The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography
Sidney Poitier

The Beagle Women’s book group opted to read Sidney Poitier’s memoir for our December book group. It turned out to be a terrific choice! Most of us knew of Poitier, but not of his upbringing (Bahamas, no electricity, no running water) and subsequent success as an actor. While not perfect, there was (he passed away in January of 2022) a lot to admire about Poitier. Many of us couldn’t resist watching one of his movies. That included me—Tom and I watched Lilies of the Field and greatly enjoyed it, although we’re not sure we’ll ever get the “Amen” song out of our heads!

Check out this short clip (about 4 minutes) of an interview with Sidney Poitier and Oprah.

Bewilderment
Richard Powers

As a way to avoid medicating Robin, Theo consents to his son taking part in an experiment in decoded neurofeedback. Earlier, Theo and his late wife had participated in the same experiment, and Robin connects with the neural imprints of his mother.

The science in the book is way beyond my understanding, and I just accepted it and kept reading. The book also made a number of references to the book Flowers for Algernon, which I am familiar with, and which caused me to hold my breath.

The book is much shorter than Powers’ previous book, The Overstory, but presents a compelling story as well as exploring important social issues.

I listened to the book on Libro.fm, and the reader was perfect.

We at the store have grieved the recent death of David Rhodes. As a tribute, we’re reprinting our review of his last book.

Painting Beyond Walls
David Rhodes
 
A new novel by David Rhodes is a cause for celebration! After publishing three novels in the early 70’s, a motorcycle accident in 1976 left him as a paraplegic. His next two novels, Driftless and Jewelweed, were published in 2008 and 2013, respectively, so it’s been a long wait for his newest book, Painting Beyond Walls.

The book is set in the near future. August Helm, a native of Word, Wisconsin has made a life for himself in Chicago. A biochemist, he has a girlfriend he’s crazy about, and an interesting job in a lab. Suddenly, everything falls apart. He and his girlfriend break up and, after discovering the director of the lab in a compromising position, he loses his job. Feeling out of options, August packs up his belongings and heads back to his parents’ home in Word.

He reconnects with family and friends (and readers of Driftless and Jewelweed do as well.)

Soon, he has a job as a live-in caretaker in the home of Tom and April Lux. This house is in Forest Gate, a new gated community outside Word. August is drawn back into the lives of people he once knew in Word, and those he meets in Forest Gate.

Rhodes deftly explores the importance of community and connectedness; the human condition, particularly the presence of evil in the world; and how wealth can be used to better the world. And, interestingly in this time when many deny the validity and importance of science in human life, he tackles that issue head on. It’s not too much of a spoiler to say that the problems our world currently faces, such as climate change and overpopulation, find remedy in the world of the book through science. And amazingly, all the elements of the story are connected by the end of the book.

The dialogue can be ponderous, but stick with the book for the complex characters, beautiful descriptions and a view of the future which will challenge your understanding of science and where we are headed as a species. And then, like me, you may want to reread Driftless and Jewelweed to be reminded of the backstory of Painting Beyond Wall.

Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe

I don’t think there is a single person in the US that isn’t affected by the Opioid Crisis. This book explains why that is.

The first half gives us a full picture of the Sackler family, for multiple generations. What drives them, how they started and where they ended up. 

The second half of the book delves into the actual opioid crisis. How Purdue Pharma, a relatively small fry, was able to dominate the market for decades. And its subsequent demise.

For a 535-page nonfiction, this is a page turner! At each turn you are left dumbfounded.

If you do read this, I also recommend watching the show “Dopesick”. The two complement each other. 

This was in my top five books for 2022.

A World of Curiosities
Louise Penny

If you are already deep into the Inspector Armand Gamache series, you will love this one. It’s mostly centered in Three Pines, with some time spent in the days when Gamache became Jean-Guy Beauvoir’s mentor. I know that’s enough said.

If you haven’t started the series yet, if you like murder mysteries run, don’t walk, to Beagle and Wolf to pick up the first one, Still Life. It’s definitely best to read the books in order.

There’s now a TV series called Three Pines. I’m quite hesitant to watch it, but I took a quick look at a review: the series deals with the disappearance of a First Nation young lady which is a compelling topic. And the reviewer said fans of the books will love it. But the actor doesn’t look anything like Gamache to me. At any rate, I recommend that you read at least some of the books before watching it, so you can form your own images of the characters and setting.

Lightning Strike
William Kent Krueger

This is a prequel to the popular Cork O’Connor series. Cork is almost 13: his father Liam is the town sheriff. Liam was the last of a long line of Chicago cops. He married a half Ojibwe woman, so Cork straddles two worlds. He and his friends get embroiled in an investigation that threatens to pit both the Ojibwe on the rez and some of the whites in the town against Liam. Cork will never be the same boy after this tragic summer: its events will help form him into the man he will be in the rest of the series. As with all of Krueger’s novels,it’s a fine book both as an enjoyable reading experience and for the insights into the challenging lives its characters endure.

I’m new to the series: I followed this up with the first Cork O’Connor novel Iron Lake, now in a 20th Anniversary Edition. What a satisfying back-to-back read! (Louise Penny is an enthusiastic endorser of Iron Lake.)

A Safe Place for Dying
Jack Fredrickson

It’s always a lift, finding a new series of detective novels with a “gum shoe” you enjoy. Vlodek Elstrom, aka Dek, is such a character. He’s living in a limestone turret his grandfather made years ago, trying to restore it enough to make it marketable. He had been a fairly successful PI, the sort who verifies records and does other simple, not dangerous, work. His life fell apart last year, from his business being destroyed by a false accusation to his wife throwing him out of her ultra-secure, almost empty McMansion. He is totally unprepared to be leading the investigation into a bombing in her gated community. And yet here he is. 

I was hooked from the time he made warrior eyes at the hot dog vender who uses flimsy trays to encourage customers to drop items and purchase their replacements. I shall be seeking out more Dek
novels.

Note: this book is out of print, but we’re able to track it down on the used market. It’s what we do!

Pandora
Susan Stokes-Chapman

I enjoy reading history. Nothing against fiction, but even there, I lean heavily towards historical fiction. Combine those two genres with classics and no joke, I get shivers. Pandora, by Susan Stokes-Chapman, is such a book, with the added fillip of being set in London in 1799. Given all I've just said about my preferences, this book seemed nearly too good to be true. Imagine my pleasure when the story proved to be interesting, well-crafted, and plausible. Pandora Blake is the daughter of two antiquarians who were killed in an accident at a dig in Southern Greece. A pithos (a large Greek terracotta urn) was discovered at that dig, and during the following twelve years, the secret of this discovery, and it's meaning, was kept from the young woman. "There is a fine line between coincidence and fate"....and it's not what you (the reader) think.

Note: this book will be released in paperback on January 23

The Sentence
Louise Erdrich

The main character in this book is Tookie, a Native American woman with a troubled past. She works in a bookstore in Minneapolis, and her least favorite customer has recently died. Died but not gone to her 'great reward,’ well, not yet. She's been haunting the bookstore and seems to have unfinished business with Tookie. Tookie's husband is a Native American shaman (though I hesitate to use that term) let’s just say, a very wise man, very plugged into the long history and rich depths of First Nation Spiritualism. They live in Minneapolis, and the story takes place during the 2019-2020 pandemic and George Floyd, upheavals. I have to tell you that there's a richness of spiritual depth working in amazing ways on all levels of this story. Personal history of trauma, shattering family relationships, and, most surprisingly, a haunting. This book steps to the side of the conventional narrative, and by doing so, grants an objective view of events, relationships, and spiritualism, rarely given a reader.