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Early Warning, by Jane Smiley

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The second book in author Jane Smiley’s trilogy about a family that started out on a farm in Iowa. The first book tells about Walter and Rosanna getting married and buying a small farm of their own. The children are born and grow up and marry. Now those children are married and have children of their own, some of them are grown and married too. It gets complicated. Along the way one boy is killed in Vietnam, a daughter is caught up in the religious group headed by Jim Jones whose members died in Guyana. Even though I’ve never been to Iowa I can relate to much of what is going on because I grew up during the time the events took place. Kennedy’s assassination, along with MLK and Bobby’s deaths make appearances in the book. Rosanna’s sister Eloise was a member of the communist party way back in the day so her opinions are stated along the way. Some of the original brothers and sisters turn out to be assholes, one stays behind and runs the family farm, which grows and expands as he marries, taking on that farm as well, and adopts new practices. Gone are the horses that drew the plough, now it’s tractors and fertilizer and no-till farming, but also crop yields and prices so low the farmers can’t make a profit. Governments and presidents and how the farmer fares with their policies of taking land out of production. One is happily married to the man who carried her away from the farm to the big city where it turns out he works for the CIA and suffers a nervous breakdown. Life goes on from there. the oldest brother has been a regular cheater on his wife, who seems to never notice. From the outside they appear to have the perfect life, beautiful home, lots of money, nice cars, therapist visits, kids growing up and out on their own. The husband is convinced that one of his lovers has produced a son, whom he sees in a coffee shop in Aspen. It turns out to be his relative, but not his son.

I find myself thinking of these characters as a family, similar to my own family but much more colorful. Maybe because i’ve reached the age where so many of my family members have passed away it’s enjoyable to read about this big and complicated, ever changing group, following them along from year to year. Looking forward to the last volume in the trilogy.

The Rising Tide, by Jeff Shaara

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This is a novel about many of the high profile characters of WWII involved in Africa and Italy before the Normandy invasion. Rommel is there, Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, Hitler of course, President Roosevelt and many others. A few enlisted men’s stories are there as well and theirs are the ones where death is all around them, seeing their pals and even guys whom they hated blown to pieces. Yet some survived and not necessarily due to any special ability on their part.

This is the second book by the author I have read and although I don’t usually like reading about war, the battles and strategy, this book is interesting. I found myself looking forward to reading the next chapter to find out what happened. And then wondering, if Hitler hadn’t kept Rommel away from Africa just before the invasion of Sicily, would the Allies have prevailed? Maybe not, was my conclusion. I had always heard that Hitler kept his generals from succeeding by interfering with their plans. If he had left them to their jobs the outcome of WWII may have been different. But of course it was not in his nature to allow others to have their opinion. Rommel left Africa apparently to convince Hitler that he did not have the supplies needed to fight any longer, that while Mussolini promised ammunition it was never received in the amounts needed to win. Rommel’s plan was to withdraw his army quickly so that it might fight another day in Italy or Germany. Once he was with Hitler, he was kept nearby as an advisor. Much of the German army did escape into Italy, making the Allied invasion and attack much more difficult than the generals had hoped.

There are several historical events described in the book, most notably Patton’s slapping of a soldier in a hospital for a nervous condition. Patton had no patience for what he considered cowardly behavior and perhaps had the doctors and the press not protested so much this incident might not have cost Patton so dearly. And had Patton not been one of the best campaign generals on the Allied side, he would’ve been dismissed over it. Shaara gives a good indication of Patton’s’ personality so that you can see where he’s coming from, whether you agree with his actions or not. He was very strict, requiring men in full uniform including tie, even in the brutal heat of the African desert.

I’ll look for another one of these books by Jeff Shaara. Maybe he continued this story as many of the survivors of the Africa and Sicily campaigns moved to England to begin preparations for the Normandy invasion.

War, by Bob Woodward

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Published 2024

It’s all about Ukraine vs Russia and Israel vs Hamas. This is much more in depth than any news program that I’ve heard since the start of either war. Lots of info on munitions for Ukraine and their fight against Russian forces invading. Also, many details of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 and how surprised the Israelis were. It’s interesting to note that many, many of the Arab leaders adjacent to Israel said that they had told Netanyahu not to deal with Hamas from the very beginning, that they were treacherous. Privately many did not support them but because of the religious differences they can’t do so publicly. You don’t hear in the news that Netanyahu has been funding Hamas for years, I guess as an alternative to Abbas’ group. Personally, I’ve given up on a solution to the MidEast problem, the two-state solution that both sides agreed to now seems to be something Israel is adamantly opposed to, even though they continue to dangle the prize in front of the Palestinians we’ve gotten no further than talk in decades.

Although this was a very interesting book, with many details about the diplomats trying to resolve the Israeli/Hamas war I found it difficult to follow. I can see the journalist’s touch here, going more by date than by the story itself. So I would read several pages about Ukraine and then be plunged into Israel and Hamas because of the timeline. Towards the end of the book, some pages were devoted to what might be called the war on the southern border of the US. I don’t really consider that a war as such but who knows what might happen going forward.

Bob Woodward is always amazing in who he is able to access and his questions are the ones I would want to ask. He is never bombastic like so many reporters today who seem to try to make their interviewees angry. He remains respectful and I think that’s important and shows the difference between true journalism and social media attention grabbers.

