Whether for escape or enlightenment, reading provides the lens
Why do we read? Some read to escape. Others look at reading as an educational tool. Words teach us about others, their societies, culture, dysfunctions and how we relate to them. Biographies, historical fiction and fiction wait to be absorbed. Today’s galaxy of new novels is a reflection of the decade that defines us, like the opioid crisis, the rural crisis and a look back at America’s soul.
Let’s begin with “Long Bright River,”a suspense novel by Liz Moore that takes us to Philadelphia where two sisters, Kacey and Mickey, who were inseparable, are driven apart by the opioid crisis. Kacey, the addict, lives on the streets. Mickey, a police officer, tries to keep tabs on her. Kacey vanishes amid a string of killings. Mickey searches to discover the culprit and what happened to her sister.
In “Tightrope,” Nicholas Kristoff, a New York Times columnist, and Sheryl WuDunn, a former reporter at the paper, show us how the inequality that has become the culture of the working poor across the country affected the town Kristoff was brought up in. There, his classmates have died from overdoses and suicides. While misery exists, there are moments of optimism and resilience, too. The book’s greatest strength is the exaltation of the common person’s voice bearing expert witness of the troubles selfish power has wrought.
When people think of author Zora Neale Hurston, they most often think of her 1937 classic,
“Their Eyes Were Watching God.” So when Hurston died in 1960 it was thought some of her work died with her. However, eight of her stories written during her years at Barnard College during the Harlem Renaissance have found their way to bookstores’ shelves in “Hitting a Straight Link with a Crooked Stick,” a collection of short stories. Incidentally, the book club that I belong to read “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The dialect was a challenge, but I soldiered through 200 pages and finished one of my most enlightening reads. Hurston is a treasure.
“Women on Women,” by Radhika Jones, Vanity Fair’s editor in chief, is a look back on 25 years of the magazine’s stories on women by women. Included are Leslie Bennett on Michelle Obama, Ingrid Sischy on Nicole Kidman, Gail Sheehy on Hillary Clinton and Maureen Dowd on Tina Fey. Also, the book features a selection of the best profiles, essays and columns about female subjects. From profiles of Gloria Steinem, Princess Diana, Whoopi Goldberg, to essays on workplace harassment, readers get a take on a four decades and how women have shaped a narrative.
“Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation,” by the late Cokie Roberts, author and television commentator, proved to be a worthy read. When
David Rubenstein asked how long it took her to research and write the book about The Revolutionary War, Roberts said that while searching the manuscript division of the Library of Congress, she found a trove of long letters written by the Founding Mothers. She said the letters are unvarnished and frank. There is a much more complete view of society as a whole and a truer sense of the men receiving the letters. The last question Rubenstein poses is which mother is most impressive. The answer was all are impressive for different reasons. Roberts said she would enjoy dinner with Sarah Livingston Jay. Roberts had her menus and enjoyed them with family.
“The American Story” includes Chief Justice John G. Roberts and how, by chance, he had an encounter while an undergraduate at Harvard. He expected to be an historian, but a cab ride in Boston changed his mind. When the driver mentioned he’d been a history major at Harvard, John Roberts decided to pursue a law career, which would not force him to be driving cabs after graduation. His answer to what is the greatest pleasure of being chief justice is not surprising. The answer: “I get to do work I enjoy in service of the country I love with eight others, and I can do it for as long as I want.”
On a personal note, my knowledge of history and those who have shaped it and those who continue to shape it have been through the wonderful, committed authors who have shared. Books give seniors and others a glimpse into other worlds within our own country so we can understand what is going on outside our own windows. Happy reading.