The Conjure Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher

My book group read this recently republished crime novel from 1932, written by a Harlem physician who died at a young age and never got a real crack at making a name for himself. It is written with a black dialect, and is surprisingly not dated, with the exception of some Bubber Brown and his friend Jinx Jenkins have come to consult N’Gana Frimbo, a Harvard-educated psychic who’s known throughout Harlem. In the middle of their session, Frimbo cries out, “Why do you not see?” and collapses, to be pronounced dead soon after by neighboring physician John Archer. Frimbo, whose friends and clients ranged from his landlord, undertaker Samuel Crouch, to drug addict Doty Hicks and Spider Webb, a numbers runner who works for Crouch’s friend Si Brandon, the king of Harlem crime, was privy to many secrets, and any number of people might have wanted him dead. But how could anyone have beaten him unconscious and suffocated him by forcing the handkerchief Archer discovers down his throat when he died in the middle of a session with Brown and Jenkins? The novel meanders between lots of options, with the black detective Dart and Dr. Archer playing ideas off each other. The medical facts that are presented are on point and unannoying, all still ringing true today. If you are a fan of either Harlem history or crime fiction, I would recommend this.

Samaritan (2022)

If you want the short version, I really did not like this movie. It is violent, dark, and yet despite all this, there is not much of a take home message, or something to think about, or even action based entertainment. The later is what saves the Marvel Universe for me, but this has none of that. It is a dystopian futuristic setting called Granite City, which has all the noir, graffiti and grit of a Bladerunner set. In it we focus on Sam, a 13 year old tween who is obsessed with the superhero Samaritan and his anti-hero twin brother Nemesis. He draws notebooks full of Samaritan’s exploits and spray paints his logo on dumpsters. He even has one of those walls you see in conspiracy movies, except his is on his closet door. In Sam's search for a hero, he becomes focused on his next door neighbor, a garbage man named Joe, might be the real deal. He’s played by a gray-bearded Sylvester Stallone, which is a reveal, of course. Joe arouses suspicion when he beats up the aforementioned teenagers after they turn against Sam. Even further arousals of suspicion occur when Sam breaks into Joe’s house and finds a scrapbook filled with newspaper clips about Samaritan. The movie then meanders through violent interactions to an unsatisfying end.

Shy by Mary Rogers

This is a good read as memoirs go and I might have enjoyed it even more if I was a bigger fan of musical theater. The author had a modestly successful career in musical theater and became a best-selling author in 1972 with “Freaky Friday,” a young adult novel about a mother and daughter magically swapping bodies that spawned two movie adaptations and two sequels. By virtue of being Richard Rodgers’s daughter (of Rogers and Hammerstein fame) and Stephen Sondheim’s close friend, she was a privileged, as well as astute, observer of pivotal moments in the American musical theater. Blunt candor, with a side of sardonic insight, is the book’s operating principle, beginning with what she has to say about her parents, but including what she writes about herself, her siblings, her relationships, and her spouses. She is more generous with her offspring, who were the only ones still alive when this is published almost a decade after her death. She felt unloved by her mother, who saw her as competition, and felt her father was hypercritical disliked her broad smile, winced at her loud laugh, and frequently told her she was fat. He was chronically unfaithful, a closet alcoholic and her mother was desperate to stay married to him, so a less than ideal home life. She married young to a closeted gay man who beat her, so not a safe landing pad, but she did find long lasting love, which survived some things that often break up marriages, and there are a lot of insights about how to survive such things that are generously bestowed on the the reader.

Roman Sculpture, Museo Correr, Venice

The Correr museum houses a collection of Canova sculptures. This style of sculpture is something that I never seem to tire of seeing. Antonio Canova was born in Possagno in 1757, at the foot of the Treviso Prealps to a family of experienced stonecutters. He received his technical training from his grandfather and the workshops of skilled late Baroque sculptors between Asolo and Venice; it was not long before he met members of the more modern and influential circles of Venice and it was there that he began to develop his fundamental classicist direction and received his first commissions.

With Orpheus and Eurydice (1775-76) – statues in soft stone that were originally on the pillars of the villa gate belonging to Senator Giovanni Falier in Asolo – the sculptor barely eighteen years old, completed his first evocative large-dimensioned sculpture, revealing he was still under considerable influence from the painting style of the Eighteenth century. This changed immediately with his first sensational masterpiece Daedalus and Icarus (1777-79) [in the next room 6/3], which enabled him to go to Rome and finish his training. He made his name once and for all as the most advanced and skilled sculptor in Rome with the creation of the Funerary Monuments to Popes Clement XIV (Basilica dei SS. Apostoli, 1783-87) and Clement XIII (the Venetian Carlo Rezzonico in Saint Peter’s, 1783-92).

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

This is absolutely not a charming reflection on the Middle Ages. Think Game of Thrones, not Camelot. It starts off as a grim fairy tale and while it doesn't seem possible at the outset, it goes downhill from there. If a downbeat novel is not your thing, you should steer clear of this. The plot follows the life of a 13-year-old boy named Marek who lives with his cruel shepherd father, Jude, in the feudal village of Lapvona. Since his mother vanished shortly after his birth, unloved Marek was nursed by the blind village witch, whose ancient breasts have miraculously — and graphically — nursed almost all the villagers. He starts off as the classic innocent, but even he is drawn down by the weight of the eat or be eaten time he lives in. There is magic, cruelty, cannabalism, and more to be had within these pages.

