785 (2018 #8). The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

by Melanie Benjamin

Mercy Lavinia "Vinnie" Warren Bump Stratton, later Countess Magri, was only 2'8" tall as an adult.  She and her younger sister Minnie were proportionate dwarfs, having the same proportions as typical adults, but in miniature.  They were born normal size to normal size parents, and they probably had a deficiency in human growth hormone, not treatable in the mid-1800s when they were alive.  Vinnie was not content to stay at home or even be just a schoolteacher in her small hometown.  Instead, she first started out as a performer on the Mississippi riverboat of a supposed cousin, then later joined showman P. T. Barnum's American Museum.  She married another little person, Charles Stratton (aka General Tom Thumb) in an extravaganza similar to a royal wedding today.  The couple traveled the world along with Minnie and with another little person, G. W. N. "Commodore" Nutt.

This is the basis for this historical fiction / biographical novel, told in first person.  Vinnie apparently planned to write an autobiography, and some incomplete chapters were discovered after her death and published in 1979 (under the same title as this book).  That, and some other essays she wrote about her life that were published in 1906, gave author Melanie Benjamin a lot of room for interpretation.  About Vinnie's writings, Benjamin says in her author's note (page 419), "there is so much missing from all of these pages!...She doesn't discuss much of anything....She also doesn't discuss her feelings."

Although I did not find Vinnie to be the most likable character (she's rather selfish at times), Benjamin did very well helping the reader to see what the world was like for Vinnie - struggling to open doors, use "normal"-size furniture, etc.  In a way, Vinnie seems to have benefited from being so unique, as some of the typical constraints for women in the Victorian era did not seem to limit her.

And, like all good historical fiction, this book inspired me to learn more about the Strattons, Minnie, Nutt, Barnum, and others mentioned in the book.  Benjamin has lots of great information and links on her website to start with.


© Amanda Pape - 2018

[This book was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

784 (2018 #7). Sakura's Cherry Blossoms

by Robert Paul Weston,
illustrated by Misa Saburi

This is a lovely story about moving to a new country and missing people and places left behind, but eventually adapting.  Sakura (whose name means cherry blossom in Japanese) is lonely and misses her grandmother back in Japan when her father's job takes his family to the United States, but eventually she makes a friend.  While the illustrations, rendered in Photoshop, are okay, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the entire book was written as a series of tanka poems, a Japanese format similar to haiku (with the first three lines set up the same) but with two additional lines of seven syllables each, for a total of five lines and 31 syllables.   This will be a good addition to my university library's children's literature collection used by future teachers, as I can easily see this book being used in both language arts (writing) and social studies lessons.

© Amanda Pape - 2018

[This hardbound copy was obtained through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an independent review.  It will be added to my university library's collection.]

783 (2018 #6). Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures

by Emma Straub

I've had this book sitting on my shelves TBR for a while, and it seemed like a good one to read after The Girls in the Picture.  It starts at a later time, past the silent movie era, in 1929, when Elsa Emerson is nine years old and growing up in Door County, Wisconsin, where her father operates a summer playhouse on the family's land.  She loves acting and decides to head out to Los Angeles to become a movie star, eventually being christened Laura Lamont by the producer who ultimately marries her.  Laura does become a star, but she also struggles with the traditional roles of women at the time (particularly motherhood) as well as with her family of origin.  Straub covers the 50 years from 1929 to 1980 in just over 300 pages. 

Emma Straub modeled the early life of Elsa / Laura on real-life actress Jennifer Jones. Other characters in the book seemed to be based on other real Hollywood figures. For example, Irving Greene is based on Irving Thalberg, and his partner Louis Gardner on Louis B. Mayer.  Ginger appears to be modeled on Lucille Ball. 

While it's not deep, I actually liked this book, because Laura / Elsa feels like a real person and *not* a star.

