Anything But Yes by Joie Davidow
Anything But Yes is Joie Davidow's novelization of the 1749 account by Anna Del Monte, a Roman Jew, of her 13-day incarceration in the Casa dei Catecumeni.
Anna, an educated, unmarried daughter of a prominent and wealthy family in Rome's Jewish ghetto, is taken by force from her home. She is confined to a small cell, where she is subjected to isolation, sleep and food deprivation, and endless talking from various priests and nuns, trying to convert her to Christianity. If she said the word "yes" in any circumstance, it would be taken as an agreement to convert - which meant she would never see her beloved family again - hence the title of the book. Anna is ultimately released when it is determined a young male convert, trying to get back at her family, falsely claimed she was his bride-to-be.
Anna, an educated, unmarried daughter of a prominent and wealthy family in Rome's Jewish ghetto, is taken by force from her home. She is confined to a small cell, where she is subjected to isolation, sleep and food deprivation, and endless talking from various priests and nuns, trying to convert her to Christianity. If she said the word "yes" in any circumstance, it would be taken as an agreement to convert - which meant she would never see her beloved family again - hence the title of the book. Anna is ultimately released when it is determined a young male convert, trying to get back at her family, falsely claimed she was his bride-to-be.
Anna's account was edited by her brother Tranquillo in 1793, after Anna's death. He made seven copies, with one rediscovered almost 200 years later in a private collection in Jerusalem, by Italian scholar Giuseppe Sermoneta. Sermoneta published an annotated edition in Italian in 1989, which was Davidow's inspiration, according to her afterword (p. 226 in my advance reader edition).
In 2016, scholar Kenneth R. Stow published an English translation of Anna'a account as part of his book, Anna and Tranquillo (which was also one of Davidow's sources). Even with numerous footnotes, Anna's account only runs 34 pages. Most of it can be read in Google Books (starting on page 20), and other parts are available in the transcripts of Accessing Anna, an "audio reconstruction" of Anna's experiences by Ariana Ellis.
In 2016, scholar Kenneth R. Stow published an English translation of Anna'a account as part of his book, Anna and Tranquillo (which was also one of Davidow's sources). Even with numerous footnotes, Anna's account only runs 34 pages. Most of it can be read in Google Books (starting on page 20), and other parts are available in the transcripts of Accessing Anna, an "audio reconstruction" of Anna's experiences by Ariana Ellis.
Based on these latter two sources, I feel Davidow is very true to the original material. She has added depth and breadth from her own research (sources listed in the acknowledgments), with descriptions of life in the Roman Jewish ghetto in that era, and by developing the characters of Anna and her family members. The book is well-written and fascinating. There's a glossary of Hebrew, Italian, and ghetto dialect words at the end of the book, but I found I could interpret most meanings from the context.
The Big Bang and Other Farts by Daisy Bird, illustrated by Marianna Coppo
I requested The Big Bang and Other Farts from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program because I could see it as a great future gift for my currently 19-month-old great-grandson or 17-month-old great-nephew. I'm a little surprised at other reviewers who seemed to expect a nonfiction book, or something more educational. The description of the book on the request pages did not imply that it was supposed to be either.
An anthropomorphic animal dad and his two kids are on a sofa with popcorn to watch a documentary. Various events in science and history are explained as having been caused by a fart, much to Dad's chagrin and the kids' amusement. The text by author Daisy Bird (a pen name for Jacky Colliss Harvey) is complemented by the gouache (per the book's verso) artwork by illustrator Marianna Coppo (whose style is not like Corporate Memphis, in my opinion).
The Big Bang and Other Farts by Daisy Bird, illustrated by Marianna Coppo
I requested The Big Bang and Other Farts from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program because I could see it as a great future gift for my currently 19-month-old great-grandson or 17-month-old great-nephew. I'm a little surprised at other reviewers who seemed to expect a nonfiction book, or something more educational. The description of the book on the request pages did not imply that it was supposed to be either.
