The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

To celebrate Hanukkah, my family lights the menorah for eight nights; my husband makes the most delicious latkes (potato pancakes), and I have always given our children books. When shopping for books by diverse authors this holiday season, remember to include Jewish writers. Their stories aren't just for Hanukkah. We can all learn so much about the world by reading about other cultures and key moments in history. 

One of my favorite Jewish writers is Alice Hoffman, the  author of more than thirty books, many of them national bestsellers. In her 2019 novel, The World That We Knew, a twelve-year-old girl flees Nazi Germany to France with the help of a golem, a magical creature whose existence is as much a blessing as a curse. Despite this touch of magical realism, the mostly realistic narrative doesn't stray far from the facts of history.

What I found most interesting was the exploration of mysticism and female agency within the Jewish faith. I loved how Hoffman adapted patriarchal practices to give her observant female characters more freedom and power. There are also strong male characters, both Catholic and Jewish, but women and girls drive the narrative. The female golem made me rethink what it means to be human and a mother. The magical elements enhanced the story without detracting from the heroism of the French Resistance nor the horrors of the Holocaust. The writing was sublime.

Although The World That We Knew was written for adults, most of the characters are teenagers and the narrative is fast-paced and hopeful so it would crossover well to younger readers. My one and only criticism is the title is way too vague. This unforgettable book deserved a title easier to remember so write it down now. Thanks, Cathy at Main Point Books, for the book recommendation! 

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The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Several friends recommended The Hare with the Amber Eyes to me, given my interest in both Japanese art and Jewish history. This nonfiction paperback from 2010 reads like a mystery. When artist Edmund de Waal inherited a collection of 264 Japanese carvings, he decided to trace these netsuke through five generations of his family's tumultuous history.

The Ephrussis were once influential bankers and art patrons, like the Rothchilds, but after two world wars, little remained of their vast collections beyond the netsuke. De Waal travelled from his home in England to Paris, to Vienna, to Japan and to Odessa, collecting photos and documents, and interviewing survivors. Like a detective, he pieced together the clues to learn about his collection, the collectors, and how the Nazis nearly obliterated his Jewish family. Old photos illustrate his narrative, taking us back in history. His book was well written and very original.

While reading The Hare with the Amber Eyes, I had the opportunity to visit the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, which has netsuke on display. The tiny figurines were designed as toggles for purses hanging off traditional Japanese garments since kimonos didn't have pockets. Carved of wood or ivory, the netsuke are small enough to hold in hand but are exquisitely detailed. Their often grotesque humor reminded me of gargoyles. The netsuke were invented in the 17th century and were popular until 1868, when Japan was opened to the West. I loved the story of how the Ephrussi collection returned to Japan, and how these small artifacts survived so much history. I wish the museum would let visitors hold their netsuke in hand.

While in California visiting my son at UC Berkeley, I took the train 15 hours south to meet Barrie Summy in San Diego. Although we've been crit partners for years, this was our first time meeting in real life. We talked enough for all that missed time. It was so much fun! I'm so grateful to Barrie for hosting this wonderful book review club for more than a decade and for connecting all of us through our shared passion for books and blogging. Thanks, Barrie!

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Temples & Gardens of Kyoto at Peak Foliage

Gate to Shinto shrine at Ryoan-ji Temple, Kyoto

If you're visiting Japan, plan on several days in Kyoto if you enjoy gardens and historic architecture. This post includes only five of the 1,600+ Buddhist temples in the prefecture. Japanese temples frequently combine elements from their two national religions, like the traditional gate to a Shinto shrine (above) and the Buddhist garden (below) at Ryoan-ji Temple.

Ryoan-ji's rock garden with fall foliage.

Ryoan-ji in April

Photography fails to capture the minimalist beauty of Ryoan-ji's famous rock garden, which must be seen in person. The mossy rocks are islands in a gravel sea. In spring that bare tree drips cherry blossoms over the wall .

I have now seen Ryoan-ji in three seasons and would return a fourth time to see it in snow. That won't happen this sabbatical since my husband and I are going home to Maine for our kids' winter break from college.

