January book:

This Boy’s Life: A Memoir

BY TOBIAS WOLFF

Review by Norma Blazer

The UMASC Thursday Book Group will meet at 1 PM on Zoom, Thursday, January 27, to discuss This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff. We first encounter Toby and his beautiful, but flakey, mother shortly after the boy’s 10^th birthday and follow him through escapades that include theft, vandalism, fistfights, drinking, and poor grades to his expulsion from an elite boys’ school ten years later. This coming-of-age story, told with remarkable candor, is non-fiction that reads like a novel. In fact, critics have compared Wolff’s memoir to coming-of-age classics such as Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye. If you are not familiar with Tobias Wolff or what he is doing today, try reading his memoir first, as I did. Google him afterward for a nice surprise.

February book:

Oh William!

A NOVEL BY ELIZABETH STROUT

Review by Jane Paxton

I have a confession to make: I suggested: Oh William!: a novel by Elizabeth Strout to our Thursday Book Group before I had finished it. In my defense, I had previously read her novels Olive Kitteridge, My Name Is Lucy Barton and The Burgess Boys. Oh William! is a kind of sequel to My Name Is Lucy Barton. In addition, Oh William! received fulsome reviews from two of my favorite authors, Ann Patchett and Hilary Mantel.

William is Lucy’s ex-husband, and she has just lost her second husband. Even after all these years, Lucy and William still have a bond. He asks her to help investigate a family secret. Mysteries and secrets are irresistible to me. So far so good. I look forward to the discussion on February 24th on Zoom.

Consider joining us. We always have a variety of opinion that leads to lively discussions. Others’ choices have expanded my comfort zone. I now even (sometimes) look forward to nonfiction! The greater diversity of participants, the greater variety of genres and the more interesting our conversations. We still have places available in this senior college book club. Please join us.

March book:

The Duke of Deception: Memories of My Father

BY GEOFFREY WOLFF

Review by Norma Blazer

On March 24 we will meet on Zoom to discuss The Duke of Deception: Memories of My Father by Geoffrey Wolff.

In January, we discussed This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff’s 1989 memoir describing the antics of Toby, a bad-acting kid, as he came of age under the loose tutelage of his loving but flakey mother in the 1950s. Maybe you have read the book or watched the movie on Netflix. In the movie, Robert De Niro plays Dwight, Toby’s unscrupulously manipulative stepfather—a portrayal guaranteed to make you squirm. If you have read This Boy’s Life, maybe you, like many of us, wondered if the presence or influence of Toby’s father or brother would have been a game-changer in his young life. His father, Duke, was a Yale graduate who had achieved success as an aeronautical engineer. Toby’s brother Geoffrey, who lived with Duke and his new wife in Connecticut, was already Princeton-bound.

Well, at just the right moment, book group member Peter Rosenberg discovered the older brother’s memoir, The Duke of Deception by Geoffrey Wolff (1979). I cannot wait to hear what the group has to say about this book on March 24. We learn that Geoffrey had to survive his own situation, which was the opposite of Toby’s. Toby’s challenges were “street” challenges. Geoffrey, on the other hand, lived in and out of elite privilege under the guidance of a brilliant and loving father, Duke.

The writing is meticulous and just the right challenge for brains reawakening, post-Covid. By the time I reached page 34, I had googled eleven words: shooting–stick, arsy-turvy (which I did not find), confidence man, Micawberism, alrightnik, threnodic, cadged, Triangle Club and Cottage Club, popinjay, and putatively. By then I might have tossed any other book, but not one of these was just a pretty word used for effect. Every word in this book is the perfect word, and every sentence has a purpose.

Both books are memoirs, and (spoiler alert!) both men are successful writers. The books complement one another. I would suggest you read This Boy’s Life first, if you can, even though Geoffrey Wolff wrote The Duke of Deception earlier. These are books I might not have selected, except for Book Group. Yet, they are two of the best books I have read in a long time.

April book:

The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story

BY DOUGLAS PRESTON

Review by Joan Meehan

This book will meet your expectations if you enjoy adventure stories. It will keep you entertained, and you will learn some history, new technology, information on new tropical diseases, and more. It is a gripping tale of the years explorers spent looking for the Lost City of the Monkey God in the uninhabited, impenetrable jungle of the La Mosquitia rainforest of Honduras.

It is a true story narrated by Douglas Preston, which is his story. It includes history, archeology, space-age technology (LIDAR), legends of a lost civilization, the jungle, tropical rains, tropical diseases, medical mystery, insects, venomous snakes, jaguars, drug cartels, ancient curses, and suspense. Some say it is the most dangerous place on earth. Most native Hondurans know of the tales of the existence of this ancient Pre-Columbian city, but up until a few years ago, no one knew precisely where it is. The story gives some insight into the indigenous people and government of Honduras.

Doug Preston tells of the background of the many failed searches in the 19th and 20th centuries as explorers, adventurers, looters, prospectors, gold hunters all hoped to find The Lost City of the Monkey God. The site is also called the La Cuidad Blanca (The White City). Many were looking for gold or artifacts that could be sold on the black market. The area was also a haven for drug–smuggling cartels.

