only one of the truly commendable achievements of this, her first book.
   
   A professional journalist, Einhorn exhibits remarkable objectivity in dealing with what has heretofore been a touchy, painful, and irritating subject to people on both sides of the equation. (See the many passionate, argumentative reviews on Amazon of "Maus" or "Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland After Auschwitz.")
   
   Far from being an apologist for either side, Einhorn recounts valid examples of Polish anti-Semitic incidents that led many Jews to condemn all Poles in perpetuity. However, she reaches beyond the knee-jerk reaction and indoctrinated posture of earlier generations of Jews, who taught their children to hate all Poles for the actions of some, or bought into those prejudices without any objective considerations of their own. (Even Newsweek magazine once ran an editorial describing Poles as "inherently" anti-Semitic, inferring some freakish genetic predisposition to hate Jews.)
   
   Einhorn reaches back into the Middle Ages, reminding Jewish readers that it was a Polish king who opened the doors of his (then mighty) nation to the Jews, who were being slaughtered in every other European nation at the time. This was the reason that so many Jews were living in Poland when the Nazi holocaust hit -- because they'd thrived in Poland for centuries. She also compares the situation of Poles during WW2 versus other occupied European peoples, people who collaborated more freely with the Nazis, suffered much less than the Poles did under Nazi occupation, yet were given a pass by Jewish historians. She covers all sides of the arguments as they played out in her head, applying her journalistic objectivity to her own subjective conscience as she weighs a multitude of historical facts and exorcises her own prejudices.
   
   But Einhorn's book isn't just about Polish-Jewish relations. It's mainly about her personal quest to investigate the facts about her mother's tale of being saved from the Nazi genocide, and she applies the same soul-searching honesty to that quest, and to her relationship with her mother and other family members.
   
   What one reader-reviewer here complained about--Einhorn's "complaining"--is actually one of the most impressive aspects of this book: Einhorn's ability as a writer to illuminate in great detail the complex mental processes she endured along her journey--the doubts, fears, frustrations, not only of the unfolding story in Poland but also of her hot-and-cold relationship with her dying mother.
   
   Lovers of great literature will appreciate the beauty and fluidity of her prose. Unlike the blunt, clunky writing of some journalists-turned-author, this book flows like a stream through a fascinating landscape. Big ideas sprout from simple sentences. She has a flair for creating and maintaining intrigue, and is very effective at bringing her readers along on her journey, rewarding them with subtle revelations and colorful details.
   
   If you have preconceived ideas about the Poles or life in Poland this book will likely change them. If you enjoy emotionally charged stories about family relationships, particularly mother-daughter relationships, this book will move you to tears.
   
   This book would be a great gift for a friend or family member who is either of Polish or Jewish descent, or for anyone who loves great writing.
   
   It's also a great book for aspiring writers who can learn a lot from the author's masterful balance of language and clarity. I gave it 5 stars. Ten would have been more appropriate.



2. Not only is this a moving memoir, but it's a suspenseful mystery at the same time. I read it cover to cover in 24 hours. This book motivated me to write down my own family history as a letter to my son. An unforgettable book.



3. this was a great story. It made me think about how unexciting my life is, and how I should get out there and investigate my family history. It was moving, and made me cry every chapter. I loved it!



4. listening to einhorn complain the entire book about everything from her own family to the family that saved her mother was painful. although it did seem that helping the polish family sort out the property dispute was going to be, at the least, a complicated and potentially expensive endeavour; by the end of the book i got the message that einhorn wasn't even interested in helping them. i hope i would feel more compassion for a family that risked their lives to make my life possible.



5. A Jewish baby is born in a Polish ghetto in 1942. In an attempt to save her life, her father asks a Polish gentile woman to look after his young daughter, telling her that he'll be back after the war. Indeed he does return and these two are some of the only members of their family who survive the holocaust. The frightened little girl and her father, a stranger to her, go to Sweden for a few years and then on to the United States where this little girl grows up, marries, and becomes a mother.
   
