Historical Fiction – Page 3

April 8, 2017April 6, 2017

Painting the Rainbow by Amy Gordon

Painting the Rainbow is a beautiful, multi-generational story of the Greenwood family’s summer reunion. The Greenwoods appear healthy, supportive of one another, ideal—except for the mystery of Jesse’s death more than twenty years earlier.
Thirteen-year-old Holly narrates, but a neat twist is added. Her cousin, Ivy, also thirteen, provides point-of-view through her diary entries. The girls stumble upon various clues about their Uncle Jesse’s past, but no one will discuss it. Ivy’s dad, Jesse’s twin, goes ballistic if Jesse’s name is mentioned, and even their beloved grandmother Gigi refuses to enlighten them.

Set in 1965 as the Vietnam War gears up, parallels between the generations become more and more focused, and the girls learn of an unusual connection between Uncle Jesse and a young Japanese man who came to their town shortly before World War II started.

Dozens of threads of the individual characters’ personalities and actions intertwine, and Amy Gordon weaves them skillfully into a sublime story tapestry—one I’ll read again.
And I rarely read a book twice.
Pros
1. The voice, the prose, the style—they all drew me in immediately. I didn’t want to put down the book. Forget lunch, dinner, housework, or writing tasks.
2. The story is a great vehicle to teach the issues of the 1960’s. We can see the results of those issues fifty years later.
3. Some books deal with dark subject matter and make me feel soiled by the end. Not with Painting the Rainbow. Every character, while containing a flaw, or two or three, is a realistic, valuable human being, and none of the flaws compromise a Christian reader’s values.
Cons
1. As per number three on my Pros list, the Greenwood family isn’t particularly Christian; however, they reflect moral values of the Golden Rule.
2. My own little pet peeve: the choice of Holly and Ivy for names of the main characters. Too cutesy of a combination!
Discussion questions
1. What were the repercussions of keeping a secret for twenty years?
2. How were the Japanese camps in America in 1942 similar to Nazi concentration camps? How were they different?
3. How was Jesse’s attitude toward war with Germany and Japan the same or different from Randy’s attitude toward the Vietnam War?
4. If you discovered a mystery about your family’s past, would you keep searching for answers like Holly did no matter if people got upset with you, or would you back off like Ivy wanted to?

March 18, 2017March 18, 2017

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Three weeks ago, I promised reviews based on my granddaughters’ favorite books. The oldest finally decided she loved Jane Eyre the best. She’s six, so she read the children’s version from the Treasury of Illustrated Classics. Voracious reader that she is, I give her four more years before she tackles Charlotte Brontë’s original text.

If you have never read Jane Eyre, Jane tells her story beginning as a young girl in a Cinderella-type of existence with her stepmother, stepbrother and stepsisters, none of whom have sympathy toward her. They send her to an orphanage claiming she is a terrible child, so the people who run the place don’t trust her either. Jane’s one friend, an older girl and a devout and kind Christian, dies of tuberculosis.

Once Jane grows up, she finds a position at Thornfield Hall as governess to Rochester’s ward, Adele. Thornfield Hall is an eccentric household but comfortable. Strange laughter from the attic is explained as “Grace Poole, one of the servants, who just goes up there to sew.” When Rochester and Jane fall in love and plan a wedding, a stranger enters the church in the middle of the ceremony declaring Rochester is already married. Jane runs away. If you want to find out the ending, read the book. I don’t want to spoil it!

Pros

Children love to read about other children in precarious situations, and Jane Eyre delivers, as orphaned Jane endures many hardships through childhood and must make her way in the world as a young adult.
Children, girls especially, love a good love story, and once again, Jane Eyre delivers. Her love story seems star-crossed, but just when all is lost, Brontë writes a happy ending employing unusual circumstances.
Parents who want their children to appreciate literature will find this story and many other Treasury titles a wonderful way to introduce the classics.
Jane’s character perseveres in every circumstance. She is not perfect, neither in beauty nor in temperament, but she never gives up on worthwhile goals, a quality I tried to instill in my own children.

Cons

As an adult, I admit disappointment in the truncation of plot. But this is a review for kids’ satisfaction in reading, so I guess it’s not so much of a negative.
With all the craze for fantasy and fairy princesses, Jane Eyre will not satisfy. But then, I have always promoted variety in the literary diet, so again, not much of a negative.

