HOTEL FLORIDA by Amanda Vaill

"Hotel Florida" was chosen as one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Times.  It tells the story of the Spanish Civil War which took place in the late 1930s, just before World War II.  It  presaged the rival ideologies of communism and fascism as if in a horrible preview of what was to rent the world in a few short years.  Eventually the reporters, who flocked to the war to make their reputation and fortune, became famous even as the war was forgotten in the greater conflagration which followed.

Vaill masterfully tells the history of the war through the eyes and writings of three couples who worked with and fell in love with each other.  Robert Capa was a Hungarian photographer who made his reputation there by being one of the first embedded reporters, following the troops from battle to battle.  He was joined by his Polish lover, Gerda Taro, a beautiful, brave and daring photographer whose shots depicted the human side of the residual misery war brings.  Gerda's photos became world famous before she died at age 26, crushed by a tank.  Their story is exciting and heartbreaking.

The Spaniard, Arturo Barea, loyal to the Loyalist government and his girlfriend, the lovely Austrian, Ilsa Kulcsar were press officers for the Republicans.  They worked in constant danger, hated by the Germans and Franco's rebels, and likewise by the Russian communists, who were meddling and carrying out large sums of money from the government coffers. Barea who lost friends and family in the war, had little use for the foreign reporters who hounded his office looking for dispatches they could send back home.

Finally the most famous of all, Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, equally fearless and hungry for the story and publicity of front page reporting.  Hemingway, especially, is revealed to be a blustering ego-driven blow-hard who was the center of the social scene at the Hotel Florida where reporters and spies gathered nightly to exchange war stories heady with drink and bravado.

The war went on for three years and 400,000 lives were lost, among them young idealistic volunteers from all over the world who came to fight for the Loyalist government which was being crushed by Franco's Italian and German backed money and weapons.  Through it all the Hotel Florida remained standing, a bastion of intrigue, drama, passion and gossip.  Our three couples met and separated here and met again.  We see the war through their eyes and history comes alive thanks to Vaill's precise and interesting writing.  I highly recommend this book to all readers, especially those who would like to learn more about a time in history when young men and women from around the world, fueled by the stories of these reporters, flocked to defend an idealistic government which was doomed from the start.

THE STORY OF THE LOST CHILD by Elena Ferrrante (fic)

This novel is the last book of Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels.  Since I have reviewed the other three books in the series, I don't wish to repeat the many accolades, but if you are an avid reader of Ferrante's work, you will not be disappointed in this latest installment.  She continues with the story of the intense friendship of Elena and Lila and their families.  The old neighborhood is once again the setting as Elena moves back to fuel her writing and resume old friendships.  All the characters of the first novel are here, only now we see these children as they enter old age, still carrying the burden of the past, still passionate in their loves and hates, still carrying old grudges.

Elena's and Lila's children have grown, and the older generation has passed away.  Still, Elena is drawn to Lila and their lives again become entangled.  Elena has now become a writer of renown, yet still doesn't trust her own abilities.  Along with the reader, she puzzles over who is the real author of her work, herself or Lila who is the prime motivator of Elena's work.  As the story progresses Elena gains strength along with insight into her relationships with the various characters of her past, but has never been able to escape the ties that bind her to her childhood's "brilliant friend."  By the end of the book, Elena and Lila have presented the reader with the best picture of the psychology of female friendship of any book that I have read.  I highly recommend the entire series for all readers. Perhaps you will find as I did, that the best was saved for last.

THE MONGOL EMPIRE by Michael Prawdin (non-fic)

Michael Prawdin, a Russian/German (1884-1970) wrote this book between the World Wars, and it is still in print and popular. While he has been criticized for carelessness in some facts and the credits are not complete, he writes a very readable and complete history of the largest empire of the world, which stretched from China westwards across the vast deserts and steppes through the Middle East and into Eastern Europe. What a history it is!  For two centuries the Mongols were able to dominate China, Iran, Russia and parts of South East Asia. Beginning with the mighty Jenghiz Khan and following his progeny beyond Kublai Khan and Tamerlane until family factions caused its decline and fall.

Jenghiz was born in 1165, a leader of great ambition and insight into the motives and weaknesses of his enemies, he was able to dominate beyond just destruction and fear.  Though terrifying people to the point of their being unable to respond, he also set up a code of laws to govern and was a genius of organization and management.  He inspired loyalty by promoting talented war chiefs and set up a swift messenger service, much like the pony express.  The Mongols were nomads and did not desire riches for vast cities.  The soldiers desired nothing more than plundering conquered territories and portable wealth: silver, gold and material that could move around with them.  Their greatest motivation was the thrill of destroying any who stood in their way.  One can't imagine the terror of seeing a Mongol horde riding swift and tough horses charging down on one's city.  "Nothing was left of a conquered town beyond what might be useful to the Mongols. The invaders were regarded as devils incarnate, as the scourge of God. The tribal name of Tatars, first brought into Europe from the East, was corrupted into Tartars, the dwellers in Tartarus who had risen out of the nether-world."

Eventually Jengihiz Khan's vast Empire was split into three large territories ruled by his sons and grandsons.  They learned to dwell in cities and build great palaces, depending on and adapting the culture of the Persians and Chinese. The famous Kublai Khan ruled over the East and China.  He became enamoured with Chinese culture and Buddhism.

The many violent campaigns became tedious reading but the history was endlessly fascinating.  Prawdin covers a huge amount of history: Marco Polo and other westerners who bravely pioneered into the Mongol territory to trade and learn the culture; the monks and friars who ventured unsuccessfully to obtain converts to the Catholic faith, the Crusaders who foolishly thought they could apply traditional battle tactics against the Mongols, and all the great rulers, East and West who played a role in this story.

