Oliver Horowitz
Gotham 2013

How I came to read a book about being a Caddie in St. Andrews Golf Course in Scotland is strange to say the least. The closest I have ever come to playing golf is the summer my husband and I, newly wed, spent in Springfield, Missouri where he was interning as an accountant with Kraft Foods. Since we were only there for a couple of months and knew no one I slept late, watched TV and read. In the evenings and weekends one of the few things we could afford to do was play a round or two of miniature golf and I was terrible at even that level. The only other contact I have had with the sport is watching the Masters in Augusta and I mainly do that because the spring flowers are absolutely gorgeous on my widescreen, HDTV. I guess you might say I had a slight interest in the book itself due to the fact that while touring Scotland I did step foot on St. Andrews Golf Course. It was not terribly attractive and without a doubt was one of the windiest places I had ever been in. How anyone can compensate for that wind while hitting a ball down the straightway is beyond my comprehension. I did know the 600 year old course was the one any avid player dreams of playing on at least once in a lifetime so I tried to appreciate it for that fact alone.

Several years ago the author, young Oliver Horowitz, applied to Harvard College and was accepted with the only glitch being that they had a full class for that year and he could not attend until the following year. His first thoughts were of total confusion as to what he might do to fill that year but on further thought he realized that the perfect solution was to spend that year at the University of St. Andrews, to which he had also applied. He had spent many summers playing golf at St. Andrews while visiting his uncle so he was pretty sure he would enjoy it. Harvard agreed to his doing this as long as he did not ask for course credit to be transferred. So off he went to Scotland to spend a delightful year as a student in the very school Prince William was attending and enjoying all that being a man of that age might expect to enjoy as a college student. To add to that enjoyment he was allowed to play on any one of St. Andrews six golf courses and, being an avid golfer, he took advantage of that privilege almost every day. In the evening he took to sampling any number of the city’s 31 pubs. He was not alone in his hi-jinks. On May 1st each year the whole student body of 7,000 students takes part in the traditional “May Dip” which involves staying up all night partying and at 5 a.m. running into the North Sea stark naked.

Too soon summer was approaching and, once again, he had to consider what next he should do before heading to Harvard. The obvious choice was to become a caddie at the St. Andrews Golf Course. Even those well seasoned as a caddie at other golf courses must take part in a training program at this esteemed course. One is not welcomed with open arms by the other caddies and the work can be grueling. A fully loaded golf bag is not a light weight item to carry around the course even once, let alone twice, which is something often aspired to as the pay is about $100 a round, plus tip. And there is a great deal more to the job than just carrying the bag. A good caddie must learn the course, literally, like the back of his hand. He must know how a ball is likely to roll over each little hill and valley on the course and share this knowledge with his golfer. He must know which club to use on each hole and be ready to hand it to the person who expects him to know what in heck he is talking about. And he must be prepared to suffer the wrath of those who are inept golfers and blame him for their lousy shot. However, if he is good at his job he will find the day will come when they call his name to caddie for men or women whose names he has only heard spoken of in awe by other golfers. And on that day it will be worth all the sweat and tears he has put in preparing for that magical moment.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book. I learned a lot about the game of golf and at the same time got a real chuckle out of hearing what goes on behind the scenes in the caddie shack. Whether you are a golfer or not I think you will too.

Diane Bostick has lived on Marco Island since 1987.  She was the Founder and President of Ft. Myers chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, President of Jr. Welfare League, Ft. Myers Chapter, and served on the board of Art League of Marco Island. She is an avid reader, fly fisherwoman, tennis player and crafter.

The Irish speak English with a musical lilt, softening even the harshest words and syllables. The best Irish authors bring this magical musical lilt to their written word. In my opinion, Maeve Binchy is in that class of authors.

Some paint pictures with their words, but Maeve paints life with her words. The reader cannot just “see” her characters in her mind’s eye, but experiences life right along with the characters.  The soaring giddiness of falling in love, the deep delight of parental pride, the pathos of betrayal, the comfortable silences of long-married couples, the crushing grief of a loved one’s death, the regenerating spirit of genuine friendship, the seeming impossibility of just carrying on  – these are guaranteed in Maeve’s books. It’s why millions of us love her. We know every book will be packed with human frailty and strength, that there will be a happy ending despite all the travails and that we will feel better about our own lives.  Reading a Maeve Binchy book is like getting a lovely hug from your favorite auntie.

It was raining the day I read “A Week In Winter,” Maeve’s final book. The weather was a stark contrast to that of the day when I was introduced to Maeve Binchy through “A Circle of Friends,” reading it in full sunlight at the beach in New Smyrna Beach. It underscored to me, that in some way, I had come full circle with one of my favorite authors. I opened this final gift from Maeve, eager yet reluctant, knowing it would be the last journey into her world of Irish hamlets, villages and of course, Dublin.

“A Week In Winter” is set in tiny Stoneybridge, on the west coast of Ireland.   Geraldine “Chicky” Ryan is the protagonist, but as in all Binchy books, the “secondary” characters take over the story. Chicky’s nickname derived from her childhood job of feeding the chickens on the family farm. She brings disgrace upon the family when she leaves for New York City with visiting American, Walter Starr, only six weeks after meeting him at the knitting factory where she works in the office. Walter never marries her and in fact, slinks off to California after a few months. Chicky is determined not to go back to her judgmental parents and bleak tiny Stoneybridge. Her letters home have been novellas, fictionalized accounts of her wedding and life with Walter in America. Over the next two decades, she makes annual visits to Stoneybridge with colorful excuses to explain Walter’s absence. Eventually, she decides to return to her roots when the opportunity to renovate the old Sheedy place into a bed and breakfast presents itself. Chicky’s “widowhood” is explained by Walter’s fatal (fictional) car accident.

Once Chicky is back in Ireland, things really start to happen. The secondary characters we have already met, a few degrees of separation from Chicky, make their way to Stoneybridge or strengthen their ties to it. The tribulations and setbacks of getting Stone House ready for opening, including attracting guests, are all met. During Stone House’s renovation, Maeve weaves the back stories of the characters whose lives will intersect during this week in winter.

The guests include an American actor who believes he has disguised his identity, an engaged woman and her mother-in-law to be, a couple who won the week-long holiday as second place in a contest, a recently retired bitter school principal, a young Swede who loves music but is expected to take over the family accounting firm and a psychic librarian frightened of her “visions.” At the same time, we are kept abreast of what is going on with the Stoneybridge folk, even those now living in Dublin.

Predictable but delightful, Maeve weaves all these story threads together during this week in winter. Her diverse cast of characters has experienced bitterness, disappointment, disgrace, betrayal, doubt, and fear. Somehow, in this seemingly godforsaken remote part of Ireland, an old battered mansion has been the catalyst for their redemption, renewal, and rejuvenation. And most find their way back to courage, love, friendship and generosity.