Discussion Questions

If you had been another child at the orphanage, how would you have treated Jane?
What would you have thought of Mr. Brocklehurst?
Was it right or wrong for Rochester to lie about his crazy wife who lived on the top floor?

Conclusion

Modern Publishing has three dozen classic titles under the Treasury of Illustrated Classics logo, all of which boil down the plots to a third/fourth grade vocabulary. Of course, the nuances in the adult versions are missing, but the adaptations remain true to story. In this case, credit goes to Sara Thomson.

February 12, 2017February 15, 2017

Little Britches by Ralph Moody

Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers is not only a true coming-of-age story set in the early 1900s, but it also records old, satisfying values and codes of conduct that made the USA the strong nation it became. In Little Britches, most people made good neighbors, and a man’s word was his bond. Sadly, many of those values and codes of conduct have been lost in our country today. Reading Little Britches with our families will help us instill these virtues in our children and grandchildren, and will give us many opportunities for discussing them and impressing them upon a new generation.

Pros:

Respect for God is a value that runs deep in this story. Although the Moody family didn’t attend church often, they prayed together at meals and learned the importance of truth and honesty. Mrs. Moody also had Bible lessons with her children on Sunday. The children respected and obeyed their parents, although Ralph had problems with obedience. The parents loved, cared for, and trained their children to become useful and honorable adults. One of the high points for me was when Mr. Moody talked with Ralph about his “character house” and how a he could either build it or tear it down.

Respect for one another is clearly portrayed. It was most often shown through action. The family helped one another, and took care of one another in crises. They spent a lot of time together, learning self-discipline while they worked, cooked, talked, read, and performed plays.

I loved the way that Mr. Moody and Ralph discussed big issues while they milked the cows. I could see the lamp-lit stalls, could hear the milk “singing into the buckets,” and feel the warmth of their mutual friendship, respect, and love for one another.

One instance of Mr. Moody’s love is shown when, during a hurricane, he tied his family together with rope and had them crawl toward a gully for shelter. The mother’s love is seen in her distress when the children were hurt and when they learned “words they’d never known before” at a community gathering. Grace, Ralph’s older sister, might have had a sharp tongue, but she willingly bent over so Ralph could use her back as a step from which he could mount his horse.

To me, one of the most poignant scenes was when, in a crisis, Charles, the un-demonstrative father, comforted his wife by holding her, talking soothingly to her, and patting her cheek.

Respect for neighbors is also a recurring theme. The Moody family didn’t expect their neighbors to help them, but they graciously accepted a bucket of milk a day from their neighbor, Fred Aultland, until they could buy their own cow. Charles and Ralph also worked for Fred, and Charles trained Ralph to give an employer full value for his pay—and then some. Through Charles’ ingenuity, working during the noon hour, he refitted Fred Aultland’s hay stacker so they could dump a load of hay wherever they wanted it rather than in only one spot. This meant that Fred needed just one man to spread hay on top of the stack instead of three.

All the ranches irrigated their crops with canal water flowing through ditches to water their crops. At one point, to prevent a gunfight over each ranch’s water rights, Charles invented a water gauge which helped him and his neighbors win an eventual court case.

Respect for the law is also a core value in Little Britches. Ralph once caught a pheasant in his trap. Since the law said that pheasants were protected, Charles insisted that Ralph ride alone into town, find the sheriff, and show him the pheasant he had caught.

Cons:

In only one incident did Charles take the law into his own hands, literally. It happened during the night after Ralph had been in trouble at school. The male teacher had given him a whipping with a homemade whip, lashing the split leather thongs repeatedly over the knobs on Ralph’s ribs that were still healing from being broken. The next morning, Ralph noticed his father’s hands were bruised and swollen, and the teacher came to school with a black eye.

When Ralph was not yet twelve years old, he took on a man’s responsibilities during the family’s greatest crisis. His mother became very ill and had a long stay in the in-patient surgery at the local doctor’s. As soon as she arrived home, while the nurse was still helping her settle in, Ralph harnessed the horse to the spring wagon and collected the children from their neighbor’s homes.

My Thoughts

All in all, Little Britches is not merely a record of life at the turn of the twentieth century. It is also an accurate record of a way of life that has been lost. This good, hardworking family contributed to their community, didn’t expecting much in return, and loved God, each other, and their neighbors. It’s a great book for a family to read and discuss together.

January 28, 2017

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose

May B., by Caroline Rose Starr, is an inspiring Middle Grade story about twelve-year-old Mavis Elizabeth Betts, a girl with dyslexia who dreams of being a teacher someday.