Our kids were only three and six when we took them to Kyoto for cherry blossom season during my husband's last academic sabbatical to Japan. Henry teaches Japanese Politics at Bowdoin College and speaks the language but not fluently. Before he became a professor, he worked for the Bank of Tokyo in London.

Japanese maples and persimmons at Ryoan-ji

The first time I visited Japan, I was nineteen and it was brutally hot and muggy in August. The grounds of Ryoan-ji were refreshingly cool in summer but are at their most glorious when the maples turn color. The orange fruit hanging from bare trees are persimmons, which taste like papaya when ripe.

Japanese maples at Ryoan-ji in peak foliage 11/18/16

Cherry blossom season (early April) and peak fall foliage (late November) draw big crowds to Kyoto for good reasons, especially at Ryoan-ji. Pack warm socks since you remove your shoes inside temples.

Manshu-in Temple in Kyoto

Although Japanese people usually wear western clothes, women and girls occasionally dress in kimonos to visit temples and to pray in shrines. Newlywed couples in traditional dress pose for photos too. The open porch of a Buddhist temple is designed for garden viewing and meditation. Manshu-in Temple (above and below) can't be reached by bus since the mountain village roads are too narrow.

Manshu-in rock garden 11/19/16

To avoid the weekend crowds, we chose two remote temples Manshu-in (above) and Enkou-ji (below). Their websites are only in Japanese. Enkou-ji is in walking distance of Manshuin.

Enkou-ji Temple in peak foliage 11/19/16

The summit trail offers a spectacular view of Enkou-ji Temple and Kyoto.

In the early evening, lanterns illuminate the gardens. This rock garden is not as subtle as Ryoan-ji, but the more pronounced rake patterns makes it easier to photograph.

If you're a fan of samurai movies, Daikaku-ji Temple (above and below) may look familiar.

The buildings are connected by covered walkways overlooking the inner gardens.

The screen art in the tatami rooms is exquisite too.

Daikaku-ji's outer garden has a pagoda and a lovely path around a pond. 

Kinkaku-ji is also called the Golden Pavilion (photo from my April 2003 visit to Kyoto).

People travel from all over the world to see Kyoto temples, but there are far more visitors from East Asia, especially China, than from the West. If you're visiting at a less crowded time, I'd also recommend The Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji), The Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji) and The Moss Garden (Saiho-ji Kokedera).

Mt. Fuji from the shinkansen. Photo by my husband (his turn for the window seat).

Kyoto is only 2 1/2 hours by shinkansen from Tokyo. On a clear day, you can see Fuji-san from the north side of the high speed train. I can't recommend hotels since we stayed with an old friend in the neighboring prefecture of Nara. I'm considering all these locations for my novel, but I'll save Nara for another post. I don't know how I'll choose a setting among all these gorgeous options.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Frances Hardinge was the first young adult author to win the Costa Children's Book Award since Philip Pullman. The Lie Tree is not easy to categorize, but like Pullman's Dark Materials series, this enticing blend of history, science, and magical realism would appeal to readers of all ages. Hardinge extrapolates on the beliefs of Darwin's time period to create a world that is both familiar and creepily fantastic.

The Lie Tree opens with a stormy sea voyage. A disgraced reverend/natural scientist has relocated his family to an island in the English Channel to escape scandal. With his daughter's help, he hides a Chinese plant in a seaside cave and swears Faith to secrecy. When her father's dead body is found at the bottom of a cliff, Faith is convinced it was murder and not suicide. Clues lead her back to the mysterious plant, which supposedly grows from lies and reveals truths to those who dare to eat its fruit. Is this the Biblical Tree of Knowledge or a hoax that may have cost her father his life?

Faith dreams of being a scientist like her father, but the social mores of her time constrain her tighter than a corset. Sixteen and plain, she is awkwardly stuck between girlhood and womanhood in a world in which brain size is mismeasured to dismiss female intelligence. "There was a hunger in her, and girls were not supposed to be hungry." Nonetheless, Faith is determined to solve the mystery with the hope of restoring her family's name.