As Maeve fans know, her latter books are full of recurring characters, and it’s comforting to learn that Brenda is still running Quentin’s, that familiar comfortable restaurant in Dublin. We catch glimpses of a few others familiar to us through Maeve’s previous books.

Some people say this isn’t Maeve’s best work. That’s a judgment best left to each reader. She delivers a great cast of interesting, credible personalities whose predicaments she resolves with trademark humor, warm-heartedness, and keen insight into human behavior. I found it an extremely satisfying read. From “Light A Penny Candle,” published in 1982, to “A Week In Winter,” published 30 years later, Maeve Binchy has been warming the literary world with her love letters to Ireland otherwise known as her novels. She will be missed.

About The Author

Maggie Gust is a life-long avid reader whose career path has included working as a teacher and in various positions in the health care field. A native of Illinois, she has lived in Florida since 1993 and presently works from her home here on Marco Island. e-mail: winetaster13@gmail.com 

And live it she did.

With the help of her husband, sister and best friend she set out to travel and see the world, or at least the parts she wanted, and had time, to see. She had always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights, so she and her friend Nancy took a trip to the Yukon to see them in all their glory. Unfortunately, the lights did not cooperate, but they still had a wonderful time, despite the efforts of putting on, and taking off, the many layers of clothes required to keep themselves warm in that harsh climate. She was, of course, totally dependent on Nancy to do all that for her.

At an early age, Susan knew that she was adopted and she decided to find her birth mother. All through her childhood her Greek adoptive mother had lamented that Susan was not quite up to snuff, not what her “real” daughter would have been like. Like most adopted children, she wondered what her birth parents looked like and in what ways did she look like them. Even more important, for her children’s sake, she wanted to know if her ALS was inherited. Finding her birth mother was relatively simple as she was still alive but finding her birth father was more problematic. What a thrill it was to find that he was Greek! So off to Cyprus she went to meet his family and learn about her background there. Much to her amazement they were most welcoming, once they found out she was not after her father’s money, and included her in their lives and were quick to share their family knowledge, pictures, relatives, food and homes.

It would seem that this book would be depressing to read but it is far from that. It is indeed a book of joy. Susan says, “I am not giving up. I am accepting.” She is determined to not spend her last days in a cave of self-pity. Again, she says, “The problem with a cave is it has no windows.” With the help of her husband, children, sister and friend, at various times, she is able to dig deep into her “bucket list.” She travels to Hungary (to see their old friends and the city where they lived when they were first married), to Cyprus, more than once, so that her husband can meet her family and to bring them the family bible that had been kept from the family by her father’s wife. She takes her children with her to Orlando to swim with the dolphins at Disney World. She makes a special trip to New York City to see her 14 year old daughter try on wedding dresses, since she knows she will not be around to share that special day when it actually arrives. She and her family rent a house on Captiva Island so that they, and her whole family, can enjoy the ocean together. Each of these trips is filled with joy and humor and the compassion of her extended family.

Through it all her husband is steadfast in his love for her and shows his love by meeting her every need, emotional or physical, in a most caring way.

And, in only three months time, she writes this book of 89,000 words…with only her right thumb, all that she can move without the help of others…on an IPhone! How can one not be astounded at the inner strength of such a person? What a wonderful example she has set for her children for their future. She wants them to live life as fully as they possibly can, and she, equally, wants her husband to carry on with his life to its fullest extent when she can no longer be a part of it.

As of the writing of this review on March 23, Susan Spenser-Wendel is still alive. The rights to her book have been purchased by Universal Studios to be made into a movie.

At this time, “Until I Say Good-Bye: My Year of Living with Joy,” is not available in the Collier County Library system. Perhaps it is too new as it just came out in March. I would suggest you call them and ask that it be purchased; However, it is a book worth purchasing for yourself, as I did.

About The Author

Diane Bostick has lived on Marco Island since 1987.  She was the Founder and President of Ft. Myers chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, President of Jr. Welfare League, Ft. Myers Chapter, and served on the board of Art League of Marco Island. She is an avid reader, fly fisherwoman, tennis player and crafter.

I knew the meaning of eagle, bogey, birdie and par before I read this book but not much else. Now I know fade and draw, understand a bit about how integral the golf course design is to the players’ enjoyment of the game, and of course, the clubs. Per Jack Grout, “Just like there are no gimmicks in the swing, there are no magic clubs. Some clubs are better suited for your size, your strength and your game than others. Find them and stick with them.”

The evolution of golf clubs was particularly interesting to me. When Jack Grout discovered golf at the tender age of eight, in 1918, and started his caddie training, clubs were named, not numbered. It must have been challenging for a child to learn lofter, niblick, jigger, putter, cleek, baffy, driver, brassie, mashie, mid-mashie, mashie-iron, spade-mashie and mashie niblick. However, he immersed himself in the terminology, golf etiquette and other aspects of caddiedom well enough that he was assigned a loop by the end of his first week.  Yes, an eight-year-old caddie! Apparently most of the golfers had rather lightweight bags in those days with about six or seven wood-shaft clubs in them, so jobbing as a caddie was a viable opportunity for young boys. As a matter of fact, when 20-year-old Francis Ouimet became the first American to win the US Open in 1913 (it had been dominated by Europeans from 1895 through 1912), his caddie was ten years old!

Jack’s caddie earnings were proudly turned over to his mother to be used for expenses incurred by the large Grout family which included five boys and three girls. This innate sense of responsibility and willingness to share even at the tender age of eight reveals the core integrity of Jack Grout. His sterling character would shine through in his personal and professional relationships throughout his 79 years.

Jack Grout and his most famous student, Jack Nicklaus.

He stumbled into the golf world purely out of curiosity when he trailed his older brothers to see where they spent their days. Duane and Dick Grout had been caddying at Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club since shortly after Ouimet’s 1913 victory at the US Open. His win engendered a huge interest in the game and “Americanized” it. It was no longer assumed that the European pros would dominate. Over the next decade, the number of courses both public and country club mushroomed as did the number of the players and competitions. The oldest Grout boys established the family’s participation in this game which continues to this day. Dick and Jack Grout would spend their lives in golf as does Jack’s son Dick today.

Jack Grout also stumbled into personal happiness when he first laid eyes on the aptly named Bonnie Fox. In Florida, at a 1940 winter tournament, a night out with businessman and fellow golfer Ed Bradley and his wife Vera, Jack was introduced to Vera’s youngest sister Bonnie, then 19 years old, visiting from Saint Louis and babysitting for her two young nieces that night. Jack’s heart took Cupid’s arrow through and through, but the arrow sort of deflected off Bonnie. It would take two years of wooing, mostly through letters, (long distance was difficult and expensive back then and not all residences had telephones) before the vivacious Bonnie, on the cusp of womanhood but still delighting in her carefree single life, consented to become Mrs. Jack Grout in 1942.