Written entirely in verse, the 240-page book is a quick and engrossing read.

“I catch what’s not said:/ it’s foolishness to keep pretending. / What sort of teacher can’t /read out lessons? / Maybe May B. can / Maybe May B. can’t”

May B.’s life-altering experience begins when she is volunteered by her parents to help out a neighbor because his new wife needs help adjusting to life on a Kansas prairie farm. The couple live fifteen miles from the Betts’ homestead. Besides, May will be home by Christmas her father assures her. Things go awry, and May is stranded, alone, in a fight for her life against the harsh Kansas winter. The story is a testament to May’s inner strength and bravery.

Pros:

May B. is a first-person account from May’s point of view. The author manages to paint a realistic picture of life for the early settlers in Kansas: the one-room schoolhouse, dug-out cabins, scarcity of food and resources, harsh weather, and long distances. Hard choices abound for May B. and her family, and she must grow up quickly.
Ms. Rose’s characterization, imagery, and pacing are first rate. She does what all novelists strive to achieve in far fewer words, and I salute her skill. This book is appropriate for all ages, particularly middle grades and up. Readers younger than nine may need help following the story without the usual cues provided by prose.

Cons:

May’s current teacher neither understands nor sympathizes with May’s learning problem caused by her dyslexia. May has fond memories of her first teacher who worked hard to help her progress.
The children at her school, all but her brother, underestimate May’s intelligence based on her poor academic performance. Any child with learning differences will identify with the way this affects her self-esteem.
Her peers ridicule and harass May because of her disability.
Even her parents seem to underestimate their daughter, although their love for her is clear.
The neighbor’s inept wife is rude to May and unappreciative of her hard work.
The neighbor and his wife perish off-screen. May does not know they have died until the end of the story.

My Personal Opinion:

I have read this book through twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. For those who love Laura Ingalls Wilder or even Anne of Green Gables, this book is a natural choice. The female protagonist has a strong spirit and will to survive.

December 19, 2016December 24, 2016

Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi

Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi is a thought-provoking Young Adult book most suited to eighth grade and up. The setting is the American Revolution as experienced by sixteen-year-old Jemima Emerson.

One of my all-time favorite books

Jemima Emerson lives in Trenton, New Jersey, and her family experiences all of the conflict of the War for Independence. Her family is split; Jemima’s older sister is married to a British officer, but her oldest brother is an officer in Washington’s army. Her grandfathers are on opposite sides of the conflict as well. Even Jemima’s despised tutor, John Reid, is a Tory. But, as she will learn, not everyone is who they seem to be.

Her family pays a high price for choosing sides, and Jemima has to grow up fast against the backdrop of war.

Pros:

This story provides great insight into the reasons for the uprising, although it is clearly prejudiced to the patriot viewpoint. Still, the reader will understand both sides and see that neither had an absolute moral high ground.
Jemima’s character arc is very well done. Her clashes with her tutor and her deliberate disobedience eventually change to a longing to grow into a woman he can admire. She begins as a rather spoiled and bratty girl and eventually matures into the young women who holds her family together.
War is not glorified in this story; rather, the hardships of war and the hard choices it brings are highlighted through the plot without being too gory.
The plight of the Native Americans and the slaves are not glossed over. I love the fact that this book does not “whitewash” the cast. Lucy, the black slave turned maid, is a beloved character in this book, as is Jemima’s half-breed uncle.

Cons:

There is an age gap between Jemima and her love interest, John, that modern-day sensibilities will find unappealing. However, the gap is realistic to the historical period, and it is not as great as it might have been. Some will also be put off by the amount of authority John exercises over Jemima in his role as her tutor, but again, it is not unrealistic and seems in line with other accounts from the period. However, John does not overstep the lines of propriety or take advantage of his position. He conducts himself honorably toward Jemima, and their romance is not the center of the story.
Jemima’s mother is shattered by the events of the story, and her decline into mental illness provides the darkest moments of the plot.
There is a period when Jemima and Lucy are forced to share the house with enemy soldiers. This may be scary to some readers.
This book is about war, and a few characters die. The violence happens “off screen,” but it is appalling none the less.

Final Word

Time Enough for Drums is a story I have read multiple times because I want to experience it again and again, like a favorite movie. The characters get under your skin, and their victories and defeats come back to haunt you. In short, this is not a book you can read and forget; it is a book that makes you think about what you believe. I can think of no higher praise.