The Spectacular

 Fiona Davis, one of the authors I pull off the library shelf without even reading the front flap of the book, has written her newest New York historical fiction novel.  The Spectacular is another in a series of compelling novels.

Davis writes about the history of New York and this time she has focused on Radio City Music Hall.  She writes a story of the young women who try out for and become the iconic Rockettes.  So many young dancers grow up watching the Rockettes perform at Radio City dreaming of becoming one of the matching line dancers. 

Back in the 1970s I remember going into The City and watching the chorus line and their beautiful costumes and high synchronized kicks before a movie would play. The history of the Rockettes is amazing and the added to that this book tells the story of the Mad Bomber, who was setting bombs all of New York City and took the police a year to find.  The police for the first time enlisted the help of a criminologist and psychiatrist to give a psychological profile of the criminal. 

Davis brings all these elements into a suspenseful novel about Marion, a young girl from the suburbs destined to marry and have a family, who decides she wants more from life. She audtitions for the Rockettes and is surprised to be selected.  She lives in New York with other dancers and gets involved in solving the case of the "Big Apple Bomber".  

Read a entertaining novel and learn some New York City history with the Fiona Davis novel, The Spectacular

The Only Daughter

 The Only Daughter written by A.B. Yehoshua is the story of a young girl living with her parents and grandparents in Italy.  Rachele Luzzato is preparing for her upcoming Bat Mitzvah with an Israeli Rabbi who has come to Italy to teach.  She is also being asked to play the part of the “Mother of GD”  in the school’s Christmas play.  The teacher says Rachele would be perfect for the part because of her skin tone and curly hair.  Her father refuses to let her participate in the play.  

Her maternal grandparents are Catholic, though her grandmother describes herself as “a devout atheist who is nonetheless careful not to sabotage the Jewish faith of her only granddaughter.”  Her paternal grandfather survived the Holocaust masquerading as a priest.  Her father was born as the war is ending in a small Italian village, brought into the world by a Nazi sympathizing doctor, who saved the mother and baby’s lives.

Though out the novel runs a thread about the 19th-century Italian novel “Cuore” (“Heart”), by Edmondo De Amicis.  This book had special significance in Yehoshua’s life and he interweaves the stories in this book to emphasize the points he is trying to impress upon the reader.  There are so many topics in this novel to analyze and ponder.

The Prisoner and the Writer

 The Prisoner and the Writer is a slim novella that tells the story of Alfred Dreyfus and the author Emile Zola.  In simple language, author Heather Camlot, clearly explains the trial of accused Jewish French army captain Alfred Dreyfus, who was wrongly accused of spying. 

Author Emile Zola reads the newspaper and feels the conviction was unfair.  He has to make a decision that Alfred is innocent but it will be dangerous for his reputation and his career to take Dreyfus’ side.Beautifully illustrated by Sophie Casson this book tells about the two men and how their worlds intersect.

Tree. Table. Book

 Lois Lowry, the author of many books including The Giver and Number the Stars has a new book coming out for preteens.  Tree. Table. Book. is a book about friendship, trust and sharing.  A cleverly written plot brings together a young girl Sophie and her elderly neighbor, Sophie. 

They build a friendship on sharing tea and stories.  Young Sophie is very scientifically minded and does not have many friends and her neighbor Sophie is living alone, aging and showing signs of dementia.  Sophia’s son is planning to move her away to assisted living. Young Sophie wants to test Sophie’s cognitive abilities with the Merck Manual. 

Giving Sophie three words to remember and repeat back, sets Sophie off on memories from her childhood growing up in Europe at the outbreak of World War II.  This is a wonderful story written very realistically with a young narrator’s voice.  The Holocaust is written about in an understated way that is easy to read. It is a small part of the story.  The main thrust of the plot is how to treat friends with caring and acceptance. 

The Paris Novel

The Paris Novel written by Ruth Reichl is a little different many of her other publications.  The other books I have read by Reichl have been memoirs about her life, her career and her love of food. Check out the list at the bottom of this review to see all the amazing things Reichl has accomplished leading up to this novel.

In this novel we meet Stella who from childhood has always had a difficult relationship with her mother.  Now she has moved on, living in a small New York City apartment, working as an editor for a small publishing company.  When her mother dies, Stella is surprised by how upset she is.  Then she is given her only inheritance, a one way plane ticket to Paris.  This gift will take her completely out of the comfort zone she has built for herself.  But encouraged by her boss she leaves for Paris.  At the beginning she keeps a very low profile, eating in small unknown restaurants and visiting museums.  Then one day she sees a dress int he window of a second hand shop.  The owner convinces her to try it on and then follow a series of activities wearing the dress. The shopkeeper tells her something fabulous will happen while she is wearing the vintage Dior couture dress.  