© Amanda Pape - 2018

[This advance reader edition was sent to me by the Book Report Network.  It will be passed on to someone else to enjoy.]

782 (2018 #5). The Girls in the Picture

by Melanie Benjamin

This historical fiction work is based on the real-life friendship between silent movies star Mary Pickford and screenwriter Frances Marion.  I'd heard of Pickford (and her actor husband Douglas Fairbanks), but Marion was new to me.

The book starts in 1969, near the end of both women's lives, but then flashes back to 1914 and moves forward from there. The development of the motion picture industry is a theme in the book, and that was quite interesting.  Unfortunately, the two otherwise-strong women, true to their era, let the men they love control their lives, and that was disappointing.  The first part of the book is by far the best, before Fairbanks and Fred Thomson (Marion's love) came into the book, although at least Thomson was a nice guy.

Chapters alternate from Frances telling her story in first person, to third-person accounts about Mary.  That might have been part of the problem for me with this book - I think the third person viewpoint weakens Mary's story.  Mary comes across as very immature and insecure, a lot like the little girls she played in so many movies.  Frances is more interesting but is insecure in different ways, and gives in to Mary too often, in my opinion.

It's obvious author Melanie Benjamin has done her research, and she has a great web page on the historical background of the book.  (I did find a reference to an electric coffee percolator on page 97 of the advance reader edition, in a chapter set in winter 1915, that I hope was corrected in the final edition.  While stove-top percolators existed, the electric one was not invented until 1952.)  Like all good historical fiction, it has inspired me to learn more about the people and some of the places in the book.  While I didn't like this as much as her Alice I Have Been or The Aviator's Wife, it's still well worth reading.


© Amanda Pape - 2018

[This advance reader edition was received from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program and will be passed on to someone else to enjoy.]

781 (2018 #4). Return to Paradise

by James Michener,

read by Larry McKeever

Someone requested that my university library purchase access to this e-audiobook, as well as another by Michener (Texas, which I read in the past and which is even longer than this 21+-hour book).  Reviews of the narrator were mixed, and having a number of three-hour drives planned within a short period, I decided to listen to this one.

It can be considered a sequel to Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning Tales of the South Pacific (which I have not read).  The book alternates nonfiction essays on various South Pacific islands or countries with short stories set on that particular island (with the exception of nonfiction chapters at the beginning on "The Mighty Ocean" (introduction) and at the end on "Rabaul" (not sure why this merited a separate chapter from the rest of New Guinea, but no separate story) and "What I Learned" (conclusion).  Places covered include "The Atoll" (perhaps generic for many small islands in the area), Polynesia, Fiji, Guadalcanal, Espiritu Santo, New Zealand, Australia, and New Guinea.

It's important to read both "The Mighty Ocean" and "What I Learned" to put the book in context.  The nonfiction is a good (but rather detailed) travelogue when it comes to physical descriptions and history, but is very dated, particularly when discussing culture and social customs (the book was published in 1951). 

The fictional short stories are full of two-dimensional late-1940s stereotypes, particularly when it comes to the natives of the islands.  Despite the stereotypes, my favorite stories were "Mr. Morgan" (set on the atoll), "Povenaa's Daughter" (set in Polynesia), and "Until They Sail" (set in New Zealand).  The first two had humorous parts, and the latter, while more serious, was better-developed than any other story in the book (although a character's abrupt change of mind at the end is not explained).  The first and last were made into movies.

I really disliked the last two stories, "The Jungle" (set in Australia,), and "The Fossickers" (set in New Guinea).  "The Jungle" in particular was an ugly story with an unsatisfying end.

As for the narrator, actor Larry McKeever, I found him to be - okay.  I think he read the book a little too slowly, and at times that (along with the content) made me sleepy.  I'm glad I did not recommend that we purchase his nearly-65-hour narration of Texas.

© Amanda Pape - 2018

[The e-audiobook, and a print copy for reference, were both borrowed from and returned to my university library.]