A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

March 9, 2023

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

In 1851 Monterey, California, there is one woman for every ten men. Two young women from the Midwest, Eliza and Jean, find work at the local brothels, serving a varied clientele, some odd, some kind, some female. It's a dangerous business to be in, but then, it's a dangerous business just being a woman. When a prostitute is found murdered, the two girls are astounded that no one is particularly interested in finding the killer. Both Eliza and Jean are fans of Edgar Allan Poe, so when the body of another murdered girl is found, they decide to do some amateur investigating.

I've read most of Jane Smiley's books, and this is a departure from her usual literary fiction. More historical fiction than mystery, there are wonderful historical details about life in what is basically a Wild West town in the mid-19th century, as well as prostitution at that time. For a pair of prostitutes, Eliza and Jean are quite respectable. The mystery is sort of secondary to the history. Disappointing overall.

Monterey, California in the mid-19th century

Doing Time by Jodi Taylor

March 9, 2023

Doing Time by Jodi Taylor

Three misfits find themselves as Time Police trainees, seemingly doomed to failure. They resolve to succeed in spite of the obstacles thrown in their path and the poor assignments they receive. But when another officer is found murdered, one of the team members is accused of being the murderer and the other two trainees resolve to rescue their partner.

A spin-off series from the author's Chronicles of St. Mary's series. Characters from St. Mary's make appearances with the usual resulting mayhem (if the bells are ringing, the dogs are barking, and a mob is chasing a group of people, you know St. Mary's is in town). The first book in a new series. Great fun, as always.

Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary

March 5, 2023

Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary

Juno and Sean (christened Legs by Juno) meet and immediately bond at the local Catholic grade school, where the parish priest abuses both of them. Neither child fits in anywhere, at home, at school, on the playground. Juno is from one of the poorest families in the parish and is distrustful, expecting constantly to be bullied. Even as a child, it's obvious that Legs is different from the other boys, and Father (the parish priest) is determined to beat his homosexuality out of him. The two children are inseparable until Legs commits a terrible act that will tear the children apart, only to find each other again many years later.

OMG, I loved this book!! I read Juno Loves Legs in a single day, it's that good, and I found it impossible to put down. I loved the characters and the story. Juno and Legs are so tender with each other. If I have a complaint, it's that the ending felt a little rushed. Read this book! As soon as it's available!

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Dublin in the 1980s

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling

March 4, 2023

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling

Set in the far north of Canada, in a virtual ghost town called Dominion Lake, three different groups of people are following different agendas: a group of glamorous prostitutes, a female paramilitary unit stationed at an abandoned meteorological post called White Alice, and a warehouse full of men who are doing some kind of manual labor that has to do with mining. Why? That question is barely answered and not in any kind of satisfactory way.

Interesting premise but too many themes: mineral rights, global warming/climate change, ecology, indigenous peoples, patriarchy, privilege, etc. I didn't connect with or care about any of the characters, and the three narrative threads barely came together at the end. It felt like the author was trying to write something like Station Eleven (which I loved) where seemingly separate stories are inextricably linked. Overall disappointing.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The frozen northern regions of Canada

American Prison by Shane Bauer

March 3, 2023

American Prison by Shane Bauer

Investigative journalist Shane Bauer goes undercover for Mother Jones magazine as a corrections officer at a privately run prison in Louisiana to find out about conditions for both prisoners and guards. He details the fear he experienced daily, the brutal and often stupid rules that officers were expected to enforce, the poor living conditions, and how prisoners were routinely humiliated and denied basic needs such as meals and medical care. After four months as a guard, Bauer resigned when his cover was unintentionally blown by a photographer trying to get photos for the article. Although he himself had been a prisoner for almost a year in Iran, Bauer actually excelled as a guard and was singled out for a promotion and advanced training, gaining insight into how guards in concentration camps become detached from their actions and are able to commit increasingly horrific acts, in the name of following orders. He found the whole experience dehumanizing for both guards and prisoners, and details how both groups become institutionalized.

Like many other readers, I had no idea that there were privately run prisons in the U.S. - I thought all prisons were run by government, either federal, state, county or municipal. The privatization of prisons is largely so that they are run for profit, and many of the "skills" that they teach prisoners have no transferable value outside prison (did you know that virtually all Braille books are produced by prisoners? If there is no company outside of prison that makes Braille books, this is a useless skill with no value outside of prison). Bauer also discusses recidivism in the epilogue, following up with some prisoners to see how they are managing after being released from prison, finding that most convicts who had been in prison for lengthy sentences were released back into society with no resources for making the transition, often falling back into criminal activities.

Winn Correctional Center in north central Louisiana

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

February 28, 2023

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

Duke Kincaid has ruled the county for as long as most people can remember. Sallie Kincaid is the Duke's daughter from his second wife Ann, who died after a violent argument with the Duke. At age 17, Sallie begins working for Duke, driving around the county collecting rents and other debts, often accepting homemade whiskey in payment. When the Duke dies suddenly, other family members take over his business interests and begin making and selling illegal liquor, transporting it to urban centers in Virginia, even though it is prohibited by law. As she observes the marriages around her, Sallie vows she will never marry and fights for her rightful place in the Duke's kingdom, while learning about the meaning of family, whether it's the one we're born with or the one we create for ourselves.

I loved Walls' memoir The Glass Castle so I was looking forward to her latest book. This is a historical novel set in rural Virginia about the early days of bootlegging during Prohibition, about tangled family relationships and women who not only survive but triumph. Fun fact: auto racing like NASCAR got its start with illegal rum runners, who would strip down their cars to the bare bones so that they could carry as much liquor as possible, and then they would soup up the engines so that the cars would go as fast as possible.

Even though the novel is set in Virginia, I kept tripping over the Tudors. The Duke's real name is Henry, he was married four times (Belle, Ann, Jane, Katherine); he divorced his first wife, killed his second wife, his third wife died, and his last wife survived him. Duke even had an affair with Ann's sister, just like Henry VIII did with Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister. After he married his third wife, he banished his second daughter to Hatfield (Elizabeth I grew up at Hatfield House); after his son Edward dies, his first daughter Mary takes over his kingdom - Mary is married to a guy named Phillip, just like Mary Tudor was; after Mary died, Sallie takes over. There is also a Seymour and a Cecil, for god's sake.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Storing illegal hooch in the basement, just like Duke and Cecil did

Excuse Me While I Disappear by Laurie Notaro

February 27, 2023

Excuse Me While I Disappear by Laurie Notaro

A collection of articles/essays on the joys of getting older. Laurie Notaro is known for her IdiotGirl series. I am in Notaro's age group so I feel her pain. When a woman turns 50, she gradually becomes invisible to others (this doesn't happen to guys). Especially if you stop coloring your hair like I did about ten years ago - most men don't color their hair, so why should I? Like all collections, so chapters are laugh out loud funny, others fall flat.

This isn't me, but it is my haircut and my hair color