Good spring reads!
Alice Roosevelt Longworth was vaguely familiar to me. She was married to Nicholas Longworth from Cincinnati who was an alcoholic, womanizing politician. I am familiar with their haunts in the Queen City and his sister Maria founded Rookwood Pottery there. A new historical novel about Alice titled “American Princess” by Stephanie Marie Thornton presents Alice with her sharp tongue and sharper intellect. She was a vital part of the D.C. political scene until her death in 1980. It would be challenging to be her friend, but more perilous to be her enemy. This book pairs well with “Mornings on Horseback” by David McCullough, the story of her father, Teddy Roosevelt. The Roosevelt family had many advantages but they were for the most part indefatigable citizens and I am always enthralled by a strong work ethic.
“The Border” by Don Winslow is the final book of his trilogy chronicling the drug cartels in Mexico and the byzantine and the corrupt relationship with the US population, CIA, DEA, US police and Mexican government. All scrupulously researched. Beware, this is very graphic. You do not necessarily need to read the first two as he ties it all together well in this volume.
For a deliciously intriguing story of deception in the 1900’s West, pick up “The Widow Nash” by Jamie Harrison.
Multiple characters from different times including a Noel Coward-like bachelor seeking an advantageous marriage, a young Henry James, a British officer during the Revolution, an orphaned Quaker girl and a burned out current day tennis pro all living in different centuries in Newport Rhode Island populate “The Maze at Windermere” by Gregory Blake Smith. Deemed “staggeringly brilliant” by the Washington Post, this exquisitely crafted novel spans 300 years of desire, perfidy and heartbreak.
Looking for a thriller? Try “The Captives” by Debra Jo Immergut. A prisoner and her penal psychotherapist in a battle of the psyches prompts questions of power, authority and the American system of incarceration.
“The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides - see above, but in the British system.
Mimicking the recent headlines regarding jihadists who now want to return to their homelands, “Home Fire” by Kamil Shamsie is the retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone in contemporary themes of family devotion, jihad and patriotism.
How does a bright young man from a good family go to Iraq and return to become a drug addict and serial bank robber? In “Cherry” by Nico Walker he tells you how it happened to him. It was written while he was serving an 11-year sentence in a Kentucky penitentiary.
And just for crazy fun, Rick Bragg’s “The Best Cook in the World” is a memoir of his hard scrabble kin and the role of food and home cooking in their family. You will surely haul out your iron skillet as you read through his mother’s recollected recipes. Even if his tales are part lore, they are always a hoot.
Becky Bechhold is a Daniel Island resident who describes herself as “a voracious reader.” Prior to moving to the island, she was part of a book club that had met for over 20 years. She has a record of all the books they read!