A few chapters of the book are sprinkled with excerpts from Jack’s letters to Bonnie. There are none from Bonnie to Jack because unlike Bonnie, who saved all Jack’s letters, he burned all of hers after he read them to preserve privacy.  Jack’s patience and persistence paid off hugely, however, as the Grouts had two sons, two daughters and many moves and adventures together as they shared a deepening devotion over the next 47 years. If you read this book, I would urge you to remember that the gender roles were more clearly delineated back in the 1940s, and do not let the attitudes of 2013 color the communication between Bonnie and Jack.

When I started this book, I was interested in a good biography, learning about the qualities of a man who was the only golf instructor used by Jack Nicklaus for the first 39 years of his career. I discovered that Jack Grout’s contribution to American golf is inestimable. From age eight when he carried that white bag around his first loop to his deathbed final golf lesson to Nicklaus in 1989, Jack Grout was all about love of the game and perfecting the fundamentals. The fact that this book is introduced by a tribute from Jack Nicklaus and closed with a tribute from Raymond Floyd testifies to the influence he had on the game. The book reads like a “Who’s Who” in golf in recounting the players both pro and amateur influenced by Jack Grout.

Just under 300 pages, Jack Grout: A Legacy In Golf, is a valuable contribution to the history of golf as well as being a personalized account of the subject’s life. If you are ready to go back to a simpler, although not necessarily easier, time when life seemed sweeter and certainly was slower, settle in with this book. Meet Jack Grout and travel along with him as he discovers a passion for golf, forges lifetime friendships with the likes of Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, when they were young and so was the game of golf. They were in it for the love of it and in following the tours, they helped each other out with the winners sharing the paltry sums with everyone, and had a rollicking good time along the way.  A different world, indeed.

(Interestingly, Dick Grout’s co-author Bill Winter is a local resident – “about a driver and two 3-irons from the Jolley Bridge,” over in Hammock Bay.)

I have to tell you up front that, after reading various reviews about this book, there were varying feelings as to its worth. A good many people liked it a great deal. Almost as many readers were less enthusiastic. Those who were less enthusiastic seemed to dwell on details about the writing itself, which I found perfectly acceptable. There are a number of books on the best seller list right now that, in my opinion, do not have as good a story and are written in the style of some third class romance novelist. If you decide to take my word for it, you should have no trouble finding this book.

There are a number of copies available in the library. It is also available in both hardback and paperback, Kindle, Nook and Audiobooks. Obviously, the publishers thought it would be a book that would be enjoyed by many or they wouldn’t have made it available to the public in so many different ways. There is even talk of making it into a movie.

In case you didn’t know, an expat is someone who is living in a country other than his native country. In this case, a young American couple, Kate and Dexter Moore, have moved to Luxembourg, the private-banking capital of the world, with their two young boys to set up housekeeping. He is in the business of account security for banks, both physical and cyber. Or at least that is what his wife has been told. Kate is dismayed to find that he refuses to tell her who he works for, the names of any of his clients or even where his office is. He has told her that this secrecy is needed in order to make sure the various banks’ security are not accidentally compromised by an innocent slip on her part to one of her friends.

But Dexter is not the only one with secrets unshared. Though they have been married for a number of years she has never told him that she was a former member of the CIA. This secret haunts her, both because she feels guilty for not telling her husband that fact in general, but also because of some of the acts she had to perform while working at that job, including murder.

Dexter’s job requires him to travel a great deal and work long hours so Kate is left to settle into their new home with rented furniture and everything else they need for their daily living, until theirs arrives from the states. Her two sons are attending a private school, thus leaving her with a great deal of time on her own. She must make her way around town, with her limited language skills, and do her best to make new friends. Because they are, by far, not the only expats living in the area, this seeking of new friends is easier than it might be elsewhere as there are many others trying to do the same thing. And each of them is quick to notice when someone new has come to town and approach them to check them out.

She fairly quickly becomes acquainted with another American couple but it is not long before she suspects that they are not who or what they claim to be. The wife seems to be going out of her way to encourage their friendship, but seems constantly evasive when asked questions about her own past, even to the question of where they lived before coming to Luxembourg. Because of her own past life, Kate fairly soon becomes paranoid and suspects that the new couple is there to spy on her.

Kate’s suspicions lead her to get in touch with one of her former contacts in the CIA and to ask him to investigate what might be going on. She becomes more and more suspicious of who her new friends might be as they mysteriously turn up in the most unexpected places. At the same time she becomes more curious as to what her husband’s job actually is. And she makes it her business to find the answers to both of these questions.

This book has more layers than an onion and as each layer is peeled away we become more aware of what is really happening.

Or at least we think we do. But each layer produces another twist and lives intersect in most unusual and mystifying ways until the final chapter when everything is wrapped up in yet another most unexpected manner.

About The Author

Diane Bostick has lived on Marco Island since 1987.  She was the Founder and President of Ft. Myers chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, President of Jr. Welfare League, Ft. Myers Chapter, and served on the board of Art League of Marco Island. She is an avid reader, fly fisherwoman, tennis player and crafter.

Sixteen-year-old Seth Fallon, Junior, took his shotgun, went to his teacher’s house, range the doorbell, and getting no response, walked on. He was stopped by the sheriff who while rolling down his car window was greeted with a shotgun blast to his face. Later that day, Seth was found in a field, having turned the gun on himself.

This book is full of characters whose mundane intertwined outer lives belie their inner selves. Each has a piece or two of the puzzles that plague the protagonists, Seth “Grizz” Fallon, Sr. and Clara, the newly-arrived Lutheran pastor’s pregnant wife.

Grizz is a felon, having served time for his relationship with Seth’s mother, which started when she was underage. After his term, they were married and she died from lupus complications after Seth was born. Grizz had played high school football with the sheriff and they had been best friends in their youth. His wife was the goddaughter of the deputy sheriff, who blames Grizz for her death, since her lupus made motherhood a high-risk endeavor. All of the law enforcement community has deep-rooted contempt for Grizz and now that his son has murdered their beloved sheriff, the hatred is amped to full throttle. He is left to grieve on his own and to find the motivation for his son’s actions. When he is told that his son must be buried in the cemetery’s suicide section away from the “saints” section where his wife is buried, Grizz takes matters into his own hands.

Clara Warren is the substitute English teacher whom Seth first visited. She was at home in her basement but, gripped with a sense of foreboding, did not answer the door. Clara should be finishing her dissertation in early Anglo-Saxon literature, but the local high school English teacher had a stroke and Clara has been pressed into duty.

Clara has many “feelings” and senses of deja vu. The reader might attribute these solely to her gestational hormones, except we learn she has had these all of her life. After moving to Lone Mountain, Minnesota, she is haunted by intensified feelings of familiarity and attachment to the place.