Museo Correr, Venice

This is quite the place. It is situated in the ex-Royal Palace in Piazza San Marco, across from the San Marco Cathedral, so part of a full day in this neighborhood. The design and initial building date from the years when Venice was part of the Kingdom of Italy (1806-1814) of which Napoleon was sovereign and his stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, was Viceroy. The site had previously been occupied by the San Geminiano Church – an ancient foundation that had been rebuilt in the mid-16th century by Jacopo Sansovino – and ran between the Procuratie Vecchie and Nuove, the two long arcades of buildings which extend the length of St. Mark’s Square and had housed the offices and residences of some of the most important political authorities of the Venetian Republic.

The Venetian painter Giuseppe Borsato worked on the interiors decoration, producing a personal and very careful interpretation of the Empire style, clearly influenced by the French architects Percier and Fontaine and the Biedermeier style that then prevailed in most of the major royal courts of Europe. The frescoed ceiling of the Main Staircase – showing The Glory of Neptune – was painted by Sebastiano Santi in 1837-38. The building has maintained many of the distinctive features of the Napoleonic and Hapsburg periods; neo-classical influence in architecture, decor, frescoes and furnishings make it an important record of the culture and style of a period. Here, the refinements of French taste go together with an interest in the traditions of Italian Art.

An Immense World by Ed Yong

This is a flat out amazing book that thinks creatively and deeply about how the non-human creatures all around us experience the world. The author is a British science writer based in the US, and he is clearly drawn to material that pushes our understanding to the limits. In this book he dives headlong into the world of the animal kingdom and has made often punishingly complex subjects digestible to lay readers without oversimplification. He goes through the way we perceive the world with our five senses, and then relates that to how other living things perceive those same things and why. To name a few things that he explores in depth with both wonder and candor are things that many people know something about, such as the sonar location used by bats and whales, that birds songs are far more complex than we have the ability to hear and perceive, and the fact that octopus have a separate neurological system, but brings new thoughts and insights to these. He then goes deeper into things that are less known, like why do scallops have such keen eyes if their brains can’t process the visual data? He doesn’t give us a conclusive answer, but the example raises a deeper point that lies at the heart of his book. We humans are so deeply embedded in our own particular way of seeing the world that we find it hard not to impose our perspective on other creatures – if indeed we bother thinking about them at all. This made me think about the world around me in an entirely different way that is exciting and invigorating.

Gondoliers and Canals, Venice

The buildings that make Venice famous are on par with, but do not necessarily exceed other historical buildings and places that I have been in Italy, but the canals and the gondoliers that populate them are definitely something wonderful to behold. There are under 300 working gondolas with less than 500 gondoliers today, and I never tired of watching them, even chancing a ticker by sitting on a bridge in the sun to watch them ply their craft.

Here's what we know: The word “gondola” was first used by the Doge Vitale Falier back in 1093 C.E., but it’s origin stem from a boat, “scaula,” in use since early 900. Compared to today’s gondola, the original version was much broader, much shorter, and symmetrical. Bow and stern laid flatter than those of today, and the front and rear ornaments of the ancient gondola were but simple metal blades. In late 15-hundred, gondola makers started changing the shape of the gondola. They made longer and thinner hull, whose extremities came out of the water. These changes were necessary due to the growth of the city and the need to navigate through a multitude of narrow canals. The new gondolas were easier and faster to maneuver as a smaller portion of the boat was submerged, diminishing friction. During 1800, the gondola’s length reached 11 m, the same as today, and its stern and bow were lifted even farther. It was only at the beginning of the XX century, however, that the gondola reached its final shape, with an even higher stern and bow, and a strong asymmetry, which makes it easier for the gondolier to control the boat. And so much fun to watch!

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

This was long listed for the YA National Book Award category and is a thoroughly enjoyable if predictable read. It is a classic Romeo and Juliet situation, but nobody dies and the families are feuding over culture and religion rather than something else. Fifteen-year-old Yehuda “Hoodie” Rosen and his Orthodox Jewish family have recently moved to Tregaron, Pennsylvania, because the cost of living in their previous town became too expensive. The community is not overwhelmingly welcoming and the mayor is down right hostile. When Hoodie meets Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary, the mayor's daughter, it is a thunderbolt of interest for him. She is something else, something he hasn't seen or known. After he and Anna-Marie are spotted cleaning some up antisemitic graffiti together, both Hoodie’s father and the rabbi forbid him from seeing her again because she isn’t Jewish. So their relationship goes underground, but as they continue to grow closer, tensions rise in Tregaron. Many residents oppose the high-rise that Hoodie’s father, a developer, proposes to build in order to house more Orthodox families, and they express their opinions through verbal and physical antisemitic attacks. With so much at stake, Hoodie questions why his relationship with Anna-Marie is taboo—and whether he even wants to be part of his Orthodox community anymore.

