Welcome to our literary circle, in which San Diegans pass the (printed) word on books

Trevor Jones

Job: Branch Manager, Scripps Miramar Ranch Library, San Diego Public Library

He recommends: “The Undying” by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019; 308 pages)

Why? “Slash, burn and poison.” That’s how poet Anne Boyer describes her surgery, radiation and chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer in 2014. Boyer rails against “pink ribbon culture” and the wider political landscape of feminism, illness, pharmaceutical companies and mortality. Boyer’s refusal to traffic in platitudes or advertising copy about the tortuous trials of a woman’s body is heartbreaking, but more than that, its defiant tone transcends the category of “yet another survival memoir.” The result is a sobering and joyful “no” to the policing of the rhetoric and language surrounding cancer.

Marianne Reiner

Job: Owner, Run for Cover

She recommends: “The Most Precious of Cargoes” by Jean-claude Grumberg (Harpevia, 2020; 128 pages)

Why? Written like a fable, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” recounts the story of a poor woodcutter’s wife who one day, in the forest, finds a baby girl wrapped in a prayer shawl. The setting is World War II. The baby’s Jewish father was on a train taking him to the death camps. His wife — who had recently given birth to twins, a boy and a girl — does not have enough milk left to feed both babies. In a split moment, the father grabs one of the twins and throws his precious bundle out of the small window of the train. The poor woodcutter’s wife — who has prayed and prayed for a child — finds the baby and raises her as her own. The story is short but absolutely mesmerizing. I caught myself several times holding my breath while reading. This powerful story reminds us that humanity can be found in the darkest of times. Questions about redemption, the concept of family and love linger long after the last page of this book is turned. The book is beautifully translated from French by Frank Wynne.