'The Seventh Cross' by Anna Seghers

The Seventh Cross, Anna Seghers (4)

I started this book a few years ago and had a hard time getting into it. I’m glad I picked it up again. While it was a little hard to get into the rhythm, once I did, it was worth the effort. It was written in 1942 by a German Jewish woman – which all seems pretty incredible. The tale is of seven political prisoners who escape from a prison in Germany in 1938. Besides being a compelling thriller of seven escapees from a German concentration camp, what makes it unique is that it is set before the Jews were in the camps – when Hitler and the Gestapo were first becoming powerful and interning political prisoners. It really reflects the emotions of the German people, those who supported the new government, those who didn’t and those who were afraid to do anything. Not only is the reader unaware of the outcome of the escapees, particularly the one the story follows closely, but also you don’t know who wants to or is strong enough to help. Ms. Seghers brilliantly portrays each citizen in the story as very realistic. Given the political prisoners are not necessarily good people (do we trust the State? Do we really know what to think?) would you be strong enough to help and stand up to the new regime that seems a bit overzealous? Would you put your family in danger?

'The Bridge' by Doug Marlette

The Bridge, Doug Marlette (3.5)

They often say ‘write what you know’. Doug Marlette certainly did that. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist who found out his family was deeply involved in the volatile textile union disputes of the 1930’s - who writes about a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist who found out his family was deeply involved in the volatile textile union disputes of the 1930’s.  That being said, this book is a moving story about family disputes and misunderstandings set amidst an interesting part of US history. It was worthwhile to watch Pick, the protagonist, unravel the complicated history of his previously seen one-dimensional grandmother. He also does service to the various types of people of North Carolina, now and in the past - from all walks of life.

'Theft of Swords' by Michael Sullivan

Theft of Swords, Michael Sullivan (3)

Some think the man/elf/dwarf fantasy world has been overdone. Why try to emulate or top LOTR? That is usually my feeling, but I’ll admit I’m willing to put it aside for Mr. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations series, of which this is the first. This is not fiction that will rival the classics, but it was a lot of fun to read. The main characters, the Riyria duo of Hadrian and Royce are clever, talented and very funny. They are high-end thieves who know their place in the dark alleys but manage to be unbowed by the highest noblemen. While trying to mind their own business (of thieving), they continue to get drawn into the politics of the time and eventually find themselves caught up in a scheme to topple the King and his heirs from power. The story is not completely unique, but there are enough new bits and pieces to keep it interesting. Most of all the characters are fun and mostly likable. Not a serious read, but an enjoyable one.

'The Light Between Oceans' by M.L. Stedman

The Light Between Oceans, M.L. Stedman (3.5)

Everyone in book club seemed to agree that one of the best characters in this book was the lighthouse on Janus Rock: isolated, lonely, but stalwart – an inanimate mirror for the protagonist, Tom Sherbourne. Tom returns to Australia, a survivor from WWI who wants to quietly live out the life he feels guilty of living, having seen too many compatriots die arbitrarily during his days of war. He takes on the job of lighthouse keeper at one of the more remote sites on the western side of Australia, with supply boats stopping by only bi-monthly. He meets a precocious young lady on one of his infrequent visits to the closest town on the mainland. The story is of his quest to build this life with her and the aftermath of one very bad decision on both their parts. The first half to two-thirds of this book are moody, interesting and compelling – you watch Tom’s battle between the love for family and his strong moral compass with fascination. Unfortunately most of us agreed that the last third was disappointing and painful to read. While decisions and actions may have been typical of the times (early 20’s) and location (very remote Australia), few of us appreciated or understood them. Overall it made for an interesting discussion – particularly in what we would do differently.

'Jesus Land' by Julia Scheeres

Jesus Land, Julia Scheeres (3.5)

This is the memoir of a girl growing up in rural Indiana. She has religious parents who have 6 children, two of which are adopted African American boys. The book is really a story of the love she has for her brother, David, and the obstacles they faced as a biracial family in an intolerant area of the country. Unfortunately the obstacles start with her hypocritical parents, who punished the boys more severally (i.e whippings and bone breakings) than their white children. This book really breaks your heart. It’s a little heavy handed with how awful the religious people in the book behave, but she points out in questions at the end that her two older sisters are very good examples of deeply religious people who follow the ‘gentle-Jesus love-one another philosophy and don’t ram their beliefs down people’s throats.’ Ms. Scheeres did a very good job illustrating her unique relationship with David and why she considers him such a special person. Given it’s a memoir, we have only her point of view, but I found myself wondering how her parents could be so obviously unfeeling and horrible.

'Helix' by Eric Brown

Helix, Eric Brown (2.5)

At first I thought this book was pretty good – given I found it in the free book section of a cruise ship’s library – and wondered why I had not heard of it before. By the time I completed it, I realized why some Science Fiction is not well known. While the premise was interesting – humans in the future had trashed earth to the point that they were sending a large contingent into deep space to colonize a habitable planet to save the human race and find a very unique structure of planets (oddly all habitable in one form or another) – the implementation was quite faulty. A few of the obvious issues peeled a warning bell loud enough to interrupt the interesting bits. The best part was the parallel story of another species already on the helix and the confluence of them with the humans was interesting. The techniques Mr. Brown used to overcome big issues (communication between aliens and breathability of atmosphere to name two) stretched believability, in my opinion. He also added a couple of story lines that clattered distractingly against the main theme. Why would two main characters, during a very stressful trip outside their ship to a new part of the helix decide it was a good time to have sex? I got the feeling someone told him to spice up the story and this got added. There was also a back-story to one character that was completely out of character and unbelievable. I always like new ideas in Sci-Fi, but the distractions of this book make it hard to recommend.