The Lost City of the Monkey God is in the La Mosquitia area of Honduras and was mapped in 2012 using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging – a laser imaging technology) and GPR (ground penetrating RADAR). LIDAR with GPR can map the terrain under the densest jungle canopy; it can find the smallest space in the canopy to look through and penetrate the ground and put the information together in a topographic map with subterranean infrastructure.

A joint Honduran and American team made a ground expedition in 2015. The City of the Monkey God ruins were visited and documented by Doug Preston and his team of archeologists, anthropologists, filmmakers, a chronicler, guides, Honduran soldiers for protection, and others. They helicoptered into the site. The city was pristine, with nothing touched or looted. The people seemed to have vanished about 1000 years ago. Nothing was taken but photos and documentation of what is there. They reported that the rain forest site seemed very primeval. The explorers said the animals at the site seemed unafraid of humans and appeared never to have seen humans before. Their on-the-ground visit to the City of The Monkey God was a harrowing one. They had an encounter with the deadly Fer-de-lance snake. Several of the group contracted a mysterious disease that Douglas Preston still has today. These are just a few of the problems they encountered when on the ground. Several more expeditions were made by Doug Preston and his team in 2016 and 2017. The location of the site is not being revealed to protect it from looters.

May book:

Guests of the Sheik

BY ELIZABETH WARNOCK FERNEA

Review by Norma Blazer

The UMASC Thursday book group meets on Zoom at 1 PM the fourth Thursday each month. We still have room for two or three new members. If you think you might be interested in joining our group, please call the UMASC office at (207) 621-3551 and someone will reach out to answer any questions you have.

On May 26 we will be discussing Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea. This book is the author’s account of two years beginning in 1957 when she and her husband lived in a small mud-brick hut in southern Iraq. The couple was newly married, and Robert Fernea was in Iraq to complete graduate studies in anthropology. They both struggled to understand the language, fit in, make friends, and conduct their lives without offending anyone. To make matters worse for Elizabeth, Robert was gone much of the time. Fortunately, the Shiite women took pity on their young guest who had no children, no mother for companionship, and—worst of all—no gold of her own (which they cautioned was a grave mistake). The village women welcomed her into their culture and, over time, shared what they knew about a woman’s role and her responsibilities.

The subtitle of this book is An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village. Ethnography is the study of a culture from the point of view of the subject of the study. Recent reviewers have criticized this book written in 1965 for its lack of relevance 60 years later. However, these Iraqi women are the mothers of our generation and the grandmothers of modern Iraqi women. Haven’t we all seen our mothers in the mirror? Haven’t we each heard our mother’s words in our own voice? I am looking forward to reading what the village women of El Nahra chose to share with the young American in 1957 and wondering, too, who the real student in the experience turned out to be–the doctoral candidate or his young bride.

June book:

Life is So Good

BY GEORGE DAWSON and RICHARD GLAUBMAN

Review by Dennis Kline

“Ever since I turned a hundred, life has been busy.” So said George Dawson, who lived most of his 102 years severely constrained by Jim Crow and denied any formal education. Finally, at age 98, he learned to read. His subsequent memoir covers the entire 20th century from his standpoint as a “colored” man. (Today we might say “American of African descent.”) Throughout his life George held firm to guidance from his Papa and was neither broken nor embittered by what he had to endure.

This book is an opportunity to learn from a “witness to the truth” who was rarely appreciated or understood during his younger years.

Some subjects in which George was knowledgeable include:

• child raising

• baseball

• “misunderstandings” where shots are fired

• how to pick a mule

• finding a wife

• how to react when shown disrespect

• hard work

If you’re not 102, there may still be time. Welcome George Dawson into your mind and heart!

July book:

The Lions of Fifth Avenue

A NOVEL BY FIONA DAVIS

Review by Anne Sullivan

Looking for an enjoyable summer read and perhaps some new friends to discuss it with? Well, look no further! The Thursday book group will chat about The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis on Thursday, July 28.

Laura Lyons seems to lead a charmed life; in 1913, she lives in an apartment in the New York Library with her husband (the library superintendent) and their two children. But soon, she yearns for what she considers a more meaningful life as a journalist. So she enrolls in a graduate program for journalism at Columbia University. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a fatal mistake, and soon, her life begins to unravel. Her husband Jack is suspected of the crime when precious books disappear from the library. In addition, Laura faces discrimination at Columbia, where women are expected to cover only fluff topics. Despite a life full of the tragedy that ensues, Laura will go on to become the voice of the nascent feminist movement.

The book thefts are never solved in Laura’s lifetime, and in alternating chapters, we meet Sadie Donovan, who we later learn is Laura’s granddaughter. It’s 1993, and Sadie works for the New York Library. Unfortunately, she has problems of her own. Sadie has never recovered from a devastating divorce and is fearful of opening her heart again. But she loves her job in the Berg Collection, which houses rare books, pamphlets, and artifacts. Soon valuable books disappear from the collection, and eventually, Sadie herself is suspected of the thefts. To complicate matters, Sadie unwisely hides her relationship with the Lyons family from her superior. Finally, the library hires a private investigator, Nick, and the two become friends. The pair will work together to solve the mystery and uncover a possible connection between the two series of thefts.

If you like libraries, mysteries, and historical fiction, this may be the book for you!