Book Reviews

Jaun Diego and his sister Lupe are dump kids. That means they live in the dump outside the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. They scavenge the garbage for any kind of valuable. A couple of things set them apart. Juan Diego has taught himself to read by salvaging books, thrown out by the Jesuits who run a monastery and orphanage nearby. Lupe has the ability to read minds, however, she is unable to communicate and no one can understand her but Juan Diego. When Juan Deigo’s foot is crushed in an accident, the two kids move into the orphanage. Although not strictly orphans, their mother, Esperanza, works as a cleaning woman for the church, and also walks the streets at night. Rumors are that the dump boss is their father, but Esperanza never says for sure. She is struck down by the huge statue of the Virgin Mary while standing on a ladder to clean it. From there, Juan Diego and Lupe are shuttled into the circus because the doctor says it will be a good profession for Lupe, with her mind-reading abilities. Juan Diego must go with her because he’s the only one who can understand her gibberish

Juan Diego goes on to become a writer in his adult life, but not before losing Lupe, and being adopted by a former priest and his lover, who move to Iowa to teach at the University. By now he is travelling to the Philippines, to fulfill a promise he made as a child to the good gringo, a hippie in Oaxaca to avoid the draft. The good gringo dies before he can make a pilgrimage to see his father’s grave, which Juan Diego sets out to do, aided by one of his students. But Juan Diego is taken over during his travels by a mother and daughter team, who take charge of his itinerary, and his life. Strangely, a photo taken of the three of them in front of a sightseeing spot shows only Juan Diego, the mother and daughter, Miriam and Dorothy, do not show up in the photo at all. Juan Diego should be taking his beta blocker prescription, but because of the two very attractive women, he takes Viagra instead, alternating his doses and choosing to forego the beta blockers many times in order to find pleasure with one or the other of the two women. Also, the beta blockers interfere with his dreams, which is the only place he can reconnect with his former life as a child in Mexico. All advise him to leave the past behind, but that cuts out those he loved the most, his sister Lupe, Senor Eduardo and Flor, who adopted him and took him to America.

Lots of religion in this story, with strongly held views for and against by the different characters. Miracles, or not, depending on who’s doing the interpreting. According to Lupe, only she and her brother Juan Diego are the miracles.

I attempted to read this book when it was first published, after I enjoyed reading Pillars of the Earth, by the same author. At the time it struck me as too violent, so I put it aside. Just finished this whopper of a book, one thousand pages long. A group of youngsters in the area of Kingsbridge are playing, and one of the girls, Caris, whose father is a wealthy wool merchant, leads them into the forest. In those days, the early 1300’s, the forest was where outlaws lived and children were absolutely forbidden to go there alone. But Caris was headstrong and confident, and the other children followed. Two brothers, Ralph and Merthin, and a young pickpocket, Gwenda, went along. Gwenda had a three-legged dog she called Hop, who followed her everywhere. Once in the forest, Merthin wanted to show off a new bow he had made, but could not summon the strength to launch the arrow more than a few feet. His younger brother Ralph, however, easily fit the arrow to the bow and promptly killed Gwenda’s little dog. About this time, they see someone coming, and fearing outlaws, hide in some bushes nearby. Instead of outlaws, the children see a knight lean against a nearby tree, clearly exhausted. Two men approach and demand he surrender a letter, but the knight attacks. At this point Ralph notches another arrow and kills one of the men. The rest of the children run away except for Merthin, who sees the knight is seriously injured, but has killed the other man who attacked him. The injured knight enlists Merthin’s help to hide the bodies, then to dig a hole at the base of the tree and bury a pouch inside. He tells Merthin that he must keep the secret of what has happened, or he will be killed.

Back in the city Gwenda goes with Caris to her home, and is given a puppy. She stays for dinner even though she is not of the same class as her new friend, and she and Caris begin a friendship that will last for decades. Gwenda must return to her home where her father is a known thief and where he routinely sends her out to steal on market days and fairs. When things become really desperate he trades her to a man for a cow, and Gwenda is tied up like livestock and led away. Her father has told her the man is going to marry her, but just outside of town he turns off into the forest, making his way to a group of outlaws camped there. There are many men there but only a few women, so she knows what they plan. But Gwenda is tough and determined and with a bit of luck, escapes and heads back to Kingsbridge. She is followed by the man who traded a cow for her, and just as she reaches the bridge leading into the city, it collapses. She and her new owner fall into the river below, neither of them knowing how to swim. But Gwenda learns from her little dog how to stay afloat, and in all the confusion of hundreds of people, carts and livestock all thrashing about she is able to get away from her pursuer. When he tries to follow, she attacks him, holding his head under the water until he is dead. No one sees this event, and she is relieved, but upon returning home she realizes that her father will only sell her again if she remains there.