That is when the real story begins, Stella meets a handsome elderly gentleman, Jules,  who opens Paris up for her.  She begins to enjoy herself and also to try and discover why her mother wanted her to travel to Paris.

As she eats in the Paris restaurants that Jules introduces her to, she realizes how much she really enjoys eating.  She finds that she can distinguish all the ingredients in a dish, she can imagine them in colors in her mind.  This is where Reichl brings in her expertise with recipes, foods and menus.  You can see that this Reichl's strongest writing skill, she brings the foods to life and you can almost taste and smell what Stella is eating in each of the restaurants.  The recipes hinted at.  

To add just a little more to make this such an entertaining novel Reichl adds some historical significance about the Dior dress, also a story about famed bookstore Shakespeare & Company, and the plot twist where Stella uncovers a hundred-year-old mystery in a Manet painting.

Such a fun entertaining novel.  Enjoy the read.

Ruth Reichl, is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and been co-producer of PBS's Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS's Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth, and editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine

Artiface

Artiface by Sharon Cameron

Artiface is a thrilling novel that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with their heart in their throat until the last page of the book.  From the first page until the last we are concerned about Isa de Smit’s welfare.  Isa is a young woman in Amsterdam, who before the Nazis invaded, lived a colorful,exciting life with her parents above their small art gallery. Now, her mother has died, her father seems depressed and uncommunicative and her best friend Truus has joined the secretive resistance.  The Nazis have started buying and confiscating all the artwork of the Dutch painters.  To get money for herself and her father to stay in their gallery, Isa takes a huge risk, bringing a forged copy of a Rembrandt painting her talented father has painted and selling it to the Nazis. 

Isa finds out that Truus is working to smuggle Jewish children out of Amsterdam and needs more money to save the children from the Nazi killers.  Isa runs into a young man from their childhood, when he would visit the gallery, who now wears a Nazi uniform.  He asks her for help to desert the army.  Isa decides to trust him and use him to help her negotiate one more art sale to Hitler himself.  Sometimes in both artwork and people it is not so easy to spot a fake.

Bringing into the novel real historical characters, Cameron builds the artiface, a subtle or crafty trick.   With twists and turns the reader is unsure what is real or who to trust and who is untrustworthy until the very end.  Based on the true stories of Han Van Meegeren, a master art forger who sold fakes to Hermann Goering, and Johann van Hulst who is credited with saving 600 Jewish children from death in Amsterdam. Cameron creates a realistic plot that shows how the citizens of Amsterdam helped the Jewish citizens and tried to fight against the Nazis invading their country. 

This novel is told from the point of view of the non Jewish citizens of Amsterdam.  There are clear references to the atrocities that were happening to the Jews and what could happen to those who tried to help the Jewish people, the righteous Gentiles.  This is a story of love, strength and the ability to look for the good in people under adverse circumstances.  There is no religious content in this novel.  The Jewish content is integral to the story line and makes it clear to all readers how dangerous living conditions were at that time.

Yosef Mendelevich. Leader of Soviet Jewry

 Yosef Mendelevich Leader of Soviet Jewry. a book for middle school readers by author Leah Sokol.

But this book turns out to be so much more.  I read this book to review for the Sydney Taylor book awards for young readers.  I found out there is always something new to learn even as a senior citizen reader.

I remember in the 1970 and early '80s that Soviet Jewry was all over the news. I remember wearing little metal bracelets with the names of Soviet Jews who had not been able to escape the Soviet Union for the freedom to practice Judaism in a land of their choosing.  There were Jews who had died trying to travel to Israel or the US.  There were Jewish children who could not have a B'nai Mitzvah and children here in the US would twin with them for their special day, mentioning their name during their religious service.

I remember Natan Sharansky, a name that always seemed to be in the news and was connected to Soviet Jewry, but in this book we learn about someone even more major to the world knowledge of Soviet Jewry. Yosef Mendelevich, was the part of an amazing plot to escape Russia.  He and others would commander a small plane and fly it themselves to Israel.. They bought all the seats on the plane, they hijacked the plane letting the pilots off, and they planned to fly the plane themselves.  They were caught and jailed.

Mendelevich was in various prisons for 17 years, but through the efforts of many who were publicizing the plight of Russia's treatment of Mendelevich and other the Jewish people and the protests that were happening around the world, at the end of his sentence he was released and sent to Israel. 

This book lays out the story of Yosef and his life story, but it also clearly tells the story of suppression of Judaism and freedom in the USSR. It is told in simple text that is precise, easy to understand and will keep the young reader's attention and interest until the end.  It is also a very interesting explanation of the life of Mendelevich for the adult reader.  There is a glossary at the end of any words young readers or non Jewish readers may need to help explain elements of the story.

As we live through the situation in the world today, there is so much of history that seems similar to our experience now.  Learning about for the first time or remembering the stories of the Russian Refuseniks is a reminder of  how far we have come to giving people religious freedom and how much further we still need to go.