An anthropomorphic animal dad and his two kids are on a sofa with popcorn to watch a documentary. Various events in science and history are explained as having been caused by a fart, much to Dad's chagrin and the kids' amusement. The text by author Daisy Bird (a pen name for Jacky Colliss Harvey) is complemented by the gouache (per the book's verso) artwork by illustrator Marianna Coppo (whose style is not like Corporate Memphis, in my opinion).
Would I buy this book for a school library (or for the teachers-in-training collection I used to manage for a university library)? Probably not, but mainly because such book budgets tend to be limited (mine certainly was). Would I buy it for a public library or for a young child? Yes. Not every book needs to be educational. Sometimes they're just for fun.
My Brigadista Year by Katherine Paterson
I requested My Brigadista Year, by two-time Newbery-medalist Katherine Paterson, from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program back in September 2017, but never received it from the publisher. I was able to check out the book recently from my library's e-book collection.
This was a fascinating historical novel for young people about the Cuban literacy campaign of 1961. Thirteen-year-old Havana resident Lora volunteers to become a brigadista, a member of the brigade of young people recruited to teach the illiterate in rural areas how to read and write. Her not-wealthy family is not enthusiastic about her participation, but were somewhat mollified with the news that Lora would have free secondary and university education if she finished her year of service.
Told in first person, Paterson's novel gives some background on Lora's family and early life, then follows her from her departure from Havana in March 1961, to the Veradero training camp where she learns how to teach, and on ito the Escambray Mountains where she meets her squad at base camp and gets her assignment. (There's a helpful map at the beginning of the book).
Lora lives with the family she's teaching, helping them with daily tasks such as drawing water from the river, and plowing fields. There's time to socialize with the family and another nearby, as well as the other brigadistas every Sunday at the base camp. The book also details some of the techniques used to teach and test reading and writing skills. I especially liked the test that had the students write a letter to Fidel Castro. Lora has until the end of the program, on December 22, to achieve success with her seven students, six adults and one child.
Paterson provides additional historical background and discusses the sources she used in an author's note at the end of the book. She also includes a timeline of Cuban history through early 2017. Written at a fifth-grade reading level, and aimed at middle grades (4th or 5th to 8th or 9th), this is an inspiring book about a youth-centered project, with the important message for all ages that teachers often learn as much from their students as the students do from their teachers.
The Only Way to Make Bread by Cristina Quintero, illustrated by Sarah Gonzales
This is a lovely picture book by Cristina Quintero, about different ways to make bread - and what they have in common. My favorite part was the double-page spread near the end with illustrations and descriptions of breads from ten different cultures. This is followed by recipes for two of them - I wish there were recipes for all ten! The artwork by Sarah Gonzales "was created with colored pencils, edited digitally and baked until golden brown," according to the verso, and indeed, the overall feel of the illustrations is one of warmth.
The Little Books of the Little Brontës by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Briony May Smith
This is a book about the childhoods of the four children of the Brontë family who survived into adulthood: authors Charlotte, Emily, and Anne; and their brother, the artist Branwell. The four were close, perhaps because two older sisters and their mother had died when the four were still quite young. They were imaginative, and created miniature books in tiny handwriting for a set of toy soldiers Branwell had. That might have been the start of the girls' writing careers. The book ends with instructions for making a miniature book, a note from author Sara O'Leary, a timeline of the Brontës' lives, and a list of sources.
The mixed media illustrations by Briony May Smith are soft and muted, reflecting their quiet parsonage home and its English moors location. My favorite illustration is one looking down from above at the four Brontë children eating at the table with their father - with empty chairs for their sisters and mother. This book should appeal to fans of the Brontës.
The mixed media illustrations by Briony May Smith are soft and muted, reflecting their quiet parsonage home and its English moors location. My favorite illustration is one looking down from above at the four Brontë children eating at the table with their father - with empty chairs for their sisters and mother. This book should appeal to fans of the Brontës.
Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson
Coronation Year - 1953, the year Elizabeth II was officially crowned - serves as the setting for this piece of historical fiction, but the queen and the events of that day (June 2) are peripheral to this story. It centers on three main fictional characters, who tell the story from their viewpoints in alternating chapters:
- Edie Howard, who owns and operates the fictional 400-year-old Blue Lion, a struggling hotel she inherited from her parents - that has the great luck to be on the coronation parade route;
- Jamie (James) Geddes, a bomb expert during World War II, now an artist of Scottish and Indian descent, who suffers prejudice due to the latter; and
- Stella Donati, an Italian Jewish photographer now working for the fictional Picture Weekly magazine.