I loved the original premise, the marvelous sense of place/time and the strong female protagonist, but best of all was the gorgeous writing:

"There was something unsettled and unsettling about him, like a horse that might kick."

"Nobody was unkind, but after a while they had politely ignored her as if she were a stain on the tablecloth."

"She had always believed deep down that science would not judge her, even if people did."

"Dead people bled silence."

"There was no guilt left in her, just a bruise where it should have been."

"'Magic' was not an answer; it was an excuse to avoid looking for one." 

Nearly every chapter had sentences worth highlighting; I had a hard time whittling down my long list to these excerpts. I don't usually like fantasy or religious themes, but I loved this book. I strongly recommend The Lie Tree to everyone, and especially to those who enjoy natural history, magical realism, and feminism.

Reviewer's Disclosure: this book was first published in 2015 in the UK. Too impatient to await the April 2016 publication in the USA, I bought the ebook for my Kindle. My cave photos are from a vacation in Cornwall, England and are under copyright. This book was included in my list of Good Summer YA Books for Teens and Tweens; follow the link for a dozen more recommendations.

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Springtime and Passover in NYC

Carl Schurz Park, Yorkville, New York City, tulips above and walkway below.

Every year we gather in New York City for Passover. My parents host our Seder, and we all take turns reading from a haggadah that has more English than Hebrew. Our mixed-faith family is also multinational: American, British, Japanese, Italian Canadian and Mexican American. Only a few of us went to Hebrew School, but we all mumble along with enthusiasm, especially in the Dayenu chorus. The week-long holiday celebrates the Jews' escape from slavery in Egypt. In remembrance, we eat matzah, unleavened bread (English spelling of Hebrew varies). On the run in the desert, there was no time for the dough to rise. All the food is symbolic.

Passover is always in springtime, but the timing shifts due to the Hebrew lunar calendar. In my neighborhood park, the cherry trees were in peak bloom. My husband and our kids had to return for school, but I stayed a couple extra days to catch up with friends and art.

There's a wonderful Munch exhibit at the Neue Gallery, including his pastel Scream. Afterwards my parents treated me to a Viennese lunch at Cafe Sabarsky (above). The museum and cafe are inside a gorgeous 5th Avenue mansion overlooking Central Park.

Meanwhile back in Maine, my husband texted me this photo of our backyard. My flight back home Tuesday was cancelled due to the snowstorm! This was unusual for late April, even in Maine.

Given an extra day, I enjoyed a leisurely walk in Central Park.

For gym class in high school, I used to jog around the reservoir with my friend Cathy, who now runs Main Point Books in Pennsylvania. Another friend of ours is a librarian at a Harlem high school. We love talking books, and they use my recommendations to restock their shelves. My librarian friend was especially grateful for my Gay YA Romances post, since those are the books that go missing. Her students love romances and dystopia so I promised to keep an eye out for diverse YA in those genres.

For my last lunch, I had matzah ball soup at The Mansion, our local diner which has been there longer than my parents can remember. On the windows were both Passover and Easter decorations. I felt right at home.

Now back in Maine, I found my forsythia blooming over melting snow. Locals call spring snow "poor man's fertilizer." This transplanted New Yorker is feeling inspired.

Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian tackles the issue of post 9/11 prejudice toward Muslims in America. In this soon to be released young adult novel, Somali war refugees are pouring into Enniston, Maine. This working class town can barely house the impoverished families let alone educate the shell-shocked children, who barely speak English. Ethnic tensions flair when the mayor makes a plea in the newspaper to discourage Somalis from inviting more family members and friends to her overwhelmed community.

As the teenaged protagonist reflects, "You gotta wonder who the genius was that came up with the plan to put a bunch of Africans in Maine, the coldest, whitest state in America."

