The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Bostwick

THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick (Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly) is one of my favorite books of the year so far. Bostwick has created another work of historical fiction, focusing on the early 1960s and the suburbs of Washington, DC. Four main characters form a book club and become close friends, calling themselves The Bettys in homage to the first book they read together, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Readers meet Margaret Ryan who aspires to be a writer and helpmate to her accountant husband, Walt. Charlotte Gustafson is wealthy, creative and unhappy, trapped in a loveless marriage to Howard. Viv Buschetti adores supportive husband Tony, but she yearns to put her nursing skills to work as she manages six (make that seven!) children. Bitsy Cobb is younger and less sure of herself (except for her love of horses) and is married to an older man, Kingsley, a veterinarian. Each woman faces questions about her purpose, a possible career, and the state of her marriage and family, especially relative to societal norms. As Bostwick writes, “They had been raised to believe that the road to a happy, successful adulthood was well defined but extremely narrow, and that deviating from the path was not only irresponsible but wrong, a quick route to certain disaster.” Yet, these four quickly grow to support each other and Bostwick delves into personal crises with historical details as background (e.g., remember “the underground currency of American housewives,” S&H Green Stamps? And who knew that a married women could not open a bank account at that time without her husband’s signature?). Facing adversity, these four women learn together to appreciate what Eleanor Roosevelt used to say, “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.” This would be a marvelous book group selection as there is much to consider and discuss here. Katherine Graham and other Washington socialites make cameo appearances. In its starred review of THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN Library Journal says, "Bostwick's latest is ideal for fans of historical fiction and those who enjoyed Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry, Kristin Hannah's The Women, or Kate Quinn's The Briar Club, which explore the historical roles of women and the challenges they faced within a society structured to define and limit their roles in and out of the home." Highly recommended.

Book groups may also enjoy some of the other selections that the Bettys considered: The Group by Mary McCarthy; Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute; short stories by Flannery O’Connor; Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis; Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates; Dearly Beloved or Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Lost in Austin by Alex Hannaford

LOST IN AUSTIN by Alex Hannaford is all about “The Evolution of an American City” which has seen phenomenal growth since Hannaford first arrived around the turn of the century. Hannaford, an award-winning podcaster and journalist, outlines Austin’s distinctive history and shares impressions from longtime residents. Our “Texas My Texas” book group will be discussing this title and one member has already remarked, “I expected this book to be very dry, but instead found many interesting observations.” Hannaford does adopt a somewhat academic tone and includes many negative comments about growth, infrastructure, racism, gentrification, and climate change. However, his comments will prompt much discussion, including questions like:

• Is Austin [still] a frontier town? Was it ever?
• Is Austin still "the live music capital of the world"? Why or why not? 
• The city has seen dramatic growth in population (and property prices, taxes, and rents...); it is number 11 in terms of size of US cities, yet 181 in terms of density How has that contrast impacted its "culture"? 

I am curious as to whether readers feel that his observations about climate change ("we weren't getting a spring or fall any more, just stiflingly hot summers that lasted from April to November") are accurate.  He writes at length about issues of affordability, also addressed in this KVUE report. Hannaford opines “in the decades since the era of LBJ and Governor Ann Richards, Texas had succeeded in creating an ‘anti-California culture,’ which has alienated highly educated people working in innovative technology that Austin had fought so hard to encourage to the city.” It certainly makes one wonder whether "transplants" are welcome in Texas or in Austin currently. Hannaford clearly misses the Austin he once knew, but I do wonder to what extent he is mourning the changes in Austin versus mourning the changes in himself as he ages, or perhaps both. Kirkus summarizes LOST IN AUSTIN by saying, “the ultimate impression is that of a city steadily losing its distinctiveness and livability. A model of first-rate reportage.” For more on Hannaford’s observations, see the reviews in Texas Monthly, local station KXAN, and Los Angeles Review of Books.  Additional perspective on famous Texans and how Texas has changed over time is provided in Lone Stars Rising from Texas Monthly.

Some relevant resources include images of changes to the Austin Skyline and a series of before and after photos, both from The Austin Statesman. The newspaper also published a pictorial review of 38 years of SXSW.