Elvis (2022)

Here's what I have to say about this. I was not a big Elvis fan before I saw this, and watching it didn't really change that for me, but it did give me a different perspective on him without really answering any of the points that it raises. That said, it is a very entertaining movie from start to finish, and Elvis was a performer of the finest kind, and this does do justice to that. There are two main characters, Elvis (played quite ably by Austin Butler, which is no small feat) and his long time manager, Colonel Tom Parker (played by Tom Hanks). The actors in these roles knock them out of the park and save the movie from the fact that there really is no there there, that it doesn't break new ground or provide much in the way of insight. Tom Hanks as Parker is amazing--the story is told through his eyes, and he is a straight ahead con man, one who guided Elvis' career in a way that suited his style of control best. It would not surprise me if either or both of them is nominated for an Oscar--so far, the movie has a well deserved spot on the short list for Makeup and Hairstyling as well as Sound.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I read a review that called this book a cross between Jane Eyre and Dracula, and that pretty much sums it up. It is a gothic version of Get Out! (which apparently is based on an Edgar Allen Poe story). The story is eerie, gut wrenching, mysterious, paranoid, edge of seat escape story, and by the end I found myself sorry to see it go. Noemí Taboadais a beautiful if slightly annoying socialite given to wearing luscious full-skirted purple gowns and good furs. Glittering as she is, however, Noemí harbors ambitions to attend the National University for a masters in anthropology. Of course, her parents object. But, one night her father summons her home early from a party to offer her a deal, go check on what is going on with your cousin Carolina, who married into a reclusive (and racist) Anglo family, and wrote a strange paranoid letter home and he will send her to college. So off she goes. I did not know that gothic stories have an element of social criticism, which in the two books that I have read by this author checks out with her subtext. This is set in 1950's Mexico, where women cannot vote and once married, belong to their husbands like property. Noemí deserves better. As do all women.

Osteria Boccadoro, Venice

I wanted to be in Venice once in my life, to walk the streets, people and canal watching all the while. That was very enjoyable, but the thing that I did not think much about when I was daydreaming about Venice as a child was the food, which is odd because that is the number one or two reason we go places usually. It turns out that the food is exceptional and I wish that I could have eaten more meals there.

I had thought that since it was such a tourist destination that it might be challenging to find unpretentious and delicious food but that was not my experience. Places like this osteria, which have typical food of the region, seafood forward with many enticing pasta options are definitely a favorite and we might focus on them in a future Italy trip.

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet

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This is yet another Booker Prize longlist book that I may not fully understand the genius of it. The narrative is focused on psychiatry, and how those who practice it are not always best qualified to pass judgment on the sanity or otherwise of those they treat. So maybe that is part of my blindness because I, too, am a mental health professional. Then there is the issue that the author is presented as a character in the novel. I am not a big fan of this, but it does seem to recur-- within the book it is described as the work of one GMB, a writer who has become interested in Collins Braithwaite, a psychoanalyst against whom numerous charges have been leveled. This is the 1960's and GMB has come upon Braithwaite’s published collection of case studies, entitled Untherapy, in a Glasgow bookshop, which leads him to the idea of writing his biography. Although the plan meets with little enthusiasm from his agent and publisher, GMB’s fascination with Braithwaite is redoubled when he is contacted by a stranger, offering him six notebooks containing the journal of his cousin, whom Grey claims was a patient of Braithwaite. The notebooks contain allegations he is sure GMB will find of interest. It is all pretty much what you would expect, and once again, an unflattering depiction of mental health providers.

Father of the Bride (2022)

It might be true that funerals bring out the best in people and weddings tend to accentuate the opposite--I am hoping that is not the case for me, but it is a word to the wise. And I am neither the father, nor do we have an offspring who is a bride, so maybe I am just living vicariously here, but I have enjoyed every version. I watched this on a trans-Atlantic flight and it was perfect for the dinner and a movie that precedes trying to catch four hours of sleep efore having to pretend that was a full night sleep. The 1950 and 1991 versions featured white men, whereas this version stars Andy Garcia as Billy Herrera, the head of a Cuban-American family, so there is an immigrant who came to the Untied States with nothing and made it. His lawyer daughter is Sofia and her fiancé Adan is Mexican--they plan to leave their New York law firm jobs to work at a non-profit in Mexico. So, there are many generational and cultural conflicts. Instead of a church wedding, they want the officiant to be Monica from the Zen center. Will the music be salsa or mariachi at the wedding? There is a secret that the Herrera's are keeping as well, and for the most part the movie is both funny and relatable.

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

This author is so interesting. This book is both on Obama's summer reading list as well as the New York Times 10 best books of 2022 so it is not just me who thinks so. It is much like the ground breaking book she wrote over a decade ago, A Visit From The Goon Squad, in that it takes a dispassionate long view of our culture right this minute, and then twists it one turn further to demonstrate the various disturbing places that we could end up should we not take a step back and plan our next step. Our cultural warning comes in the form of Bix Bouton, the founder of social media mega-entity Mandala. By day, he strides about in his trademark leather fedora, a legend, but one who is essentially friendless now that he has untold wealth and power. By night, he dons a disguise and sneaks into a discussion group of Columbia University postgrads, hoping to catch a spark of imagination. There is a lot of shape-shifting here, and also a lot to think about. Do not miss this one.