For Tom the issue becomes personal when a legal challenge is made to block Somalis from playing varsity soccer. His team's best player, Saeed, is Enniston's only hope for beating their rich, entitled rivals from Maquoit. Other problems ensue when the fasting month of Ramadan falls in soccer season and also when Tom is made to do 100 hours of community service tutoring Somalis after he vandalizes Maquoit High School. As Tom struggles to understand a foreign culture, he begins questioning his own values and those of his family, friends, girlfriend and neighbors.

All the characters were well developed and multi-dimensional, with the sole exception of Tom's girlfriend, Cherisse. I couldn't believe that a smart, empathetic boy like Tom would date a mean girl only because she was hot, but then again, I'm not a teenaged boy. Myla (a college student) and Samira (Saeed's smart sister), who volunteer with Tom, were more compelling female characters. Tom's Franco-Maine family was also well portrayed. The writing was pitch perfect for teens:

"He [Saeed] pronounced each word hesitantly. As if it were a new food he was tasting for the first time." 

"The other two guys? I didn't know them, but word from Ismail was that they were dipshits, too. So what we all knew was that the fight on the bus had nothing to do with race or religion. It was pure asshole-ness. Of course 'Assholes Fight' is not a newspaper-selling headline in the post-9/11 world. 'Ethnic Tensions Flare' sure is." 

"You know, Captain, outside of your family I doubt anyone much cares where or whether you go to college," Myla continued. "But as a healthy, smart white male growing up in one of the safest, most prosperous countries in the world, you know what? You have a moral obligation to do something worthwhile with your life and not be an asshole. Just sayin.'"

Some readers might be put off by the swearing and underaged drinking in the opening pages, but this book is deeply grounded in morality and in religion, both Islamic and Catholic. There are consequences to reckless behavior, and the characters eventually learn from their mistakes. Some problems, however, are less easily resolved, reflecting the real world.

The Somali diaspora and a mayor's plea in the local newspaper happend for real in Lewiston, Maine back in 2002. Author Maria Padian, who has a background in journalism as well as in young adult fiction, spent weeks in Lewiston and in Portland getting to know Somali families and the community volunteers. In the real world, Maine is making progress. Somali students at my children's school are well integrated and are thriving in a tolerant, supportive atmosphere.

I read Out of Nowhere in 24 hours; it was that hard to put down. The story was richly textured and beautifully rendered. Here is real Maine, not "vacationland." I'd strongly recommend this book to teens as well as to adults. The complex themes would make for fascinating classroom and book group discussions about race, religion, immigration and class differences. It teaches toleration without sounding preachy.

Out of Nowhere will be reviewed in The New York Times Books section this coming weekend. The book and ebook will be released next week on February 13th, 2013.

Disclosure: Maria Padian is a friend, and I borrowed an ARC for review on my request. I'll be buying a hardcopy at our town's independent bookstore. Brava, Maria!

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Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

Speaking of freaks of nature, check out my dog. Stella stuck her head in a garbage bin and couldn’t get out. Not all dog behavior is adaptive. Humans breed them for certain characteristics (like staying cute and puppyish) that wouldn't help them to survive in the wild.

Retrievers are like grown puppies. Their ears remain floppy (instead of perking up like a wolf's ears in adulthood) as this secondary trait accompanies domesticity. If you selectively breed foxes to be friendly to humans, their ears droop too. In Robin Brande's young adult novel, Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature, two teenagers test the theory of evolution on a litter of puppies.

The book opens with a living nightmare: Mena Reece has been expelled from her church for doing what she believed to be the right thing. Even Mena’s parents are disappointed in her. The Reeces have lost social standing and their family business is threatened. Everyone blames Mena. She starts high school with all of her friends hating her.

Then Mena makes a new friend in Biology class. Casey is a boy genius with a sense of humor and a house full of puppies (smarter than mine.) Plus he’s cute. Life is good until Ms. Shepherd begins the unit on evolution. In protest, all of Mena’s old church buddies physically turn their backs on the teacher. They demand that Ms. Shepherd teach intelligent design, not evolution. Mena is in a quandary: can she believe in evolution and in God? Mena opens her Bible and searches for a resolution. She blogs as Bible Grrrl.