Using Norse mythology and Clara’s own tales of a wolf child, Maltman expertly weaves a narrow thread of mysticism into the story. The little wolves are actually three coyotes that Seth Junior befriended years prior and these “wolves” are the device the author uses to link Clara with the deceased Seth. Done with a heavier hand, it might have been creepy and manipulative, but Thomas Maltman is a master wordsmith and storyteller. He seasons this story with just about the perfect amount of every ingredient. There is literally (pardon the pun) never a dull moment in this book.

Nicely done, Mr. Maltman, nicely done!

About The Author

Maggie Gust is a life-long avid reader whose career path has included working as a teacher and in various positions in the health care field. A native of Illinois, she has lived in Florida since 1993 and presently works from her home here on Marco Island. e-mail: winetaster13@gmail.com 

dianebostick@comcast.net

By Robert Knott

G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2012

As many of you know, Robert Parker died in 2010. He published books with various main characters and after his death, his family, with the encouragement of his publisher I would imagine, decided to allow various other authors to attempt to write books in Parker’s voice, in my opinion, with varying success in their endeavors.

His Spenser series has been taken over by Ace Atkins, his Jesse Stone series by Michael Brandman, and now his Virgil Cole western series is being written by Robert Knott. It seems to me that Knott’s writing is the most like Parker’s that I have read so far. He manages to convey the characters we met in “Brimstone,” “Resolution,” and “Appaloosa” just as I imagine Parker envisioned them.

In “Ironhorse,” Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch have taken on new rolls as Territorial Marshals. They have been given the job of escorting Mexican prisoners through Indian country to the border by train (whereupon the prisoners are quickly shot and killed by the Mexican authorities. Seems to me they could have saved themselves a trip and just done the job, with permission, where they were imprisoned in the United States). The remaining passengers are then joined by the Governor of Texas, along with his wife and two lovely daughters, as well as $500,000 in cash.

We all know from years of watching Westerns that no self-respecting train robber could let such a bundle of money go by without an attempt to take it for themselves. The band of robbers are headed by “Bloody Bob Brandice,” a man Virgil Cole has encountered in the past, leaving Brandice with two .44 slugs in him, courtesy of Cole. Brandice is not just out for the money, but also for revenge on Cole. He comes well armed with men to help him as there seem to be about 20 bandits, all strung out from the caboose to the locomotive.

Virgil and Everett are quickly able to eliminate several of them as they are not shy about dispatching anyone involved in the hold up and dumping their dead bodies over the side of the car’s platform. However, it seems that a number of those who appear to be innocent passengers are also involved in the robbery. Nor are the robbers shy about dispatching anyone who even slightly gets in their way. Things definitely go from bad to worse when Cole and Hitch discover that the bandits have managed to uncouple the cars so that there are 3 separate groups with some of them going one direction and others another. In one of these groups of cars is the, now kidnapped, Governor and his family, and, supposedly, the $500,000. What makes conditions even worse is there is a terrible rainstorm going on and the robbers have managed to disable the brakes on the train so there is no way to control its travel. It goes without saying that they are able, finally, to solve that problem to some extent, but in the meantime all the robbers left alive manage to make their escape in one way or another.

Virgil and Everett head out, on foot, to the next town, Half Moon Junction. You have an idea of the size of the town by the fact that the streets are named Half Moon, Quarter Moon, Three Quarter Moon and Full Moon – and that’s it! It is a former mining town that mainly consists of bars, gambling houses and bordellos, sometimes all combined in one. There Virgil and Everett are able to round up some help to go after the bad guys and try to save the kidnapped family, one of which Everett has taken a shine to, before something even more terrible befalls them.

Please be aware that this is not your old fashioned shoot ‘em up Western. There is no Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy or Gene Autry in sight. The women in the houses of ill repute vary in beauty from downright homely to outright gorgeous, but all are good natured and willing to put a smile on a customer’s face in both word and deed. There is more of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in “Ironhorse” than there is the Lone Ranger and “Hi-yo Silver.” It is a good read for man or woman. Enjoy!

Diane Bostick has lived on Marco Island since 1987.  She was the Founder and President of Ft. Myers chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, President of Jr. Welfare League, Ft. Myers Chapter, and served on the board of Art League of Marco Island. She is an avid reader, fly fisherwoman, tennis player and crafter.

Review by Jane A. Marlowe

A new book by local author, Dom Fiorda and Kendra Brady relates a story about someone who remembers his ‘Spirit Time.’

Ernest Spirit’s name was rather prophetic. When he was a boy, he didn’t realize that fact. He was named for his grandfather, Ernesto, who immigrated to America at the beginning of the 20th century. The custom’s officer who processed him through Ellis Island Americanized his name, Ernesto Di Spirito, to Ernest Spirit.

In English or Italian, the name translates to mean “of the Spirit”… and young Ernest was ‘of the spirit’. As a child he remembered his past experiences in the Spirit world before he had been born. “I had a strong feeling that another part of me existed and somehow was left behind.”

His best friend was his cousin, Nicky. They grew up together in an Italian neighborhood in west Philadelphia. The family business was a successful restaurant called “The Coconut Umbrella Club”. The name was derived from changes to the names of friends of the first Ernesto, when they passed through Ellis Island. The three young immigrants found work in a restaurant together and eventually bought and improved the business until, in young Ernest and Nicky’s time, it was a popular club, serving fine wines from the Di Spirito winery imported from Italy.

One hot afternoon, Ernest and Nicky were sitting in a booth in The Club, where they often spent their free time. They were 16 and Ernest had longed to confide his secret to someone. He tried to explain to Nicky his ‘Spirit Time’, where he found himself observing incidents that happened before he was born. He explained that he could move freely among humans, hearing their conversations and could perceive their good or evil intentions. There were other spirits with him, all of whom had names. They were able to easily travel together and communicate their thoughts and observations to each other without language.

He was met with laughter and derision. Nicky explained the beginning of life to Ernest and assured him that there was nothing magical about him. So much for confidences! Ernest kept his secret to himself into adulthood. He learned to move adeptly in and out of his Spirit memories as he matured. He attended Temple University, earning a degree in Criminal Justice. Thanks to some help from one of his professors, he was offered an interview with the FBI and was accepted as an agent. He was assigned to the Philadelphia office that was just a few blocks from The Club where he and Nicky shared an apartment.

His first assignment was to re-examine an old double murder case involving the murky world of bare- knuckled boxing in the early years of the 20th century. A New York gang had begun to infiltrate the Philadelphia neighborhood where Ernest’s family had settled. The gang ran a lucrative protection racket and was moving in on the fight business. A man had been convicted of the murders and was serving a life sentence in prison. Recently, however, new evidence suggested that the wrong man was imprisoned, and he did not commit the crime.

Ernest began his investigation by searching through old records. He arranged an interview with the boxer imprisoned for the murders and set about a methodical search for any living witnesses to the crime. As he pondered over the facts he uncovered, he was able to recall through his ‘Spirit Time’ a dinner table conversation between his grandfather and his father about resisting the threats of the local thugs pushing protection. He ascertained that certain people from The Coconut Umbrella Club might recall the circumstances which led to the murders.

