Beastmomma

From goodreads:

James Hirsch recounts one of the great friendships of the twentieth century forged in one of the most horrific settings that century produced--a North Vietnamese POW camp its inmates called the Zoo. One prisoner, Fred Cherry, was a pioneering air force pilot and the first black officer captured by the North Vietnamese. The other, a young navy flier named Porter Halyburton, was a racist southerner who doubted that a black man could even be a pilot. Their captors threw them into the same fetid cell, believing that their antipathy toward each other would break them both. But Cherry and Halyburton overcame their initial suspicions and saved each other's lives. When Halyburton first saw him, Cherry was a wreck. One arm, damaged in his plane crash, hung uselessly at his side. He hadn't bathed in weeks, and he could barely walk. In his own mind, Cherry was steeling himself for death. Halyburton was also weakening, emotionally battered from the interrogations and isolation that his sheltered life had not prepared him for. He had to learn how to endure, or he would become one of the incoherent wraiths who haunted the Zoo. Halyburton and Cherry became legendary among fellow POWs for the singular friendship that enabled them to overcome prodigious suffering and unspeakable torture. Hirsch weaves through this account a surprising, sometimes shocking view of the toll these men's captivity took on their loved ones. While Cherry's family was sundered by his absence, Halyburton's bond with his wife, Marty, endured and deepened. We see her receive the news of her husband's death, and we share her mingled elation and fear when she later learns that he is in fact alive and imprisoned. We also witness her unlikely rise to a leading role in the battle to bring the POWs home. Often inspiring, sometimes heartbreaking, Two Souls Indivisible shows how trust and hope can cheat death, and how good people can achieve greatness in hellish circumstances.

Pages: 288 (hardcover)

Rating: 5 out of 10

Source: I borrowed the book from the library

I read Two Souls Indivisible by James Hirsch for a book club meeting at my local library.  When I was reading the book, I thought the discussion would be interesting since many of the members lived through the Vietnam war.  I thought the book was an interesting story of friendship and connection between two men.  It reminded me that something wonderful can bloom in the worst circumstances.

In anticipation of our discussion, I was curious if comparisons would be made between the Vietnam war and the current wars.  I also wanted to talk about the struggle to integrate the military as compared with the current demographics.  After a few minutes of discussion, I was horrified and frustrated with the ignorant, racist comments people made to the point where I am not sure if I want to return! The meeting was good practice for me to speak up when I find comments objectionable.  I feel thankful that I had the chance to be courageous, but I do not know if I want to get so upset when I go to a book club meeting.

Instead of a vigorous discussion of the book which brings up many interesting points and topics, I listened to a lot of ignorant bullshit.  The quote which has stuck with me and continues to make my blood boil is: "Well not all Muslims are terrorists, but all the terrorist we have found are Muslims."  I was also surprised that there was so much debate about whether or not you could be against the war and still support troops.  My response to that is EMPHATICALLY yes!  While I expect and appreciate that there was going to be a range of viewpoints on the war, I did not expect the classification to be as follows: You are a patriot if you believe in the war and a stupid hippie if you do not. 

It is hard for me to write an objective review of the book because I keep thinking about the meeting and all the strong reactions I have to people's comments.  I did speak up, but I wish that I had said more. I also have unresolved frustration with the meeting.  What do you do if I you have a crappy experience at a book club meeting?

On another note, I am using this book to work towards completing the following challenge:

 Global Reading Challenge: part of the book was set in Vietnam.

I am very slow with completing books as I am consumed with job hunting for a health lawyer position in MA. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

The past week and this morning I devoured more of Cut for Stone by Abraham Verghese. The book continues to engage and amaze me.  I still like the characters and the story is very intricate.  I wrote about this book last week; you can find my post here.

Since my days do not have much structure, I notice that I love escaping into a good story much more.  I find myself thinking a lot about fictional characters and wondering what they would do in my job hunting predicament.  While there is something charming about wanting fictional characters to be part of real life, I also think that I need to get out of the house more!

This week, I finally posted my review of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.  I felt really excited about my review because it means that I am finally caught up; now, I do not have any reviews hanging over my head!

Do you take breaks while reading a book? Or read it straight through? (And, by breaks, I don’t mean sleeping, eating and going to work; I mean putting it aside for a time while you read something else.)

Yes, I do take breaks when reading a book.  Sometimes, it is because the book is going slowly and I need to recharge my batteries in order to enjoy the experience.  These days I put a book aside if I have to finish another book with a hard deadline such as a book club meeting.  Since moving to MA, I have been trying to figure out how to meet people.  One thing I love to do is read, so I joined a FOUR book clubs.  I need to drop out of some, but all of them over something unique.  As a result, I am usually behind on finishing books and things get put aside in order for me to meet discussion deadlines.

From goodreads:

May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)—where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months—they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know.

Pages: 528 (Hardback, large print edition)

Rating:6 out of 10

Source: Borrowed from the public library.

I am not sure why it took me so long to write my review of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.  I finished the book during the first week of March while on vacation in fabulous Puerto Rico, but have been slow to write my review.

I read the book to prepare for a book club meeting.  Right away, I was drawn into the story. I liked reading about the bond between the two sisters, Pearl and May.  I also learned a lot of history about China during the war time.  During the book club discussion, we all agreed that the book was moving, but the ending left something to be desired.  I wanted the ending to stretch out like the rest of the book instead of feeling scrunched together.

Since I am an older sibling, I related more to Pearl's feelings of responsibility and obligation towards her sister May.  I also felt sympathy for her in the interactions between her and her parents. I appreciated that she managed to fall in love with her husband and worked to give the best life to her daughter.  However, I found myself wishing that she had not kept Joy so ignorant of her past.  As a result, I think that Joy's blissful ignorance led her to make some poor and selfish decisions.  One of the universal themes of the book is how our desire to protect our loved ones from a painful past has the unintended consequence of creating a scary future.

The book counts for the following challenges:

Global Reading Challenge: part of the book was set in China.

What's in a Name Three: It fulfills the place category.

Women Unbound: The story centers around two sisters trying to make their way in the world after tragedy strikes.

I am very slow with completing books as I am consumed with job hunting for a health lawyer position in MA. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

Since my last Sunday Salon post, I have actually read quite a bit and have a few bookish adventures.  The past week I have been consumed with Cut for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  The story is incredibly engaging and moving. I think that I cry about every twenty pages and at least that often exclaim, "Wow, this is brilliant."  The insights about medicine, family, and identity have kept me engaged enough to stay with the long book.  It is over 600 pages and I keep gulping down the story as if it is a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream of which I cannot get enough.  At the book club discussion on Thursday night, I got a few spoilers.  Instead of not being motivated to finish, I feel more compelled to keep going because I want to see how everything comes together. 

Over the last week, I attended a new-to-me-book club group.  The people were nice, but I felt a bit out of place because they all knew each other through a mommy and baby group.  At times I felt left out as the conversation centered around babies.   However, they did their best in include me.  We also had a good discussion of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.  I still need to write a formal review of that book, but it was still fun to have a good conversation about the text.

Finally, I wrote my review of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston I do not think that I have ever written a review that was so personal and so positive.  Reading the book made me think about my Partner and all the possibilities that come with falling in love.

Unfortunately, I did not do much job hunting this week.  However, it felt good to be carried off by good stories and look forward to book-ish events.