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature is a sweet, innocent story which I think would appeal most to girls aged 11-14. The science is explained and simplified for young readers and put in a real-life context. I would have loved having Ms. Shepherd as a teacher. She really brings the subject to life and makes it fun without sounding too didactic.

Mena narrates the story day-by-day with lots of detail, just like my middle school children when they come home from school. As a result, the voice sounds authentic, but the story doesn’t really take off until we finally hear what it was that Mena did that turned her church against her. Keep reading, it’s worth it. Curiosity and good writing kept me going.

It was an excellent choice to have an evangelical teenager who likes science as the protagonist. Mena is a very sympathetic and likable character. I wish Brande had fleshed out the other evangelical characters because it was hard to see why Mena was once friends with them. All we hear about is how mean and unreasonable they are to Mena and to others.

Nonetheless, this isn’t an anti-religion book but an exploration of how one might reconcile faith and science. Brande was once a Sunday School teacher. It’s a book with a message and won an American Library Association Notable Book Award for 2007.

Additional Reading:

My friend Maria Padian, a YA author, recommended Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature to me because my novel, S.A.D. (not yet published,) deals with a similar topic. My story is about school board politics and how the issue of intelligent vs. evolution divides a small town. I use adult and teenaged characters of several faiths to give multiple perspectives. It was interesting to see this material interpreted for a younger audience. Brande did a great job with it.

I’d recommend Born Again by Kelly Kerney to all ages. It’s a young adult crossover novel about a teenaged girl discovering evolution and questioning her evangelical beliefs. The author was raised in a Pentecostal Church and graduated from Bowdoin College. It's very good.

To learn more about the philosophical debate on intelligent design, read Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics, edited by Robert T. Pennock. It includes essays on both sides, although the editor is a critic of I.D. The thick book is an excellent resource geared toward a college audience.

For anyone looking for a guide to the American legal history, I’d recommend In the Light of Evolution: Science on Trial by Randy Moore published by the National Association of Biology Teachers. It was designed as a classrom supplement for high school teachers.

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Congratulations to my daughter! She has a poem, “American in England,” in the summer issue of KidSpirit Magazine.

Have a Happy Fourth of July! I’m taking a blog vacation to hang out at the beach with the kids and my paint brushes. I’ll be back in two weeks to show you around North London where I collected material for NOT CRICKET (my work in progress.)

Next post: Wednesday July 15th.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

NYC Pear Trees during Passover
(Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day )

Geraldine Brooks’s People of the Book is a novel about a real 500-year-old Haggadah. The Haggadah is a Hebrew text used during Passover. Haggadah means “the telling.” It tells how Moses freed the Jews from slavery in Egypt and led them towards Israel. The beauty of a Haggadah is that every family has their own and passes their particular traditions on to future generations.

Although my paternal grandparents were raised in kosher homes, they were not very religious. My grandfather, Harold Lamport, was a scientist who avoided temple but respected his Jewish heritage. He was a blood circulation specialist who developed the precursor to the space suit and was on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine. We gathered at my grandparent’s house in Westport, Connecticut for Passover because it was a holiday that is observed in the home. We chose the night for our Seder by convenience. A Seder is traditionally held on the first night of the eight days of Passover.

After my grandparents died, my parents started hosting Passover in NYC for our extended family. Our Haggadah (below) features the wonderful art of Ben Shahn. The artist is Lithuanian-American like my father. Shahn published an illustrated Haggadah for his family in 1947. My mother assembled ours from assorted material at Temple Emanu-El. Our ceremony is short enough for the youngest child to sit through easily. It has a few prayers in Hebrew with the rest in English. Only my children have been to Hebrew School and not long enough to read it well.