All three are living at the hotel, which also has three other (eccentric) boarders as well as a staff. The book begins in January, bringing the main characters together and also documenting Edie's efforts to prepare the hotel for the upcoming coronation (and Jamie's and Stella's work related to it). Unfortunately, there's also someone trying to sabotage the hotel - figuring out who is a major plot line.
The story was rather predictable - the villian and the romances were signaled early on - but it was a fun, quick read nonetheless. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of characters from some of Robson's other books that I've read - reporter Ruby Sutton and her love Bennett from Goodnight from London, and Walter "Kaz" Kaczmarek and his wife Miriam Dassin from The Gown.
The story was rather predictable - the villian and the romances were signaled early on - but it was a fun, quick read nonetheless. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of characters from some of Robson's other books that I've read - reporter Ruby Sutton and her love Bennett from Goodnight from London, and Walter "Kaz" Kaczmarek and his wife Miriam Dassin from The Gown.
Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
Somewhere in France was Jennifer Robson's first novel. Set in World War I, it demonstrates a depth of knowledge of that conflict thanks to the author's father, Professor Stuart Robson, an expert on the topic.
Lilly (aka Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford) always wanted a life beyond the expectations of her titled parents. Robert "Robbie" Fraser, who met Lilly's older brother Edward at university and became his best friend, has encouraged her. When he, a surgeon, is sent to France at the outbreak of war, they correspond, and he further encourages her. Lilly secretly learns to drive on the family's country estate, and ultimately leaves home and moves in with her former governness, Charlotte. She manages to become an ambulance driver with the British Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and to get sent to the same field hospital as Robbie.
Lilly (aka Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford) always wanted a life beyond the expectations of her titled parents. Robert "Robbie" Fraser, who met Lilly's older brother Edward at university and became his best friend, has encouraged her. When he, a surgeon, is sent to France at the outbreak of war, they correspond, and he further encourages her. Lilly secretly learns to drive on the family's country estate, and ultimately leaves home and moves in with her former governness, Charlotte. She manages to become an ambulance driver with the British Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and to get sent to the same field hospital as Robbie.
Robson doesn't shy away from a vivid and unflinching picture of what the war was like for ambulance drivers, surgeons, nurses, and the wounded. The romance between Lilly and Robbie is sweet, but somewhat predictable.
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
This is a fictionalized partial biography about the early years (from 1933 to 1942) of the actress Hedy Lamarr. Born Hedwig Kiesler in Austria, the book opens with the beautiful Hedy starring in Sissy, a play about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, at age 19 in Vienna. She has a persistent suitor in the audience, the wealthy weapons manufacturer Fritz Mandl, She agrees to marry him with hopes that he can protect her Jewish parents from the encroaching German Nazis.
Hedy lives a life of luxury - and mostly boredom - with Fritz, who doesn't allow her to continue acting. They host parties for Mussolini, Hitler, and other fascists. Hedy learns a lot about what may be coming to Austria just by listening and playing the role of the decorative wife. Eventually, Mandl's control of her becomes unbearable, and she escapes, ultimately arriving in Hollywood and starting a film career.
Still cast mostly as a pretty face, Hedy finds fulfillment tinkering with inventions. She worked with her friend, the composer and pianist George Antheil, to develop a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used a code (stored on a punched paper tape) to synchronize frequency changes, referred to as frequency hopping, between the transmitter and receiver, reducing the chances that the signals might be tracked or jammed. They actually received a patent for the invention, but it was not adopted by the U. S. Navy - the implication being that it was because Lamarr was a woman, and an actress to boot. That conclusion - and the premise that Lamarr felt compelled to find a solution to the torpedo signal-jamming problems due to supposed guilt over not doing more to stop Hitler's advance into Austria - were rather far-fetched.
Told in first person, I was disappointed with the writing in this book. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read it and learned more about Hedy Lamarr's background and invention.
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