From Sand and Ash

I have so much to say about From Sand and Ash, a historical fiction novel by Amy Harmon. Where to begin?

This novel was first suggested as a title for our Jewish book club, way back at the beginning of the book club. As soon as I heard that it was a Holocaust novel I said no. I did not want our Jewish book club to read one Holocaust novel after another. I didn't want us to be that kind of club. I wanted to find other types of novels that had some connection to either Judaism or Israel. Of course, remembrance of the Holocaust has some impact on American Judaism so two of the books we've read have been peripherally related to the Holocaust without being stories of the Holocaust.

Then I realized that our next book club meeting would be in April, the week of our synagogue's Holocaust Remembrance Day observance. We're trying to get new people to attend our book club. Why not pick a Holocaust novel and promote our Holocaust program and our book club together? Since one member so highly recommended this novel (and she hasn't been thrilled with most of the books we've been discussing), we decided to go with it.

Now that I've finished it nearly months prior to our discussion, I should probably write some notes so I can remember the things I want to talk about. I'm torn between wanting to do that here - or just getting to the review. As I've got a desk full of other projects I need to get to work on, I think I'll just go with the review.

At the simplest level, From Sand and Ash is about star-crossed lovers, Eva and Angelo. Eva is an Italian Jew and Angelo is an Italian-American, destined to be a priest. After Angelo's mother dies in childbirth, his father sends him to Florence to live with his grandparents who happen to be household employees of Eva's father. The two, from early times together, have trouble defining their relationship. They're being raised in the same household so they feel like siblings in one way. But maybe the relationship is closer to being cousins. Readers know that there might be more to it.

War comes to Italy. The Germans take control. And racial laws are put into place restricting what Jews can and can't do. It greatly impacts the lives of Eva, Angelo, and their families. Angelo's calling to become a priest is greater than his pull to create a life with Eva. He heads off to Rome and Eva stays behind in Florence.

Eventually, Angelo deems it no longer safe for Eva to stay in Florence so he brings her to Rome and hides her in a convent. This is where the meat of the story is. I knew that Italians (and the Catholic Church), more than people from any other European country, did a lot to hide their Jews. This novel gives a full taste of how that was done. Eva doesn't want to simply be hidden. She wants to help while she is waiting out the war.

Harmon's language creates quite the picture of what life must have been like in Italy with the Gestapo in charge. Eva and Angelo are fully developed characters who maintain their humanity as the world around them is falling to pieces. I'd highly recommend this novel.

There is so much that can be discussed about this book and I look forward to the discussion.

The Great Alone

I'm usually a big fan of Kristin Hannah's work, I'm actually surprised this is the first Kristin Hannah book that I've read since I started reviewing novels on this blog, but for some reason, I had very mixed feelings about The Great Alone. I mean, I loved it... but I didn't. It was gripping. It painted a stunning picture of the wildness of Alaska. It was often difficult to read.

The Great Alone is a coming of age story. But it's so much more. It's a story about America's last frontier. It's a story about the after effects of serving in Vietnam. It's a story about survival. It's a story about love. Love between a husband and wife, love between a mother and daughter, love between two friends.

Ernt and Cora, passionately in love, are in need of a fresh start with their teenage daughter, Leni. Ernt is bequeathed an Alaskan homestead by the soldier he couldn't save in Vietnam. They struggle to survive, and would not have survived had it not been for the community they moved to.

Ernt has many demons that are worsened by the long, dark days of Alaskan winters. Cora can't help him nor can she help herself. Leni finally feels like she's found a place where she belongs, but she's got so many secrets to contend with.

The story was compelling. The characters were believable. Sometimes, the author got too wordy. The descriptions got too long, the storyline got dragged out. There was quite a bit of what felt like repetitiveness. The violence and abuse was graphic, which wasn't really a problem, but it was often more dragged out than was really necessary to move the story forward.

I recommend this novel but with the caveat that it might be "too much" for some.

The Good Earth

Pearl S. Buck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Good Earth, is a classic I probably should have read in high school. Or in college. Or sometime before right now. Now that I've read it, I'm surprised that I never have read it before. Once again, I'm grateful for my Books and Beer Club because it has me reading classics that should be on the "read" list of anyone who calls themselves a serious reader.

Honestly, I had no idea what this novel was about. It really was about the good earth, about the importance of the land in the life of Wang Lung and his family. There were parts of the story that I loved. How the family really came together during the floods and droughts that threaten Wang Lung's livelihood. Other parts, about how Wang Lung searched for satisfaction in a tea house, not so much. But overall, I'm glad that I've now read this and look forward to discussing it with my book club in two weeks.