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man)

VERA WONG'S GUIDE TO SNOOPING (ON A DEAD MAN) by Edgar Award winning author Jesse Q. Sutanto is the second in the series about this feisty, take-charge Chinese grandma. As such, it blends appearances by previous characters with a whole new set of people who need Vera’s help. One is Millie, a young girl who is clearly distraught about the disappearance of her friend, Thomas. Turns out he was also known as Xander Lin and appeared online as boyfriend to Aimes, a young internet influencer, trying to find herself. Xander was represented by the same firm, run by TJ (who has a charming teenage daughter, Robin). Readers learn that Xander had asked the people in his life, including his honorary grandfather, Qiang Wen, to help him set the record straight and reveal something big. Afraid of disrupting their own lives, they refused his request and are filled with despair when Xander’s body is found. Vera, generally unafraid of anything, steps in and pushes the group to solve the mystery of Xander’s life and death. I found the mystery to be quite puzzling and I really enjoyed the way a sense of community was developed with each other and with Oliver, Julia, and Sana who appeared in the first Vera Wong book. Although tackling some serious subjects, this is a fun, entertaining read – particularly the dialogue between Vera and her son, Tilly and his girlfriend, a cop named Selena Gray. Looks like there are more Vera Wong stories (including bickering with her neighbor, Winifred) in our future – likely away from her teahouse and its San Francisco setting. I am looking forward to them. VERA WONG'S GUIDE TO SNOOPING (ON A DEAD MAN) is a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for April.

The Last American Road Trip by Sarah Kendzior

As today is a National Day of Hands Off protest, I thought I would post about a new book from a prolific social commentator. She writes, “Lincoln warned in 1838 that if the United States of America died it would be by its own hand. But what we have is more like assisted suicide. It is easy to love your homeland and hate your government. I've done it all my life and consider myself in the company of patriots…. You love it like a child and you love it like a parent, with an irrational depth and the fiercest desire to protect it from harm. You mourn the lost leverage of the ordinary American -- of elections, of courts, of protest, of documentation. You remember when those things seemed to matter or at least when the powerful felt obligated to pretend they did.” THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP by Sarah Kendzior (The View from Flyover Country) is generally VERY well-written, but oh so sad as America experiences such an unnecessary demise.

Just a couple of weeks into the new administration, Publishers Weekly described this text as a “poignant portrait of life in the Trump era.” I read (and listened to) a preview of THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP a few months ago and found then that I had to do so in shorts bursts – partly to reflect on her emotional writing and partly because this book can be upsetting. Given the events of the past two months, Kendzior’s comments seem even more prescient (and distressing) now. Kendzior writes at length and with much affection about Missouri, Mark Twain, and her efforts to expose her own children to the American Heartland between 2016 and now, saying, “A lot has changed since we first hit the road. My daughter went from being a fourth grader to a twelfth grader. My son went from being a kindergartner to an eighth grader. And the United States went from being a flawed democracy to a burgeoning autocracy; we drove past the point of no return and kept on driving.” She writes so expressively; for example, “raising children in the world running out of time means contending with two clocks ticking at once: the moments you spend with them as they grew up and the years left for your country, for the planet, for everyone. The first clock is a marvel of memory. The second a countdown to doom. You cannot live your life by these clocks, only alongside them. You forge ahead regardless of the odds because that is your obligation as a parent.”

I could keep quoting from THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP for quite a while, but end with this reflection: “The people who want to destroy my country are banking on us not missing America. To miss America is to remember America. To remember America is to explore America. To explore America is to see the best and worst in everything -- to reconcile, to repent.” 

Homestand by Will Bardenwerper

HOMESTAND by Will Bardenwerper is all about “Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America.” Bardenwerper, a former soldier turned author and journalist, recounts (and deplores) the impact of the MLB’s decision in 2020 to close 42 minor league teams by focusing on the Batavia Muckdogs team and their fans. The western New York town first hosted a baseball team in 1897 and traditions run deep. In addition to highlighting the financials and greed driving this MLB decision, Bardenwerper profiles many local characters. He will bring smiles to reader faces as they learn about Batavia’s efforts to attract and support a collegiate team. Happily, this text evokes fond memories of small-town baseball and so much more; Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone) describes it as “a well-written paean to a sense of community that is now sadly in danger of being lost in America. Read HOMESTAND, and savor it while you still can.” HOMESTAND received a starred review from Library Journal which called this title a “must-purchase.” Have to add: GO, Cubbies, GO!!