   Erin Einhorn, a reporter, must have known she had quite a story on her hands, or at the very least a fascinating family history, because the little girl in the story was her mother, Irene Rozenblum Einhorn. Despite her mother's long reluctance and disinterest in speaking of her past, Einhorn is determined to find out who this family is who saved her mother and made her own life possible. This story has become The Pages in Between, an honest and revealing memoir which winds up going in a direction that most holocaust writing does not. Einhorn moves to Poland and is surprised to find that in this country that was ten percent Jewish before WW2, Judaism has now become trendy. There are Jewish restaurants and trinket shops and tours one can go on.
   
   Einhorn visits Bedzin, the previous home of her family, and quite easily finds the house they used to live in, and in it, the family that saved her mother's life, the Skowronskis. The woman who cared for her has died, but her son lives there with his family. He remembers the little girl he thought of as his sister whom they had always hoped would return for a visit. Einhorn visits the family multiple times, taking a translator with her, and over time some frustration on the part of the Skowronskis is revealed. Einhorn learns there is a problem with ownership of the house, and the Skowronskis want to collect on a promise made by Einhorn's grandfather during the war.
   
   Einhorn tries to do what she can to help them, and it turns out to be a terribly complicated and potentially expensive legal matter. At the same time, Einhorn is struggling with the somewhat turbulent relationship she has always had with her mother as well as some life-altering news.
   
   I found this to be a quite compelling story and I enjoyed Einhorn's personal tone throughout the book. I was very impressed with the degree to which she tried to assist the Skowronskis. I felt as though they were giving her a pretty hard time and it would have been easy for her just to walk away. It's an interesting question, really. After what happened in the Holocaust, do people really owe each other for saving a life, or was it just the right (and obviously brave) thing to do? Who should property belong to? The people it was stolen from over 60 years ago, or the people who have since made it their own?
   
   I found this to be a fascinating and unique story and recommend it.

4 comments about Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence..

1. An interesting journey, poetically documented (along with wonderful pen & ink sketches) by a man who was distraught by the damage we humans do to our environment. He sought to make a statement by changing his way of life, embodying his own philosophy. Certainly not a "how-to" guide (how did he afford his walkabout across the country? or all of his education? the apartments?), but he was clearly very resourceful, made friends easily, and even entrepreneurial in nature. A zen-like journey toward self-discovery by interacting with the environment & people around him, even in his self-imposed silence. The tone and pacing of the book shifted toward the end, where it seemed the flowing insightful wording from his journals drops away; the pacing fast-forwarding as he re-immerses himself in the "daily grind" of the "real world" -- the wording more stilted, more intellectual, professorial even. At this point, for me, the journey (inward & outward) seemed to disconnect. Up until then, the reading flowed beautifully.



2. While I can't say I'm too fond of his actual writing, the story of this, at the very least, interesting man and his journey makes it well worth the read.



3. I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE LET ME KNOW THAT THE SIZE OF THE PRINT IS VERY SMALL. I CAN'T EVEN READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!! WASTED MY MONEY.



4. This was a Library Thing Early Reviewers book, and although it took me a while to get into it, I liked it and recommend it. When I first started it, there was a lot else going on in my life and I could not connect with it. I put it down and picked it up again on vacation and really enjoyed it. John Francis has a minimalist writing style and I found myself looking for more about him and his philosophy, but this is the story of his journey and he is true to that. He is not proselytizing or expecting others to emulate his decisions. He simply tells his story - How he stopped riding in cars, how he stopped talking, and how he managed his journey under those conditions. The glimpses of his travels are sparse, but telling. The style is journalistic, and I expect relies heavily on his journals- all present tense, and briefly descriptive. It is illustrated with his sketches ( I wish they could be larger), and punctuated with quotations from the text. The historical perspective is interesting and a nice juxtaposition to the current trend of paying attention to Carbon Footprints and our personal responsibility to the environment - Francis was 30 years ahead. The story of how his simple decisions (albeit with complex implications for his life) led him to significant accomplishments and allowed him to make a real difference in the world is a good lesson about the impact we each have, or could have. If you are interested in Environmental Studies, travel stories, or personal journeys, give it a try- Don't be surprised if it starts slow- it is worth the effort to stay with it. Francis has a good story and I'm glad I read it.