In the midst of his work on the case, his cousin Nicky introduced him to a beautiful young woman from New York to whom he was immediately attracted. He was disturbed to discover that she was the granddaughter of the leader of the New York gang involved in his case. Was Julie interested in him as she implied or was she seeking inside information about a case which involved her own family?

Ernest sought the quiet of his ‘Spirit Time’ and was transported back to the early 1900’s, before he was born. It was in this alternate existence that he found his way to an ominous kidnapping and to the murder scene itself. Does Ernest solve his first case? Is a killer brought to justice after 40 years? Is Julie manipulating him under the guise of a steamy romance?

Spirit Time is the work of Dom Fiorda who was assisted in this thought provoking book by Kendra Brady. They divide their time between Indiana and Marco Island. Dom has five children, ten grandchildren and six great grandchildren. He is a softball player in the Marco Island Men’s Softball League, which Dom helped to establish in 2000. He also helps manage the Island Liquor Store during the winter months and plays on an Indiana tournament traveling team, during the summer.

The book is available for purchase at Island Liquor Store and Sunshine Booksellers at both locations on Collier Blvd., Marco Island. You may also purchase a Kindle reader edition through www.amazon.com under the title, Spirit Time.

Maggie Gust

winetaster13@gmail.com

Edited by Don George

Lonely Planet Publications, 2012

I usually find collections of short stories a bore. If there are ten stories, only four are truly interesting and well-written. I was drawn to this book because I was intrigued by the title, “better than fiction,” which could be my mantra, and because “travel” is in the title (Ready – where are we going? is my other mantra). I had no inkling I would be writing about it in Book Remarks, but it was an unexpected delight and worth sharing.

An editor and book reviewer for National Geographic Traveler, Don George has compiled this anthology which lives up to its title. Thirty-two accomplished authors have shared vignettes of their personal globe trotting.

Some will make you chuckle, like Kurt Andersen’s “Going South,” recounting his first without-his-parents vacation in 1972 with five other guys in a converted yellow school bus. Hearing that “hippie types” were not allowed to cross the Mexican border, the six hirsute guys stopped in Laredo, brought Brylcreem to slick down their longish hair, shaved their facial hair, bought nerdy shirts, and sailed across the border unchallenged.  But his description of the hospitality and improbable soccer match they experienced in a barrio in Mexico City will make your heart smile.

Joyce Carol Oates submitted, “A Visit To San Quentin.” If you’re familiar with this author, you know she can heighten your senses with her descriptive language. She delivers in this retelling of a tour of the prison which includes a visit to the robin’s egg blue gas chamber (no longer used – deemed cruel and unusual). Her observations about the buildings, guards, prisoners and other members of the tour, especially the younger females, are keen and bring the reader into the experience, conveying the condescension of the guards, the dankness of the gas chamber, repression of “the yard” and restrictiveness of the cells.

Others write about returns to childhood homelands. In “Among Saudi Sands,” Keija Parssinen recounts her trip to Saudi Arabia after a 15-year absence. For three weeks, she stayed with various friends who ranged from a very conservative gender-segregated-even-in-the-home family to a very westernized family that watched American television shows together.  Everything had changed, of course. There were now shopping malls, gourmet restaurants, barricades around official buildings and people sharing memories of bombings.

Most who wrote about “going back home” had similar revelations and concluded much as Parssinen did: “Since my trip home, I don’t cling as ardently to my memories, don’t ache to reclaim the vanished land. I understand that while our homelands shape our story, they cannot be possessed. Ever forward we keep moving – people and countries, the world over.”

I very much enjoyed the few hours I spent reading this book. I toured the world without leaving my condo. I had planned to read a story here and there, to break up the long intense biography I am currently reading. Instead, I read “better than fiction” in two sittings. Great writing, intriguing stories – and with 32 to choose from, you can skip any that don’t grab you and still get a worthwhile return on the investment of your time.

Maggie Gust is a life-long avid reader whose career path has included working as a teacher and in various positions in the health care field. A native of Illinois, she has lived in Florida since 1993 and presently works from her home here on Marco Island. e-mail: winetaster13@gmail.com

David Baldacci has done it again. I am sure that you, as do I, hesitate before buying a book unsure as to whether or not to fork out the money just in case the book might not be as good as the flyleaf’s titillating words make it sound. You are pretty safe when it comes to a Baldacci book. He seldom fails to deliver. I am not too much into espionage, foreign intrigue, spy novels or anything involving “the mob.” I can count on this author to deliver a good old, down to earth “who done it.”

John Puller was first introduced to us in “Zero Day,” published in August of this year.

He is a well trained combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division. Once more, he is tenacious. Once he smells something is not right he will not let go until he is satisfied that he has gone down every avenue in pursuit of the answer. His father, an Army fighting legend, is now in a nursing home, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller receives a call from the nursing home saying that his father is adamant that he come to see him. When he arrives he is given a letter his father received from his sister, John’s favorite aunt Betty, stating that strange things are going on in the town where she lives, however she gives no hint as to what these strange things might be other than to say that things are not what they seem. Although dad is often not totally “with it” these days, in fact he believes he is still in the Army; he is very firm in wanting John to immediately go check out what has been reported to him in his sister’s letter and quickly orders him to do so. John responds, in proper military fashion, that he will investigate and report back as soon as possible, “Sir!”

Upon arriving in Paradise, a small town in the panhandle of Florida, he is aghast to find his aunt dead after apparently drowning in her backyard fish pond. The local police have declared it an accidental death but John is far from convinced this is the case and sets out to prove it. His conviction is further deepened when his aunt’s neighbor is found dead shortly after John has questioned him about anything he might have seen. His efforts are frequently impeded by one of the local law officers who spends his time trying to show everyone what a superior officer he is when, in fact, he is somewhat of a buffoon.

At first glance there seem to be two separate stories being told in this book as we are told of a man who had managed to escape from a boat carrying illegals into the United States to be sold as slaves and prostitutes. We learn that he is determined to find out what happened to his sister who was kidnapped in Europe and transported to America for the same purpose and has plotted revenge on those guilty of this act. He is a markedly large and strong man whose strength allowed him to escape the boat and swim a great distance to shore. This same strength will stand him in good stead when he confronts those involved in transporting these illegals into the states for their own monetary gain.

It does not take the reader long to begin to suspect that Puller’s aunt’s death and the arrival of these boatloads of kidnapped people are somehow intertwined. John Puller is not one to just try to find out who did something. He also wants to know why it was done and, further more, make sure that person can never do something like that again.

Baldacci, as usual, manages to keep us enthralled with the many ins and outs of the story to the very end. Many an hour of potential productivity will be lost once again as you are lost in another great “who done it” by a master story teller.

David Baldacci is also the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America.