Palazzo Ducale, Venice

This is recognized as a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The Doge’s Palace is an impossing structure composed of layers of building elements and ornamentation, from its 14th and 15th century original foundations to the significant Renaissance and opulent Mannerist adjunctions. The structure is made up of three large blocks, incorporating previous constructions. The wing towards the St. Mark’s Basin is the oldest, rebuilt from 1340 onwards. The wing towards St. Mark’s Square was built in its present form from 1424 onwards. The canal-side wing, housing the Doge’s apartments and many government offices, dates from the Renaissance and was built between 1483 and 1565.

One thing that is clear walking through this building that has been renovated and added on to multiple times is that the Doge was in charge. He had the government, the judicial branch, the censors, and the spiritual component of Venetian life all on his property under his control. The building is stripped of almost all it's furnishings, but the ceilings more than the floors and walls ooze with oppulence. Howeverm when the Republic fell in 1797, the role of the palace inevitably changed. Venice was firstly subjected to French rule, then to Austrian, and ultimately, in 1866, it became part of a united Italy.

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

This is a good, award winning book, but I did not love it. The book opens wit Blachine leaving her body, a process that is called Transverberation of the Heart. What happens from there is told in a time traveling, non-linear way through the eyes of several characters. The main setting is the Rabbit Hutch itself, the apartment block where Blandine exits her body. Its proper name is La Lapinière Affordable Housing Complex in the made up city of Vacca Vale, Indiana – a rust-belt relic of a place that, having outlived its usefulness to the motor industry, has been left to decay. Nothing but a scattering of incongruously grand buildings and a poisoned water table remain as testimony to the glory days of the automobile company. In addition to the commentary on multi-national corporations and taking care of business rather than communities, there is the analogy between what happens to rabbits in a hutch, and what happens to people who are in too close proximity to each other. There are a lot of interesting ideas and elements in this story, but it didn't set well with me.

Sriracha Honey Cream Cheese

My spouse bought a fancy Italian mixer that only mixes bread dough, nothing else. We have an almost 40 year old Kitchen Aid mixer that was top of the line for a domestic kitchen in the 1980's and it has served us well. It is not being replaced, but rather given a rest on the kneading front, so as to prolong it's life for all other uses. The first thing made was bagels (from the Zingerman Bakehouse cookbook) and they were truly amazing. What we quickly did the math on though is that the flavored cream cheeses that you can purchase are really pretty expensive, and so my job assignment is to make our own. This comes out to be about 1/3 the cost of the purchased one and so easy! 8 ounces cream cheese 1 Tbsp. honey 1-2 Tbsp. Sriracha sauce The cream cheese must be room temperature. I used the aforementioned Kitchen Aid, and did a tablespoon of Sriracha and tasted it--hit the right notes for what we use it for, but to each his own--taste and add more if that is where you want to go with it.

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

This was sort listed for the National Book Award YA award in 2022, and is just about what it says it is in the title--a chronicle of Yamilet, a young Mexican-American woman who along with her brother start at a mostly white Catholic school where neither of them quite fit in. They live with their mother, who doesn't know she has gay kids and their father lives in Mexico after having been deported. After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring, Yami has new priorities: Keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and most importantly, don’t fall in love. Granted, she’s never been great at any of those things, but that’s a problem for Future Yami. The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart and talented. And cute. So you know how this goes, but the story is well told.

Osteria Di Alberto, Venice, Italy

We ate here our very first day in Venice and were so happy we did. The first day is always a challenge for me and I had none of the usual ingredients that lead to a better experience. We left the US sooner rather than later, and arrived in Venice in the morning, our hotel let us leave our bags but our room wasn't ready and it is a city where walking is your only realistic option--none the less, success was ours. When we arrived there were only a few tables occupied, but by the time we left it was packed full of Italians enjoying the seafood from nearby.

We had clams (not enough of them), gambas, some bacalao made into a salad that we saw at every cicchetti place, mussels and pasta. It was all delicious and affordable, and my only wish is that I was hungrier or could stay longer. The traditional Venetian food holds a lot of appeal for me, and even though I live in a place where I cannot get most of it, this first meal left me wanting to go home and try to recreate some of it.

When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar

This is a story about deprivation, about how children are seen more as chattel than people to protect and guide, and the extreme circumstances that immigrants often endure, especially when where they come from is not a place they feel they can return to. It follows three Pakistani siblings living in the United States: Noreen, the smart and responsible eldest; Aisha, the angry and unpredictable middle child; and Kausar, the youngest. The author uses some of her own story as material for her fictional family-- the sibling’s mother has been dead for many years, and their father is murdered. After their father’s death, the siblings are forced to live with their Uncle, a man neither of the siblings ultimately trusts. Promising them a life filled with adventure, he instead takes them to a cramped apartment with bird cages lining the walls where they are confined to their rooms, isolated from the outside world except for school, and often left for days at a time without food or money. There develops an intense bond between sisters: caught between American culture and their family’s Pakistani background with no elders to guide them, the girls turn to each other to learn how to navigate a foreign land and culture.

