'The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary' by Andrew Westoll

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, Andrew Westoll (4.0)

I am glad to have read this book and recommend it, albeit with a warning: animal lovers will likely find themselves troubled by the shocking cruelty administered in the name of research.  Fauna Sanctuary is a non-profit sanctuary in Canada for chimps that have been used as research subjects, mainly in pharmaceutical and medical research.  Mr. Westoll spent a few months volunteering at the facility to better understand how the people there attempt to give these animals a peaceful retirement. Given the physical and psychological trauma the chimps have endured, it will be challenging for them to find peace.  When he wrote this book (2011), the GAPA (Great Ape Protection Act) was in front of a senate committee. It has since passed the committee and now needs to get in front of the rest of congress.  This act would phase out all research using chimpanzees in 3 years. I was surprised to read that the US is the only country that still does this research, even though a lot of scientists are saying it is unnecessary and too expensive. If you can get through the painful descriptions of their past, the stories of each of the chimps in retirement are very heartwarming and worthwhile.

'By Blood' by Ellen Ullman

By Blood, Ellen Ullman (3.0)

The structure of this book intrigued me – it is basically a story within a story.  The narrator is a nervous mouse of a man with a sketchy past as a college professor who is on leave from his post, apparently due to some type of misconduct.  He rents an office in San Francisco in the 1970’s and quickly realizes that he can hear the psychiatrist next door with her patients. He becomes obsessed with one patient and the majority of the book is about her life and issues as told to the psychiatrist in these sessions.  Her story is interesting enough to keep you reading despite the very creepy nature of the eavesdropping and the relatively unlikable characters all around.  The book is well written and has an interesting premise.  I can’t quite articulate why I did not rate it higher, maybe the creepiness was just too off-putting?

'The Company' by Robert Littel

The Company, Robert Littel (3.0)

This book, as indicated by the title, is about the CIA.  The timeframe it covers is from post WWII through the 1990’s, including most of the major conflicts between the US and the USSR.  This very long novel (~900 pages) was interesting to read but turned out to exemplify my pet peeve with historical fiction: the blend of fact and fiction.  Mr. Little has many times at critical plot points included famous people from history alongside his fictional characters.  More troubling is that the real people (JFK, Reagan, Gorbachev, Kim Philby, etc.) act or speak in ways he could not possibly know.  In some cases, his assumptions (i.e. JFK was working with the mafia while president; Reagan’s lack of cognition during his daily work) are controversial.  Throughout the reading I struggled with differentiating what I knew, what may have come out lately with released documents or tapes, and what was likely the author’s take on the matter.  The book moved quickly and, through it’s fictional characters gave a very interesting account of what issues the CIA operatives had during some of our most interesting spy entanglements.  I think it could have been done without creating words and intentions for the real leaders of the time. I know I would have enjoyed it more. 

'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie' by Alan Bradley

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley (3.5)

I don’t remember how I found this little gem, but I am now officially hooked on Flavia de Luce, the main character of Alan Bradley’s award-winning mystery series. In this first book we are introduced to Flavia, an 11 year-old British girl in the early 1950’s with an inquisitive nature and a precocious personality. She is a mix between Nancy Drew and Temperance Brennan (from Kathy Reich’s novels).  Unlike the Nancy Drew books, this is written for adults, though it is not too gruesome for young adults. Flavia lives with her father and two older sisters in a rambling old house in the English countryside. Her adventurous mother died mysteriously when Flavia was very young and her retired military father seems lost in more ways than one without her. In this story Flavia stumbles upon a dead man in their garden, who just happens to have visited her father earlier in the day. Worried that her father will be implicated, Flavia embarks on her own investigation. In addition to being quite funny, Flavia is also a skilled chemist and makes more progress than the local police. I found this to be a good mystery with a likable, smart and funny main character. I have already gotten the second Flavia book from the library.

'The Stockholm Octavo' by Karen Engelmann

The Stockholm Octavo, Karen Engelmann (3.5)

This book is an interesting historical fiction about a people and time of which I was not familiar:  the Swedish monarchy and political environment of the late 1700’s, during the French revolution.  Sweden’s king was more aligned to France’s King, as were many of the Royalists of Sweden (some were Paris transplants).  The story is cleverly told as a young man in Stockholm beginning his career must find a wife to keep his job. He plays cards for leisure and ends up delving into the Tarot card-like reading called ‘Octavo’.  He must find the 8 players in his game (the Prisoner, the Prize, the Trickster, etc.) in order to fulfill his destiny – which he believes is to find a wife. As this happens, he becomes embroiled in the politics of the Patriots vs. Royalists. Intertwined in this story is another interesting cultural phenomenon of the times: the making and use of the decorative fan. Engelmann has described a high-society woman’s fan as a combination of the ultimate seduction tool, an extremely valuable work of art and possibly a weapon! Overall I found this a fun and interesting read.