About The Author

Diane Bostick has lived on Marco Island since 1987.  She was the Founder and President of Ft. Myers chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, President of Jr. Welfare League, Ft. Myers Chapter, and served on the board of Art League of Marco Island. She is an avid reader, fly fisherwoman, tennis player and crafter.

Maggie Gust
winetaster13@gmail.com

Bring Up The Bodies

by Hilary Mantel

Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2012

To begin, I would like to note that I was given credit in the last issue of Coastal Breeze for the article on “Killing Kennedy.” In fact, my partner in crime, Diane Bostick, is the author and deserves your accolades for sharing her excellent reflections on the book as well as her reminiscences of the JFK era.

No doubt, many of you are familiar with Hilary Mantel and may have read “Wolf Hall,” her novel published three years ago, which won the prestigious British Man Booker prize. “Bring Up The Bodies” is the sequel to “Wolf Hall,” but you can relish this book without having read the prequel. It definitely stands on its own. If you are wondering about the title, bring up the bodies was the phrase used by the jailers at the Tower of London when taking prisoners to court for their trials.

Hilary tells the story of Anne Boleyn’s downfall from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, the Secretary to the King, Deputy of the Head of the Church of England, and Chancellor Cambridge University, or as Hilary Mantel titles him, “The minister of everything.” Henry VIII, like most English kings, loved to bestow titles and such on those who did his bidding and Cromwell definitely did his bidding. Actually, part of Cromwell’s genius was that he could anticipate the king’s bidding.

It is a very clever technique to use Cromwell as the protagonist rather than Henry VIII. We are all familiar with Henry’s story and have seen it depicted by some great actors on the big screen or on stage, and read about it in the history books and historical novels (but definitely not on Showtime’s The Tudors). By placing Cromwell at the center of this time period, Hilary has given us a wide-angle view of that world instead of the narrow focus on royal characters that we usually get. In her story, we see how Cromwell functions in the purview where he is the lord and master, bombarded by those wishing to ingratiate themselves to him as well as those who want to unseat him.

Covering the span of a year, she begins in September 1535, shortly after Thomas More was beheaded. Anne Boleyn is now Queen, toddler daughter Elizabeth is thriving, the people’s beloved Katherine is on her deathbed, having been exiled to a remote manor north of London, daughter Mary is in protective custody (house arrest) elsewhere, and Henry is still yearning for a legitimate male heir. The bloom is off the rose of his romance with Anne Boleyn and he is making overtures to Jane Seymour at the same time he is doing his duty to conceive a male child with his queen. Hedging his bets, as it appears to Cromwell who is sure Anne will be out of the picture soon if no male heir appears pronto.

Usually when writing this column, it’s a concern not to reveal too much of the book, in order not to spoil the appetite of anyone who might be interested in reading it. That’s not a problem with historical novels. We all know what happened to all the major characters in this story, so there is really no plot to ruin. What Hilary Mantel has done is to make Cromwell a three-dimensional person, not simply the heartless tyrant that was portrayed in say, “A Man For All Seasons,” authored by Robert Bolt. We see his life outside the intrigue of the royal court and the royal chambers.

We learn about his brutal childhood and his life in Europe where he learned several languages and experienced many cultures, actually making him more learned and sophisticated than many of the royalty of his day. He was a widower, father, brother, who was more concerned about the poor and jobless of England than were the members of the Commons. She fleshes out his character by describing his day dreams, revealing his care for the household of Cardinal Wolsey, his mentor, after the Cardinal’s death, and his relationships with his, Cromwell’s, sons. Also, she provides vivid details of jousting, meals, fashion for both the ladies and gentlemen, the routine of their daily lives, and the gossip of the Londoners. With “The Book of Henry,” she employs a technique allowing Cromwell to let the reader know what he really thought about Henry.

But the core of the book addresses the political acumen of Cromwell and his life on the precipice of Henry’s court. He was aware of his great power and influence, but also of his enemies and the volatility of Henry Tudor. One small step in the wrong direction could end everything. All the king’s men led by Cromwell gather forces to bring down Anne Boleyn once Henry has set his mind on Jane Seymour. Anne is accused of sorcery, adultery, and cavorting with her brother. The interrogation scenes in this latter part of the book chilled me to the bone. They are some of the best dialogue I have ever read – I swear I felt I was in the midst of the room with them.

In the course of barely three weeks, they arrested, tried, convicted, and beheaded four men and one queen. Henry spent seven years fighting to marry this queen, barely three years married to her, and once he was disenchanted, he dispatched her fate to Cromwell. Henry spent his days in his chambers and his nights going down river to visit Jane Seymour. Ten days after Anne’s beheading, Henry married Jane Seymour.

Hilary Mantel won an unprecedented second Man Booker prize for this book in October 2012. The last of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy, “The Mirror and The Light,” is being written now, publishing date not yet announced.

If you love stories about royal/political intrigue, enjoy historical novels, or you simply delight in a great read, this book will not disappoint. It is written by a master storyteller who has done her historical homework.

Maggie Gust is a life-long avid reader whose career path has included working as a teacher and in the health care field. A native of Illinois, she has lived in Florida since 1993 and presently works from her home on Marco Island.

Maggie Gust 
winetaster13@gmail.com

Author: Bill O’Rielly, Martin Dugard. 

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, 2012 

The title of this book, Killing Kennedy, is a bit misleading as it is only partially about that eventful day and the mental processes and actions on the part of Lee Harvey Oswald, leading up to that day. Much more of the story is about John F. Kennedy and the man he was and how he became that person. Further, you learn about those around him in the White House after his election to the office of President of the United States of America. At the time he was killed I was young and not very much into politics so was surprised to learn that Lyndon Johnson was only chosen as his running mate due to the fact that it was felt his attachment to the ticket was the best way to win the state of Texas over to Kennedy’s election. There was no love between the two and after the election Vice President Johnson was virtually ignored and almost never asked his opinion on any subject. He was actively despised by Bobby Kennedy, who was considered President Kennedy’s right hand man. Kennedy’s involvement with Frank Sinatra and his cohorts, many of whom were members of the mob, had to be squelched before that affiliation did his political aspirations a great deal of harm. Kennedy’s frequent liaisons with Marilyn Monroe had the potential for further harm to the presidency. In those days the media was not so quick to publicize the sexual indiscretions of those in the higher positions in government so they were able to continue their involvement with women without fear of its affect on them, both publicly and privately. Mrs. Kennedy took the position of what she didn’t see wouldn’t hurt her so made herself an infrequent member of the president’s household by making sure she was visiting with friends and family for long stretches of time.

To this very day there is question as to whether Oswald was the only person involved in the assassination. Many still insist that there was no possible way that the shots that killed the President could have come from only one gun and from only one direction. There have been many reports and books written about that day and what occurred. This is Bill O’Rielly and Martin Dugard’s interpretation of the events and much of what led up to that eventful and shocking tragedy.