The purpose of a Seder is to pass on the story of Passover to the next generation. The youngest child at the table asks four questions about the meaning of Pesach (Passover.) The leader answers the questions by holding up symbolic objects (pictured below.)

lamb shank: for God freeing the slaves
moror (bitter herbs): bitter lot of enslaved Jews
parsley dipped in salt water: tears of the slaves
roasted egg: Temple sacrifice
matzo: fleeing the Egyptians, there was not time to let the bread rise
haroses (chopped fruits, nut and wine): mortar used by the slaves

Everyone takes a turn reading a praise to God for the many miracles that led the Jews to freedom and to Israel. All respond “dayanu.” This translates roughly from the Hebrew as “that was enough.”

The highlight of the evening for the kids is letting in Elijah through the front door and racing back to see if the invisible angel drank his wine. My father brought back our silver chalice from Israel. Afterwards the children search for the afikomen (a piece of hidden matzo) and win a prize of money (or chocolate coins.)

I wonder if this is the origin of the Easter egg hunt? The Last Supper was Passover. I search for these common lines between Judaism and Christianity because my mother, my uncle and my husband are Christian. Our children are being raised with dual faiths as I was too.

What I especially loved about Geraldine Brook’s People of the Book was its inclusion of many religions. The Haggadah survived during times of persecution against Jews and their artifacts thanks in part to the help of Christians and Muslims as well as Jews. This may be a story about a Jewish book, but it is a tale that will appeal to people of all faiths.

People of the Book would also appeal to anyone who loves old books because the Sarajevo Haggadah in the novel truly exists (pictured below on the BBC.) The illustrations/illuminations, unusual for a Hebrew text of that time, make it special. The fictional protagonist is a rare book restorer. Hanna is called to Sarajevo when the Haggadah miraculously resurfaces after the Bosnian War. The novel is rich in detail about old book restoration.

Hanna uncovers five clues in the Haggadah. These traces from the past tell us about the Haggadah’s journey from Africa, to Spain, to Venice, to Vienna and then to Bosnia. For example there is a salt water drip on one page – is it from a Seder or a sea voyage? The fictional stories go back in time, each one better than the last until we witness the Haggadah’s imagined conception.

The five historical stories could have easily been expanded into separate books. I wish that this novel had been a series of five books because we only get fragments of fabulous stories. Brooks makes us fall in love with her characters and inhabit their ancient settings. Other than the gruesome torture scenes, we are reluctant to leave them behind.

Excerpt in Hanna’s voice: “I wanted to give a sense of the people of the book, the different hands that had made it, used it, protected it.”

People of the Book reminded me of an excellent movie, The Red Violin, which followed a violin through its 300 years. One minor criticism I have of the People of the Book is that the Haggadah is never used in a Seder. The reader wants to hear the violin make music. An Haggadah isn’t just a book or a precious artifact; it gains character through its use. This is why I began my book review with a description of my family’s Seder and our Haggadah.

A bigger flaw in the People of the Book is that the contemporary story, which holds all the historical stories together, is weak. This narrative device would have worked better if the central story had been as well crafted as the others in the collection. Hanna and her librarian-hero-lover are compelling characters, but Hanna’s mother is a silly caricature of a selfish brain surgeon.

The antagonistic mother-daughter plotline feels trite and melodramatic and does not belong in this subtly nuanced book. The writing loses its poetry and resorts to women’s fiction clichés. There are weak similes: a crocus full of snow does not look like cappuccino.

Even worse, the Hanna story suddenly changes pace and genre in the last chapter to become a Da Vinci Code suspense thriller. None of this was necessary and only detracts from an otherwise near perfect book.

Brooks shines as a writer of historical fiction. She won a Pulitzer Prize for March, which tells the fictional story of the father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women during the Civil War. I’m interested in reading that earlier novel and more from this brilliant author. I’m also interested in hearing your take on the People of the Book as several of you mentioned that you’ve read it.

Blog Watch: DoveGreyReader Scribbles and A Book A Week also reviewed People of the Book. If you want to learn more about Passover and how to design your own Seder, visit Jennifer Mirsky's Interactive Haggadah. Today is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day hosted at May Dreams Garden. Nothing(!) is blooming in my northern garden, but I shot some spring action around my old NYC home. Happy Spring!