The knight who buried the letter ends up becoming a monk in the cathedral. Merthin becomes an apprentice to the town builder, and Ralph enters the service of the Earl of Shiring as a squire, hoping to become a knight himself. The loss of the bridge means the town’s merchants, and indeed the proiry which in this case, owns the town, will go bankrupt since traders can no longer reach the market, and will take their business to other nearby towns. Merthin convinces the merchants that the design of the old bridge was faulty, but he can build a bridge that will not fall. Caris becomes her father’s right hand woman in the wool business, but she also is an apprentice of sorts for a local healer, a woman who makes medicines for the townspeople. Monks run a hospital, and a few are trained at Oxford. Mostly what they prescribe is bleeding, cupping and prayer.

The story proceeds from these events, the children in the forest, the collapse of the bridge, Caris’ interest in medicines, Gwenda’s fearlessness and determination, Ralph’s physical ability and lack of morals, and most of all, Merthin’s ability to build. At times I was disappointed at the sheer misery of the lives of the people during this time, the story takes place from about 1330 – 1360. The plague comes to the city, and even in this book, which was published in 2008, long before the pandemic, nuns were covering their faces with linen masks when nursing those who were dying from the disease. My understanding was that the disease was carried by fleas but I don’t know about contagion between people once contracted. The story was compelling, with the characters developing over many years. A good book, but quite lengthy. Maybe the author is trying to portray life in those times with danger around every corner and requiring guile, usually, to make it through. The church and the nobility between them ruled almost every aspect of daily life. Not an easy time for anyone.

Clover is born in the Cayman Islands and grows up alongside her friend James. From the age of six, Clover thinks James is the one boy in the world she most wants to be with. Of course, she doesn’t dare say so. She’s certain that James only likes her as a friend. Like most of their friends, Clover and James’ parents are not from Cayman. They work in the financial, or in James’ case, medical, professions that the attractive tax structure provides for foreigners. When these wealthy foreigners’ children go to college, they must leave the islands. At that point Clover goes to Scotland, which is where her father is from, her mother being from New York City. James goes to England and Clover adapts to not seeing her best friend. She even has a boyfriend, who by all accounts is a very nice guy. But everyone knows, including the boyfriend, that Clover’s heart is reserved for her one love. James and Clover don’t see each other much during this period. James also has a girlfriend, whom Clover meets briefly. They keep in touch via mutual friends from Cayman until after college when Clover decides to take a break and do some travelling. By this time it’s no surprise that she travels to be close to James, just happening to travel halfway across the world, not to see him of course, but making sure she runs into him coincidentally.

This is a sweet story, as always, by Alexander McCall Smith. I’ve read several of his books, many of them in fact, and there’s always something fulfilling about his stories. It helps sometimes to read something, not necessarily with a happy ending, but with a positive view of humanity. He always manages to see through to the goodness in people. Not all of them, of course. A few of his characters have goodness to a depth that I could only hope to reach. Always enjoy his writing.

This thriller goes by fast. Ben Addison is starting his new job as clerk at the Supreme Court. Ben and three college friends all room together in Washington, D.C. They’ve all known each other since childhood. Ben and his fellow clerk, Lisa, are just getting started when Ben is befriended by a man named Rick. He’s a former clerk who fills Ben in on some procedures and guidelines. After speaking on the phone several times, Rick asks if they can meet in person. They meet up at a restaurant and since Rick has been so helpful and is after all, a former clerk himself, Ben shares an opinion that has has been decided but not published yet. Over the next few days Ben watches in horror as a well known investor makes millions of dollars by investing in a company that benefits from the decision. All of a sudden, Rick is nowhere to be found. His phone is disconnected, he’s not at the address Ben has for him. After doing some research Ben and Lisa discover Rick was never a Supreme Court clerk.

Now Ben’s career is in jeopardy. Already he is being courted by one of the top law firms in the country to join them once his year at the court is through. He has broken a pledge to keep all information regarding the court confidential. If he goes to the authorities for help he will lose his job and his career. With help from Lisa and his room mates, Ben sets up a scheme to catch Rick. Because Rick does get back in touch, now blackmailing Ben with threats of going public with his breach unless more information is forthcoming. Soon everyone is bending if not breaking the rules, the room mates are using their positions in other parts of government to try to help. Distrust creeps in, the childhood friends making decisions that will change their lives, or maybe even end them.

There’s lots of dialogue so the book reads quickly. It’s a page turner, and as I read, I could easily imagine the story being made into a movie. It’s also an interesting insight into the workings of the Supreme Court.