Some Luck

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By Jane Smiley

The novel starts in 1920 with Walter Langdon on his small farm in Iowa. He’s twenty five years old and has a wife, Roseanne and baby. Each chapter is another year in their lives on the farm, the children that are born, and one who died. Roseanne’s religious journey, dragging the rest of the family along with her. The children growing up and leaving home. Good weather, and therefore good crop years, and bad, the year the well went dry. The war years and the aftermath. The oldest son Frankie joins the army a few months before he is due to graduate from college. He trains to be a sniper and goes through Italy, France and Germany, seeing the horrors of war but accepting them as part of the deal. Frank’s younger brother Joe, is the one who stays home and becomes a farmer, in the end a better farmer than his dad. Lillian, the perfect daughter remains perfect until she leaves her job at the drugstore one evening to run away with Arthur to Washington, D.C, where they marry and raise a family. Lillian loves life in the city and thinks back on growing up on a farm wondering how she survived without modern conveniences. No wells running dry for her and no telling what was in that well water to begin with. Henry is the book worm, not going to work on the farm, it was evident from childhood. And their last child, Claire, who now that Walter has less responsibilities now that Joe is doing most of the farm work, becomes his favorite.

This is a wonderful story of family life in the rural Midwest.

A Well-Behaved Woman

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By Therese Anne Fowler

Alva Vanderbilt is the woman in question and the story follows her as she sets her cap for W.K. Vanderbilt in spite of society spurning his family due to shenanigans involving his grandfather. Alva’s mother died before a suitable match could be made for her. Her father’s health was in decline and his income from the cotton plantations that were so reliable before the Civil War have now dried up. But Alva’s closest friend, Consuela Yznaga, is steering her in the right direction and finagles the introduction to W.K. It seems he is uninterested and spends his time with other beauties at the society functions. But before long he approaches Alva and with hardly any courtship, asks her to be his wife. Of course she says yes. No more money worries. Apparently at the time, which is late nineteenth century, the husband paid the wife’s family as part of the arrangement, so Alva’s father and sisters were taken care of.

Alva wonders what her wedding night will be like. She waits in a state of anxiety, not knowing what to expect, but nothing happens. Then finally, very late at night after she had already fallen asleep her new husband appears and the marriage is consummated in an almost formal act. Because of the way she was raised Alva supposes this is normal behavior and it takes years of marriage before she realizes that W.K. is having flings with other women. Alva finds herself attracted to Oliver Belmont but restrains herself and doesn’t allow her feelings to move her to any action beyond friendship, in spite of her husband’s infidelities. She names her daughter after her best friend Consuela.

The Vanderbilt’s fortunes continue to rise and they indulge in building sprees in NYC and in the countryside. This helps their social status as they spare no expense on their homes and entertaining. Alva oversees many of the projects herself even though she has no formal architectural education. In later years she will support women’s right to vote.

A turning point comes in Alva’s life when her dearest friend, now Lady Mandeville, sends a letter revealing her affair with W.K. which has gone on for years. Alva does not respond but soon confronts her husband. She demands a divorce, the country house and an annual income for her and their children. W.K. does not fight this and Alva finds herself a divorced woman, who although still very wealthy, is no longer at the center of New York society. She has lost her closest friend and never can bring herself to forgive Lady C. After living in a loveless marriage for so many years she finally married Oliver Belmont and has a happy life until his early death from appendicitis. Her daughter Consuela has married into the Churchill family in England but the marriage doesn’t last. Alva worries that she had pushed her daughter into a marriage she didn’t want, as opposed to letting her marry a man much older than herself whom Consuela was in love with. But Consuela now realizes that her mother did have her best interests at heart and the life she has been able to lead was so much more than she would’ve had with the gold digger she had wanted to marry when she was twenty.

Lots of name dropping in this story about a woman who was able to put herself in a position to make changes in her world, the world of New York society in the nineteenth century.

Ed King, by David Guterson

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Published 2011

Ed King is an orphan. He didn’t find this out until his younger brother Simon was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Ed gets genome tested. Although he is an orphan, Ed has developed the premier search engine on the planet. He has a personal assistant (virtual) named Cybil whom he relies on for hashing through information. Cybil is the one who tells him, after her analysis, that he and Simon are not biologically related.

The book starts out with Ed’s parents, a married man whose wife has been hospitalized and the au pair who comes to take charge of the house and two children during her absence. Diane is just a teenager, an exchange student from Britain whose mum was a prostitute and whose dad she never knew. The married man, Walter Cousins, has a good job and knows better but succumbs to the enticement of a young girl in his house day after day. After a few months the wife comes home and Diane is no longer needed. But by this time she is pregnant with Walter’s child. He makes arrangements for her to deliver the baby and give it up for adoption. She has a couple of days to make her final decision, and during this time she leaves the hospital and then abandons the child on someone’s doorstep in an upscale neighborhood. She writes Walter demanding that he provide for his child by sending her two hundred and fifty dollars every month to a post office box. She then finds a cheap place to live and watches for her next opportunity.

Ed, meanwhile, is adopted by loving parents and has a good life until, during his wild teenage years he runs a car off the road in the middle of now where and the man in it is killed. It happens to be Walter Cousins, his father, although he has no idea of the relationship. This brings Ed’s wild days to a screeching stop and he begins college in earnest. No one knows about how the accident happened and Ed carries this with him eventually relying on prescription drugs to bring him out of his fog.

Time marches on and Diane goes from high class prostitute to the wife of a wealthy man. All she has to do is keep herself looking good and she does this with so much gusto that she eventually goes to the hospital for plastic surgery. For nine years she has been married and has told her husband that she is not able to have children. While she is in the hospital he sees that she is on the pill, and has been lying to him all along. So ends her lush life, with a small settlement and the money she’s saved from Walter’s extortion she sets up again and starts dealing cocaine, never taking it herself but supplying to a higher end clientelle.

As unlikely as it seems, Diane eventually meets up with Ed King and they fall in love. I’m going to leave the story there because the ending is worth reading through for. I am not sure I can quite believe it, but it’s interesting and possibly plausible.