Those of you who read O’Rielly and Dugard’s book, Killing Lincoln learned a great deal about the issues of the day and those involved that lead to the shocking assassination of that president. You will find equally interesting tidbits of history in this book. I found the former book written more in the style of a mystery, not easily put down. This book, being more current and filled with facts that many of us are already somewhat aware of, comes more as a clarification and amplification of many of these facts. It is an interesting book that fills in the blanks in our knowledge of some of the more recent events in our country’s history.

Maggie Gust is a life-long avid reader whose career path has included working as a teacher and in various positions in the health care field. A native of Illinois, she has lived in Florida since 1993 and presently works from her home here on Marco Island. 

Maggie Gust 

winetaster13@gmail.com

Author: Janet Wallach 

Publisher: Doubleday, 2012 

“Before deciding on an investment, seek out every kind of information about it.” To Hetty Robinson Green, this was just common sense – work hard to learn everything possible about a venture before committing. Some saw her as cruel and heartless because of her no-nonsense-when-it-comes-to-business philosophy. Ironically, Hetty never paid workers slave wages, paid off government officials, bought off public land or manipulated stockholders as did many of her more celebrated male counterparts. She gave much to help others, but quietly, without fanfare, without having her name chiseled on the hospitals, libraries, settlement houses, and schools she assisted. Her low interest loans helped save cities more than once – including New York City.

She believed in keeping cash at hand to buy when everyone was selling. A cardinal rule for her was never to borrow in order to invest. She enjoyed investment and growing money, lived simply, believed railroads and real estate were the best investments. As a still-young woman, Hetty owned the town of Cicero, Illinois, as well as a sizable share of the present Chicago Loop, among many other properties and/or mortgages. By middle age, she had property across the country. At the time of her death at age 81, she left her children a fortune equal to two billion dollars in today’s currency. The story of how she got to that point makes this book a great read.

Edward Mott Robinson made his fortune from the whaling industry of New Bedford, Massachusetts. When Hetty Howland Robinson was born November 21, 1834, Edward was disappointed to have a daughter and not the anticipated male heir. Mrs. Robinson immediately became with child again, but baby Isaac died a few weeks after birth. Mrs. Robinson took to bed and an angry Mr. Robinson sent Hetty to live at her maternal grandfather’s house.

Although it was emotionally a cold existence, with all adults in her life failing to adequately care for her, at the age of six, Hetty found the way to her grandfather’s heart. She began reading the stock quotations and commerce reports to him when his eyesight dimmed and assisted in his correspondence. Gideon Howland informed his young granddaughter that some day she would inherit a lot of money. Wealth was deemed a virtue by Quakers, and great wealth was an election by God. Hetty grasped that in her Quaker family, growing money was job one. When she was eight years old, Hetty ordered the carriage to be brought around, went to the bank and opened her own account with her allowance money. There she met her first true love – compound interest!

One of the reasons I love reading biographies, memoirs, and true crime (I also read a lot of fiction) is that no one could make up the things real people do or the coincidences that occur in their lives to move events along. If they did, it would seem contrived and insulting to the reader. The Richest Woman In America reads like a novelistic narrative not only because it is well written but also due to Hetty’s place in society. The cast of characters who touched Hetty’s life reads like a “Who’s Who” in 19th century America and Europe. All of the uber rich of that time, the Astors, the Vanderbilts, Carnegie, Rothschild, Rockefeller, et cetera, but also the campaigner Abraham Lincoln, the Stowes and others who worked for the Quaker virtues of peace and justice.

Hetty was not just about growing money. She was an attractive, intelligent, witty, charming person, very much in demand at soirees and dinner parties. Several anecdotes from the book illustrate how vivacious and witty she was. My favorite is the visit of the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria’s son, in Fall 1860, to New York. Hetty attended his welcoming dinner party and after the meal, queued up in the reception line. When he was introduced to her as the Prince of Wales, she replied, “And I am the Princess of Whales.” He was charmed (and charming) and replied, “Ah, I have heard that all of Neptune’s daughters are beautiful. You are proof of that.” Then he whisked her away on the dance floor.

Another side of Hetty was that she liked things to come out even. When she was wronged, she took action. She sued. Hetty was involved in several lawsuits throughout her lifetime. One she filed in a dispute over her Aunt Sylvia’s will dragged on for years, apparently is still cited in lawsuits and legal texts because it was the first case to use statistical evidence – the Howland Will Case. At other times, when the wrong was more personal, such as a judge being paid off to decide against her, or a financier dealing unfairly with her, she would bide her time, sometimes two or three years, and when the opportunity came, she used her financial leverage to balance the scales.

I learned a lot reading this book, foremost being that Hetty Green existed. She was unknown to me, though I consider myself a reasonably well-read person. Also, I learned that junk bonds existed in the 19th century, how greenbacks were used by the rich to become even richer, how the proliferation of regional railroads led to the necessity of the transcontinentals. Janet Wallach writes so clearly that I found myself engrossed in her description of the financial panics and recessions of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, the span of Hetty’s adult life.

In several places in the book, Wallach compares Warren Buffett to Hetty Green. They both pursued simplicity in their lifestyles, loved seeing money grow, gave away large sums to worthy causes and both saw railroads as integral to a strong America. One major way in which they differ is that Buffett has lived in the same modest home for decades, while Hetty lived in hotels and boarding houses, constantly on the move. Her reasons for this were several. Property: She had properties literally everywhere that needed her personal attention. Weather: The rich left the cities and went to rural areas during the hot weather. Safety: She was constantly besieged by requests for money, by both letters and people accosting her in person. Health: And, Hetty had a pervasive fear of being poisoned. Her father had whispered to her on his death bed that he had been poisoned, and she believed her Aunt Sylvia had been, as well. She believed the anonymity of a boarding house or hotel kitchen gave her some protection from being poisoned.

Hetty was married at age 34 to Edward Green, had one son and one daughter. She was a loving mother. Her son Ned was an astounding success, gifted with his father’s personality and his mother’s focus and hard work. The marriage was another story, interesting and long-lived, bu they did not cohabitate for much of the marriage. It would take many paragraphs just to outline this complicated relationship. They stayed friends even after Mr. Green’s final betrayal proved too much for Hetty to bear. It’s a story well worth reading.

As a footnote, I would add an intriguing fact about Hetty Green. As much as she accomplished in a man’s world, as fiercely independent as she was, and as much as she enjoyed besting men who tried to belittle her in financial situations, she was not a suffragette. In fact, she had no patience with them and felt that women voting was a sorry idea, to be sure. A woman of many facets, was Hetty Green. Oh, and don’t even ask what she thought about Teddy Roosevelt!