Bullet Train (2022)

Full disclosure, I watched this on a trans-Atlantic flight where I was looking for a diversionary movie that did not require much in the way of contemplation, to ease my way through dinner and off to sleep for ideally several hours before landing at my destination. This movie fit the bill perfectly. I read another review that characterized it as slow in spots but amusing for a reasonably good portion of the movie, which I would agree with. This is is an action film that could easily have been an animated movie, and often looks and feels like one. There is a briefcase that several people on a bullet train crossing Japan are trying to get their hands on, and everyone, it seems, is willing to kill to get it. Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, a former assassin ordered to board the train, steal a briefcase, and get off. He's replacing another assassin who became unavailable at the last minute, and he refuses his handler's advice to carry a gun because he just got out of anger management and has renounced killing. The host of characters play out their parts with aplumb and it really is an occasionally silly, occasionally bloody but mostly entertaining movie.

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

I liked this book, and it is a good story well written, but I did not love it. The part that I like is that the book is about land and stewardship, about nature and conservation, but more than that, it is a book of friendship across the decades and about the complexities of women’s lives. Agnes Lee and Polly Wister, in their eighties, have known each other all their lives, having become friends as children on the coast of Maine as neighbors in the idyllic community of Fellowship Point. They couldn’t be more different—Agnes is a fiercely independent, successful author who never married; Polly is the mother of three boys and an overly devoted wife to her demanding husband, Dick. The preservation of the Maine peninsula they both live on is first and foremost on Agnes' mind--she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and she has never had an intimate bond with another, so she has a sparse understanding of how to compromise for the sake of your spouse or your children. Polly has children who openly talk about her not frittering away their inheritance, so she is herself legitimately torn about what to do. It is a microcosm of some of the bigger ecological issues we and our children will have to grapple with over the next several decades.

Reflections Of Venice

I had a very bad boss years ago, so bad that I really just needed a break from him for a bit and I took a temporary job to take a break. There was a lot about that decision that was fault, but I also learned a lot about what I wanted and didn't want from the rest of my career, and on the flip side, dtarted to make a list of things I wanted in my personal life as well. I have never been much of a fan of making a bucket list, but that is what it was, really, places I wanted to see before I died, some of them more improbable than others and never actually written down, more of a mental list. Then when I was diagnosed with an advanced stage cancer seven years ago, I had to face that there might not be much time left for me, and that I needed to get going if it was going to happen for me.

Venice is one such place. It is a city that I have read about, seen in television and the movies time and time again. It was where the east met the west, a city of immense power and prosperity a thousand years ago. A city of canals and waterways, where your feet take you everywhere, were bridges abound and it is so easy to get lost and then found that it happens over and over again. So this year it happened, I made it there. It was not at all what I expected. It was way better in some ways and disappointing in others, but in the end I was extremely happy to be there, eating the seafood that it is famous for, and enjoying the fact that I can still walk in a city where there are no other options.

Portrait of a Marriage by Maggie O'Farrell

Let me start off by saying that I loved this book and I loved it as much as I loved Hamnet. The author has found her sweet spot in the 16th century and her subject in women whose stories have been overshadowed by men. Here, the historical figure is Lucrezia, the third daughter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence. The historical Lucrezia was married off at the age of 13 to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, as a last-minute substitute for her older sister, Maria, who died just before the wedding. Then Lucrezia herself died, supposedly of tuberculosis, though it has long been thought that she could have been poisoned by Alfonso. The idea for O’Farrell’s novel took root in soil prepared by Robert Browning’s famous poem My Last Duchess. Browning’s dramatic monologue takes us inside the mind of the Duke of Ferrara, as he shows a painting of his former wife (Lucrezia) to a representative of the family of his next bride-to-be. An avaricious megalomaniac, the duke prefers her ever-smiling portrait to the original girl because the image is inert and easier to control. The novel opens with Lucretia becoming all too aware that her husband means to kill her, and then it ping pongs back and forth between the present and why it has come to this.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)

This is a Cinderella story, if Cinderella was a middle-aged war widow who makes ends meet by cleaning up after lordsand ladies. This is a fairy tale that Leslie Manville in the leading role pulls off seemingly without any effort at all. Ada is a do-gooder, a woman who works tirelessly, and yet maintains her sunny disposition and her warm hearted charm despite all, which includes finding out once and for all that her husband, previously lost in battle, is indeed dead. Shebecomes star-struck by a dress. It takes her breath away and while she doesn't understand anything about the pomp and circustance of the House of Dior, she does know qulity when she sees it and vows to have one for herself. The story starts with her getting the money together, and then it takes on it's fairy tale quality, where a Marquis invites her to be his guest at the fashion show, and he explains the process to her. The staff are all so awe-struck that someone like themselves would try to own such a dress that they stick by her and make such a dress possible for her. It is sweetness and light, with predictable and unpredictable elements, but the whole package is quite lovely to behold, and you should not miss this.

