Book Reviews 2019

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History 
By:  Keith O'Brien

I don't remember as much about this book as I probably should, although I read it close to one year ago. It piqued my interest because any story about women challenging the status quo is worth remembering. The story centers around 5 women, Florence Klingensmith, Ruth Elder, Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, and Louise Thaden. Each came from wildly different backgrounds and made her mark in the the aviation scene of the early 20th century. They all competed in the 1936 air race and one of them won, beating the male rivals and cementing 1936 as an astonishing year for American sports history alongside the UW Olympic men's rowing team winning gold and others whom historians have yet to chronicle in books similar to this. 





The Underground Railroad
By: Colson Whitehead

This book was originally selected for the Rainier Book Club and sparked an in-depth discussion.  This book imagines an actual underground railroad, complete with stops maintained by true sympathizers assisting slaves in escaping to freedom during the strife before the Civil War. We follow Cora, an escaped slave from a Georgian plantation, as she embarks on a tragic and perilous journey north, toward freedom. Caesar is her male companion for parts of the story, in a world where Cora wrestles with what it means to trust and to rely on anyone. The physical train track and the rickety cars and the human beings forced to travel in secrecy make the reader question all our safety and security of white privilege and 21st century wealth. 
In our book club, all readers agreed that this unique take on the underground railroad made the book more readable and was a creative and imaginative way to remember the stories and tragedies of people who risked everything for freedom. 


 The Power 
By: Naomi Alderman 

 This 2016 book reimagined a world where women are more powerful, literally, than men. Women discover a secret organ, the skein, which enables them to dominate others using electrical force. Predictably, some worship the power, others hide it away, some use it to overthrow countries, and others try to exploit and harvest the skeins so that men don't miss out on the fun. What struck me most reading this book was how freeing I felt reading a world where the tables were turned and women felt free. The girls walking down streets at night alone, practicing martial arts to use their powers for good, and women connecting, empowering, uplifting each other recognizing this new common identity was achingingly desirable. It was an interesting dichotomy to both recognize the power as an evil force and also wish this world could exist. The story follows several main characters who discover they have the power as well as one male journalist covering political unrest related to the power. Their stories all intertwine in such an imaginative and rich narrative that the author stands on much more than a creative science fiction idea alone. This was one of my favorite books of the year and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci fi and stretching their thinking. 


The Three-Body Problem
By Liu Cixin 
Translated by Ken Liu

The most surprising part of this book was how masterfully the translation conveys subtly and lyricism. Each word and phrase came across clearly, or as clearly as a book about the unsolvable physics of 3 orbiting bodies could be. This was another book club pick and the only reason I started or finished this book. The writing was heavily scientific and rarely used emotion-based language, despite the content dealing with murder, neglect, and an impending apocalypse. However, the plot unfolds elegantly and the author does a nice job of intertwining seemingly separate stories and plot character arcs which span decades and realities. The end of the book was so mind-bending and other-worldly that in my mind, the dense lengthy scientific discourse spanning page after page kind of redeemed itself. This is the first of a trilogy. I will not be reading the next books. 




Machines Like Me
By: Ian McIwan

Atonement is one of my all-time favorite novels, so when I read the Economist review of Machines Like Me I was already highly inclined to read this book. It was thoughtful and deliberate, like Atonement, but lacked the true heart-wrenching connection for me. The subject itself is fascinating, a love-triangle between Charlie, a drifting writer, Miranda, his flat neighbor who is in every way too good for him, and Adam, an artificial intelligence being he buys on a whim hoping to raise him with Miranda thereby winning her affection. The book creates an alternate universe in which Alan Turing successfully creates AI in the 1980s and re-imagines various historical events. The book wades deeply into the ethics of AI and beinghood. It is simultaneously calm and domestic as well as unsettling like touching cold steel to your stomach. The ending strikes a discordant resolution that leaves the reader questioning how much we really know about connection.  



Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race
By: Lara Prior-Palmer

Part of the draw of this book is you know immediately how it will end. LPP becomes the first female as well as youngest finisher and and then remains a 19 year old girl looking for the next thing to do. Reading this book made me understand how people who are not feelings-based thinkers operate. Her writing is lyrical and poetic which is suprising for so young an author with no previous writing experience. The way she sees the world is refreshing and unusual. Her words masterfully paint the picture of the Mongolian steppe and what she experienced. In a way, her account is so easy to read because she spends no time complaining and she, for the most part, seems immune to discomfort. Her capacity to rapidly adapt without forming connections or getting bogged down by emotions makes this self-piloted endurance race exhilarating. We step into her shoes and feel free of worry, logistics, planning, and simply ride from one stop to the next. Some critics criticize her immaturity and poor sportsmanship. To an extent, I agree. But the book is entitled "rough" with good reason: she is not a typical protagonist, and we meet her very much in an unfinished part of her life, where her personality and spirit are still being formed and her thinking can be irrational and immature. All in all, I would read this book again, and highly recommend it. 

Flowers for Algernon
By: Daniel Keyes

Another book club read, and an instant classic from the moment it was published. Flowers for Algernon is a short story which was novelized and tells the waxing and waning story of a mentally delayed boy named Charlie Gordon who agrees to an experimental procedure to raise his IQ. His progress is preceeded by Algernon, a white mouse who has successfully undergone the same surgical procedure. One of the strengths of the story is how the author writes at the comprehension level of Charlie, starting slowly, simply, with many spelling mistakes, and gradually improves, adding vocabulary and depth of thought as Charlie's mind improves. The most complex story lines are also the simpliest, another reason this book is a classic. Boy loves girl. Charlie wrestles with his family. He mentally matures through turbulent adolescent self-definition and full circle realization of the gravity of his experiment. The parallel, slightly-ahead trajectory of Algernon adds a companion to this maze giving Charlie the only other being whom he can relate to. His painful, turbulent, heart-wrenching experience mesmerizes the reader and leaves them devastated. A good book spells out a truth about life, a great book presents an entire story guiding the reader toward realizing life truths themselves upon it's completion. The life truth from Flowers for Algernon is this: Love one another. 


The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
By: Stuart Turton

Another book club book. Aiden Bishop wakes up one day running through the woods screaming for Anna. He knows as much as the reader. Gradually, the intricate interwoven plotline of the story reveals itself in bits and pieces transcending time, geography, and realities as the astonishing quest to uncover Evelyn Hardcastle's murderer. This book stretched the reader's thinking and proved time and time again that Mr. Turton's first book is a classic and will stand the test of time. 











In Shock
By:Rana Awdish

Initially I saw this book synopsis and thought "Yet another book about physicians finding the humanity of their patients" and in some ways I was right. But she also addresses other themes, like how our bedside language matters, and how healthcare providers process the traumas of work together. She unflinchingly delivers the story of her lost pregnancy and experience as a critical care physician who rapidly descends into shock one night and dies without any plausible explanation. The ensuing year test the limits of her physical health as well as her meaning and sense of the world. Eventually the experience is pinned on two vascular hepatic masses and the second, unruptured mass is removed. Each step along the way seems to be complicated in one way or another. Interestingly, the author never seems to accept fault, or show real vulnerability. Many points throughout the book I wondered if her narrative was truly honest, or if she was still trying to present her best appearance. In the end, I chose to trust that this story is her real self, and was instead fascinated by the rational way she sees the entire world, including the world of feelings, emotion, and human connection. I recommend this book hesitatingly to healthcare providers looking for a fresh take on patient-physician connection, but unwaveringly to readers who want to read a doctor's incredible journey as a patient. My biggest takeaway: I will never say a patient tried to die on me again, and always think through twice what I say in front of a patient and how it could be perceived. 

The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue
By:Michael J. Tougias & Casey Sherman

This book was recommended by a friend. It chronicles the unbelievable quadruple rescue of two T2 tankers that split apart off the coast of Chatham Bay in 1954 during one of the worst nor'easters. The authors painstakingly recreate conditions as close to exactly as they happened including multiple eyewitness accounts for details with differing stories. The rescues are completely heroic and courageous and leave the reader with a sense of awe at these brave young men. The authors follow the story all the way to the end, recounting as many involved parties ultimate life paths as well as the saga of the CG36500 36 foot lifeboat responsible for rescuing and transporting 36 men from the wreck to safety. My brother being in the Coast Guard provided connection to this book and a sense of pride at the training and commitment he has undertaken.