Maggie Gust is a life-long avid reader whose career path has included working as a teacher and in various positions in the health care field. A native of Illinois, she has lived in Florida since 1993 and presently works from her home here on Marco Island

Author: Margaret Dilloway
Publisher: Putnam 2012 

I would be curious to know what percentage of the readers of this column are women and what percentage are men. My gut feeling is that it is the kind of thing primarily read by women, but I could be very wrong. As I have said before, I try to vary the books I read so that at least some appeal to both men and women. I probably haven’t written any “Remarks” that would only appeal to men but I am sure I have written quite a few that lean strongly to the feminine reader. After reviewing the 36 columns that I have written I would say that 14 of them are written about books that either would enjoy. Certainly I don’t want to write about nothing but mysteries, which would appeal to a lot of men and women, though it would be easy for me to do so as I read a lot of them. Since, in my heart, I believe that most of my readers are women I hope I will be forgiven for reviewing another book that they might enjoy.

Galilee “Gal” Garner is a thirty-six year old biology teacher at a Catholic high school. She raises roses as a consuming hobby, hoping to propagate a rose that has never been bred that will win her honors, ribbons and recognition. And she has been waiting for a kidney transplant, after two failures, for eight very long years. Almost all of her life her need for care due to her bad kidney has affected not only her personally, but the lives of both of her parents and her sister Becky. It has affected her physical size. It has affected her personality. She is limited as to what she can eat. She is limited as to how much and what she can drink. And every other night of her life she has to stay in the hospital for dialysis. All of this has left her with little patience for those whose lives are so much easier than hers. She believes in hard work and study and has no trouble failing her students who expect good grades while giving little in return. Her life follows a very set, and boring, pattern and her only real joy in life is her green house and the roses she is growing within it.

Then everything changes when her sister Becky’s teenaged daughter arrives, unannounced, on her doorstep, prepared to stay. Becky has been far from a good mother. She has been into drugs and alcohol, heavily. And now she has followed a job that has taken her to Hong Kong for an unknown amount of time. And her daughter, Riley, has been literally dumped upon “Gal’s” doorstep, black hair, Goth/Ralph Lauren clothing combination and all. To say she is shaken by this unexpected event would be an understatement. We all know what living with a teenaged girl can be like, but it becomes even more difficult when the child has been ignored much of her life and is feeling very much deserted by her mother. Luckily Riley seems willing to try to fit into her Aunt’s life and the new school where she knows nobody. She dyes her hair back to some semblance of its natural color, starts wearing the uniforms required at the school without a fuss and attempts to make friends. But she is not a natural student and has trouble living up to her aunt’s expectations of school work. She does her best to help her aunt by offering to help in the greenhouse but is quickly rebuffed. Gal is more than just particular about who touches anything to do with her roses. She is a fanatic and seems convinced that only she is capable of caring for them and lives in fear that someone else could erase all of her years of hard work in developing a new variety of rose.

Gradually each begins to understand the other and make accommodations for the other’s needs and desires. Slowly, affection develops between the two and they become a family.

When Becky returns for her daughter, claiming that she is no longer a drug or alcohol user, we are torn as to what we want for all three of them. Gal finally begins to realize that much of Becky’s years of rebellion were a cry for attention as a result of her being pushed aside by her parents because so much time had to be spent in caring for Gal.

At the end of the book you understand that we are all roses with thorns. Some of us are pricklier than others, but all of us require special handling and care to grow and flourish.

About The Author

Diane Bostick has lived on Marco Island since 1987. She was the Founder and President of Ft. Myers chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, President of Jr. Welfare League, Ft. Myers Chapter, and served on the board of Art League of Marco Island. She is an avid reader, fly fisherwoman, tennis player and crafter.

B

Maggie Gust

winetaster13@gmail.com

Author: Will Schwalbe

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf 2012

The End Of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe is not morbid or maudlin. It is a celebration of life. Do not be deterred by the title or you will miss one fantastic book as well as the opportunity to meet one of the kindest and most generous people who ever lived. And boy, did she live!

The book club consists of the author and his mother, Mary Anne Schwalbe. It is formed when Will accompanies his mother to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for treatment of her suspected hepatitis, and asks her the simple ice-breaker, “What are you reading?” Basically, his mother guilts the too-busy-to-read-much Will (who is a book editor at a publishing company) into reading Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. A novel about two couples in a long-term friendship, one of the female characters has terminal cancer – an ominous choice for this mother-son book club because at this time, Mary Anne’s cancer had not yet to be diagnosed.

There is so much to admire about this book, it is hard to cull the elements that might entice you to read it. There is Mary Anne Goldsmith Schwalbe herself, a woman who spent her youth seeking adventure and travel, pursuing an acting career, falling deeply in love with a “confirmed bachelor” (she didn’t know) and through him meeting her future husband and father of their three children. After her marriage she worked as an educator at the high school and college levels, managed admissions at Harvard and Radcliffe, served on the boards of many foundations, and still managed to be room mother and bake cookies for her three kids.

She took a sabbatical from her job and went to work in a refugee camp in Thailand, accompanied by her only daughter Nina who was one semester away from college graduation. The experience profoundly changed both women. Nina went into public health and Mary Ann eventually worked full time in refugee causes, helping found the Women’s Refugee Commission, and working with the International Red Cross. She did not just sit behind a desk in NYC while serving these causes – she traveled the world many times, including multiple trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan, lived in the dire camp conditions and was even shot at.

There is Mary Anne the mother who as a woman of deep religious convictions insisted that her children attend church regularly. Her generosity and tolerance for diversity extended even to her children, as she allowed young Will to choose Christian Science as his religion, which he did because it required the least effort on his part. The matter of religion and belief system is revisited in their book club.

There is also the Mary Anne who even in the midst of her terminal cancer diagnosis is acutely aware of how “lucky” she is to be able to afford the treatment for her condition, lucky that she is not alone in her fight and has family and friends around, lucky that she lives in NYC where the best treatments are located, lucky that she loves reading because when all else fails, she will have that. This woman knew the names and life situations of all her caregivers at Sloan-Kettering and never failed to ask her oncologist at every visit how she, the oncologist, was doing. A woman of more than comfortable means, she took the bus home after her treatments.

In addition to Mary Anne’s well-lived life, there is the story of the Schwalbe family, an incredibly loving and supportive unit whose devotion to their remarkable matriarch almost equals her love for them.

Of course this book is written against the backdrop of Mary Anne’s illness. The symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and other aspects of modern medicine are familiar to most of us who have experienced this either in our own lives or through that of a loved one. Will describes them accurately and objectively, I think, but they do not take over the story. It is clear throughout this entire wonderful book that Mary Ann has cancer, it does not have her.

Finally, there are two things I found striking about this book, other than Mary Anne herself. The first was seeing Will come to recognize this woman as Mary Anne, not just “mom,” to the point where he can say near the end, “I’m proud of you.” The second is the mega booklist that comes as a bonus. All the books that the Schwalbes read and authors they discussed are in an alphabetical appendix. It will keep you in reading material for years to come.

Maggie Gust is a life-long avid reader whose career path has included working as a teacher and in various positions in the health care field. A native of Illinois, she has lived in Florida since 1993 and presently works from her home here on Marco Island.