The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India by Mansi Choksi

Green Bean Casserole

This was a rich yet amazing variation on a classic Thanksgiving holiday side dish. 2½ pounds haricots verts or French green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces 1 pound hen of the woods mushrooms (or cremini, oyster or other mushroom), cut into bite-size pieces 2 large shallots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced into half-moons 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and black pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 cups heavy cream or half-and-half 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon chicken base concentrate (or ½ bouillon cube) ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 1¾ cups shredded or grated Parmesan 1 cup panko bread crumbs 2 cups store-bought or homemade fried shallots or onions Step 1 Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. On a rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper, toss together green beans, mushrooms, sliced shallots, garlic and olive oil; season with salt and pepper to taste then spread evenly on the pan. Roast until the vegetables brown in spots and soften, about 30 minutes, tossing halfway through. (Alternatively, if you want the green beans extra soft, set them on an unlined sheet pan, add 3 tablespoons water, cover with aluminum foil, and cook until the vegetables are slightly firmer than you want in the end result, about 30 to 45 minutes.) Step 2 Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter, then add the flour. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly until it comes together and begins to turn golden in color. Step 3 Add heavy cream and whisk until it starts to thicken, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the Cajun seasoning, onion and garlic powders, chicken base, nutmeg and ½ teaspoon pepper. Whisk to combine, then add 1½ cups Parmesan until melted. Taste and adjust seasonings. Step 4 When the green beans are cooked, add them to the saucepan, and toss to coat until mixture is thoroughly heated. Transfer green bean mixture to the baking dish. Step 5 In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, fried shallots and the remaining ¼ cup Parmesan. Spread evenly over the top of the casserole. Step 6 Set the broiler to high, and broil until brown and bubbly (don’t walk away!), about 1 to 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Trust by Hernan Diaz

This book was long listed for the 2022 Booker Prize, and it is every bit worthy of that nomination. The tricky thing about writing a review of it is that it is a cleverly written book, and you shouldn't have too much away before you start reading it, but a few hints won't hurt. The book is not so much a novel as it is an an intricately constructed quartet of stories — what Wall Street traders would call a 4-for-1 stock split. The next clue is that the title is important. Trust is a very slippery slope, and that is cleverly revealed as the novel unfolds. Lastly, in the end it is all about money, particularly, the flimflam force of money in the stock market, and its potential to bend and align reality to its own purposes. When all is said and done, while the novel opens in the beginning of the 20th century, there is a lot here for those of us living in the 21st century to learn from.

Pecan Tarlets

I have loved the GBBO from the first time I watched it, which surprised me to no end, but we just finished watching the most recent season, and I will come back for more next year if there is one. It has inspired my spouse to bake, and this recipe graced our Thanksgiving dessert table. Yield: 9 tarts For the Pastry Shells: ⅔ cup/151 grams unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan 4 ounces/114 grams cream cheese, softened 1⅓ cups/160 grams pastry flour (or 1⅓ cups/171 grams all-purpose flour) ½ teaspoon fine sea or table salt For the Filling: 1 large egg ¾ cup/165 grams packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon honey ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ⅔ cup/79 grams very finely chopped pecans Step 1 Prepare the pastry: Beat softened butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer or by hand until thoroughly combined. If flour is clumpy, sift it into the bowl, then add salt. (Otherwise, simply add flour and salt.) Mix on low speed to combine into a pliant pastry dough (it will be somewhat sticky), then turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to press the dough into a square, then wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1½ hours. Step 2 Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, beat egg with an electric mixer or by hand. Add the brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, honey and nutmeg and mix until well combined, then stir in the pecans. Step 3 Make the tarts: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9 cavities of a mini tart pan or standard muffin tin with butter. Divide chilled dough into 9 even pieces and place 1 in a buttered cup. Press the dough against the bottom and side to form a shell. This may take a moment. Repeat with the remaining 8 pieces of dough. Be careful to smooth out any cracks, tears or holes in your pastry as you fill the pan. Step 4 Divide pecan filling among pastry shells, filling each no more than three-quarters of the way. Be careful not to overfill. Step 5 Bake tarts until browned and set, 27 to 32 minutes. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then carefully remove tarts from the pan, using a knife to ease them out. Serve!

The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré

This is not a comfortable read, to be sure. What I learned after reading the novel is that what happens to not quite 15 year old Adunni in this book is by no means unique. Approximately 15 million children under the age of 14, mostly girls, were working across Nigeria according to UNICEF in 2006. It is currently estimated that seven out of every 1,000 Africans are trafficked into slavery. It is set in Nigeria in 2014, a pre-election year and the year Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls. Adunni is a 14-year-old girl from a small village several hours’ drive away from the former capital city of Lagos, where the village chief wields absolute power and makes all the rules. Adunni's father sells her as the third wife to a man looking to have sons. From here forward there are a series of unfortunate events where Adunni's intelligence and ingenuity are tested. It is a good read in 2022 America, where women's civil rights have been trampled upon, so we are reminded that the struggle for autonomy and equality is real, here and abroad.

Matisse in the 1930's, Philadelphia Art Museum

This exhibit is at the Philadelpohia Art Museum and will be there until the end of January. A large portion of it comes from the Baltimore Art Museum, so if you miss it, head down the coast to Baltimore in a year when they will all be there, but in the meantime learn about Matisse in America! Here is from the museum website: By 1930, Henri Matisse had achieved significant international renown, yet he found himself in a deep creative slump. The turning point came with a commission to decorate the main gallery of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. The resulting monumental mural, The Dance (1930–33), turned Matisse’s artistic practice around.

Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps by Seirian Sumner

I read about this book in a thumbnail description in the The New Yorker, and while I am the target audience for this book--someone who is concerned about pollinators, ecology, and the survival of the world, yet who detests wasps--I wasn't sure this book was up my alley. The author is quite learned--she is an entomologist and behavioral ecologist, and a professor at University College London, and she spends the whole of the book trying to charm her readers into realizing that the pesky, whirring, anxiety-provoking yellow jackets and other species of wasps that torment us at most inopportune moments, are not mischievous villains so much as highly underestimated and misunderstood philanthropists Her invocations of wasp characteristics, behavior, social life and culture sparkle with curiosities and insights and she suggests, in an entertaining rather than scholarly manner, that we need to re-examine our relationships with wasps in particular and with nature in general. Doing so would have profound consequences in an age when technological innovations continue to displace and disrupt the lives of wasps and other species. This compelling account of nature’s coherent beauty teaches that it is time for the utilitarian attitude toward nature to be replaced with appreciation and conservation if we are to survive a rapidly warming planet.

Creamy Garlic Orzo

This was an amazing risotto like dish, which my husband added some chicken to for more of a main dish, but it would work equally well as a side. Ingredients 2 tablespoon olive oil 4 tablespoon butter unsalted 1 small onion chopped 4 cloves garlic minced 2 cups uncooked orzo 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste 1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste 2 cups chicken broth 2 cups half and half 1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped In a large skillet add the olive oil, butter and cook for about 30 seconds until the butter melts. Stir in the onion and garlic and let it cook for about 2 minutes until the onion softens and the garlic becomes aromatic. Add the orzo to the skillet and let it cook for about 2 minutes just in the oil so that it starts to toast lightly, this will give it a nutty flavor. Season with salt and pepper then stir in the chicken broth and half and half. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a medium-low, cover with a lid and let it cook for about 8 minutes. Remove the lid and stir in the Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie

This is the story about a life long friendship between Zahra, the daughter of a popular cricket broadcaster in 1980s Karachi, and her classmate Maryam, the child of a post-partition business family. We meet them first as young teenagers in Pakistan, hanging out after school in each other’s houses, chatting for hours about their current romances and their future lives. Thirty years later, the two of them are comfortably ensconced among the post-Brexit London elite. They go for long walks on Primrose Hill together on Sundays and hang out at each other’s plush apartments after work, still talking about the same things. On the one hand, they could have been broken apart. Maryam is a startup investor, part of a shadowy cabal of capitalists who trade favors with the same government that Zahra and her organization is determined to hold to account. But they chare something in their past that they are eager to not have surface, and then it does. There are a number of twists and turns, with subplots that in the end out pace the plot, and it is a good story well told.

The Good King Tavern, Philadelphia

My spouse and I were in Philadelphia recently trying to show my mother-in-law a good time and we ate at this French bistro in the downtown area. Philadelphia has a wonderful restaurant scene in the area, and there are so many choices to choose from for dining, both in the wide ranging ethnic food options and in the fine dining arena. So a plethora of riches. We chose this place and while it wasn't perfect for me, it was for my two fellow diners and here is why. It was exactly what you would expect from a French bistro, and if you order as such I think you will be very happy here. They have a duck of the day, so you could have that every time. My MIL had a duck pate and a duck breast main course, and if they hadn't run out of the duck heart appetizer, she would have ordered that as well. My spouse had mussels, and they were perfect in every way, and the salad I ordered was a traditional French salad dressing (albeit with more modern greens than you would have been served traditionally), and the frites were exceptional. So if you have a hankering for bistro food, this would be a good place to scratch that itch.

The Foundling by Ann Leary

This book is set in the 1920's America in an institution where women were essentially imprisoned until menopause. It is modeled on the historical institution of Laurelton State Village for Feeble-Minded Women of Childbearing Age, which operated in different forms between 1917 and 1998 in central Pennsylvania. Neither the fictional nor the actual facility are not benevolent group homes for women with intellectual disabilities. Instead, they were a locked facility for those deemed morally unworthy of giving birth. In this case there was a lot of money changing hands, as well as sending these young women into the hands of sexual abusers in exchange for monetary compensation and political clout. Eugenics came to prominence in the United States in the early 20th century, promoted by social reformers as a way of controlling “undesirable” elements. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the 21st century focus on just this, many of these efforts focused on the bodies of women, employing theories closely tied to the pseudoscience of white racial superiority. The setting resonates for the author, who found some evidence that her grandmother has worked in one such facility as a young woman, just like Mary in the fictional account. While the subject matter and the setting are demoralizing, the story itself is largely not, and I would recommend.

Simple Bok Choy Stir Fry

My CSA always grows bok choy in their hoop house in the spring and fall, and I really love the flavor and texture, but I feel like I continue to search for a quick and easy recipe that I can rely on, and this one makes me pretty happy--I think it is the addition of honey that helps to balance out the sweet end of the flavor spectrum. 1 pound baby bok choy 2 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons broth 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon honey 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 teaspoons minced ginger ¼ cup sliced green onions 1 teaspoon sesame seeds Rinse the bok choy with water. Shaking off any excess water and then dry using a kitchen towel or paper towels. Cut each bok choy, halved lengthwise. In a small bowl combine soy sauce, broth, vinegar, sesame oil, honey, and red chili flakes. In a wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over high heat until just smoking. Use tongs to carefully place the bok choy cut side down in a single layer in the wok, lightly press down to make contact with the surface. Cook until lightly browned without moving, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the bok choy over and cook the other side until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the wok. Add garlic, ginger and green onions, stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce mixture to the wok, simmer until thickened, about 30 seconds. Add bok choy back to the wok, stir-fry and cook until the sauce glazes the greens, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and garnish with sesame seeds.

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

I read this based on a review that my niece wrote. This is a historical novel set in London and Malta during the second world war. The story was inspired by the lives of the author's grandparents: his maternal grandfather served in Malta, and his paternal grandmother drove ambulances during the blitz. I really liked many aspects of the story, but most of all the way it made me think, to try to put myself in the shoes of the characters. It explores the ways that external events beyond the individual’s control influence the private lives of his characters, with either devastating or transformative consequences, depending. The novel follows four protagonists from the outbreak of war to the summer of 1942. Mary North is the privileged daughter of an MP who signs up for the war effort within 45 minutes of its declaration. She is assigned a school-teaching job, initially an unappealing prospect but one for which she soon discovers a natural aptitude. Through the job she meets Tom Shaw, head of the local education authority and, despite the class difference – or perhaps because of it, given Mary’s maverick, rebellious nature – the two embark on a love affair. Meanwhile, Tom’s friend and roommate, Alistair Heath, a picture restorer at the Tate, signs up for active duty, eventually deploying to Malta to defend the island amid harrowing and demoralizing conditions. Completing the quartet is Mary’s best friend, Hilda, who is in some ways the odd woman out and in others the voice of the common man, saying things out loud that others think but do not say. The war is long and hard and everyone is roughed up, their virtue assailed, and in end those that live are profoundly changed.

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

I really did love the first movie, but this one is even better. Enola, Sherlock's ward and younger sister, has a better sense of herself, is more self assured, and there is less of a need to endlessly go over the back story, so there is more time for action. Enola is not a junior Sherlock Holmes (who is also not as gelled as a detective as he was in the original stories. She is her own person, less analytical than he is and more empathetic. She is observant and determined, and she has great fighting skills and a good command of mechanical physics. She also has enormous courage, both physical and moral. The film opens with her racing through the London streets, being chased by two Bobbies. She stops to address us, as she does with great charm and wit throughout. The story is centered on a real historical event. In the movie Enola is tsked with finding Sarah Chapman, who has disappeared from both where she lives and the match stick factory where she works. Sarah was part of The Match Girls’ Strike in 1888. It was an industrial action taken up by the workers of the Bryant and May factory against the dangerous and unrelenting demands which endangered their health with very little remuneration. The rest of the story is fictional, but a nice reminder of where we were and what poor women were exposed to in the work place.

Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy

I did not know this when I read the book, but in 2007, the author started a blog on the LA Times site called Homicide Report, an attempt to chronicle every one of the 845 homicide deaths that took place in Los Angeles County that year. The blog takes a sober, data-driven approach to this most emotive of subjects. She is a decades long crime reported, and already had strong connections with LAPD homicide detectives, which she used to flesh out the entries in the LA county coroner’s database, trying to understand the reasons why people kill and are killed. She also reported on the race of victims--blacks are 8% of the population in Los Angeles, but account for 32% of the murder victims. Who is killing black people? The answer is: mainly other black people. Roiled by a new movement against police brutality, the US is currently burying its head in the sand so as not to have to face up to the disproportionate violence meted out to black Americans by law enforcement. She chooses to tell stories from the most notorious neighborhood in LA, and she does so sympathetically to all involved. This is a detailed look into the workings of an intersection between poverty, racism, crime, and law enforcement that is well worth reading.

Squash Agrodolce

We had this twice one day last week--once for a lunch with our kids, using delicata squash instead of the butternut called for, and once with the traditional butternut, but served without the savory elements, but rather in an apple cider reduction over panna cotta in a restaurant for dessert. This is a delicious autumnal side dish that would be at home on a holiday table. 1 butternut squash, on the small side Olive oil Salt 1 medium red onion sliced thinnly 2 bay leaves 1 cinnnamon stick 1/2 c. sherry vinegar 1/2 c. water 1/4 currants 1 Tbsp. sugar 3 Tbsp. pine nuts Preheat oven to 400 degress and roast the squash tossed with olive oil and salt until it is cooked (this can be done whole and cut up later, or cut up and reduce the time to cook). In a skillet, add about 1 TRbsp. of olive oil, heat up, and add the red oinion. The heat should be medium, and wait for the onions to soften. Add vinegar, 1/2 c. water, currants and salt to taste. Raise the heat and boil off the liquid by half. Turn off the heat and add the nuts (pine nuts are pricy and you can certainly use another nut, chopped). Spoon the skillet contents over the squash and let stand for a bit. Or a long time! Serve room temperature.