The book finally closes with the establishment of the Mongolian Peoples' Republic in the 20th century and the recognition of the importance of Mongolia which lies between Russian and China, a buffer of vast expanse with a diverse population.  The methods of conquering territory that the Mongols perfected is even echoed today when terrorism strikes fear in the helpless and art and ancient treasures are destroyed and cities laid to waste and ruin.

TINKERS by Paul Harding (fic)

This is a beautifully written little book which doesn't take long to read.  It is Harding's first novel and won the Pulitzer Prize.  He studied writing under Marilynne Robinson who is the author of "Gilead," and their writing styles are not dissimilar.

The story is about a man, George Washington Cosby who lies on his deathbed, and we are privy to his thoughts on the eight days he lies dying.  There is no real plot to the story, but it is rich in characterizations as he muses on the people who have touched his life.  Cosby was born in Maine to a poor backwoods family.  His father was the tinker of the title, an epileptic who travels on a shabby cart from farm to farm peddling a variety of wares.  This character is based on Harding's grandfather.  If you are familiar with the hardy old families of Maine, stoic and thrifty, you will recognize the characters you meet here.  Among the finely drawn characters in the book is an ageless Native American named "Sabbatis" who is described in beautiful detail who is understood and connected in an understated way with Howard, the father.

George comes of age in the novel and grows beyond his humble beginnings, he marries and has a family who are loving and attentive to him in his last days.  In life he was a clock repairer finding solace and comfort in the fine tuning of time.  We have been told Mainers are economical in their speech and George's final meeting with Howard takes place on Christmas 1953.  True to form, not much is said between the men, but much is felt.  Howard's final words could also belong to George as he departs life, and they provide a good ending to the novel.

I highly recommend this book for its beautiful prose and style.  While it is about the process of fading from life, it is not morbid or particularly sad.  Rather it is a stream of consciousness tracing various points in an ordinary man's life.

THE SON by Jo Nesbo (fic)

If you are a Jo Nesbo fan, then you don't need a review.  This book is as exciting as his others even if Harry Hole does not play a part in the story.  Gentle reader, you will find yourself rooting for a murderer named Sonny Lofthus, a dark character like all Nesbo's "heroes," a flawed character carrying around enough emotional baggage to supply an army.  Sonny is hunting down people he believes are betrayers of his father who was accused of being a corrupt cop.  In turn, Sonny is being hunted down by a cast of nefarious characters.  You know the drill, Nesbo gives us an exciting thriller which is impossible to put down, even if it is a highly implausible plot with diabolical twists and turns. Totally absorbing!

AN UNNECESSARY WOMAN by Rabih Alameddine (fic)

Almeddine has written a rich philosophical novel about a Lebanese woman who has lived in Beirut her whole life, a witness to all the wars that ancient and historical city has been through.  It sent me running to the Atlas and internet for photos and information about the city as it plays a large role in the life of our narrator who we know as Aaliya.  It is always tricky for a male author to have a woman speaking in the first person as his main character.  The author who does this best is Colm Toibin.  Despite this, Aaliya is an interesting character with a strong inner voice.

This is a novel where little happens outside of Aaliya's everyday life.  The action is all interior.  She is an only child of a mother who largely ignored her after Aaliya's father died at a young age.  The mother married again, and Aaliya has step-siblings, including a menacing boorish half-brother who desires Aaliya's larger West Beirut apartment for his family.  This is the cause of numerous family quarrels.  Aaliya states, "I would choose to die in my apartment rather than live without it."  And, she almost did die.  During the madness of the civil wars she slept with an AK47 by her side.  Her attachment to her apartment is her greatest comfort; it is home, her relief from the craziness of the world outside. It is an escape from the city, once beautiful, which has fallen apart and become tacky. She came by the apartment through an arranged marriage to a man for whom she felt nothing but contempt. They divorce and she is left the apartment in a building where only the women living there have a role in the story.  There are three of them who have a part in Aaliya's life.  Through the horrors that beset the city these women remained strong and caring of each other.  They move the story along to a day that will change Aaliya and her solitary life.

After the divorce, Aaliya found a job in a bookstore which motivated her desire to survive. Here she could lose herself in books and the company of the few readers who returned again and again.  The only two people who touch Aaliya as friends spend days browsing and reading while she works.  One, Ahmad, is a young man who eventually becomes a feared revolutionary, the other is Hannah who is like a sister to her.  Hannah is a woman who herself has an interesting and tragic history.

Aaliya is a gifted translator of books into Arabic.  She speaks a number of languages.  January 1st is an important date for her.  Each year she eagerly looks forward to the New Year when she will begin a new translation.  A great deal of thought goes into the choosing of this book. She has spent 72 years immersed in books and reading and has translated 37 books into Arabic.  These books, the fruits of her labor are stored in boxes in the unoccupied maid's room.

I enjoyed the character of Aaliya with her busy and complicated inner life.  The author inserts many many alusions to books and authors, perhaps too many literary digressions.  There are quotes from both known and unfamiliar authors.  Aaliya's favorites are Nabokov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Alice Monro. However, books and their authors are the companions of Aaliya's life and add to the reader's understanding of her character and solitary nature.

THE OXFORD BOOK OF ENGLISH LOVE STORIES ed. John Sutherland

This book has an unfortunate title; one might imagine it is a book of soppy love stories or bodice rippers.  On the contrary, the book is a delightful compendium of short stories taken from some of the finest English writers.  The stories are arranged in chronological order from Aphra Behn who wrote in the late 17th century to Adam Mars-Jones who is still writing.  In between are such giants of literature as Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Virginia Woolf, Graham Green, Sylvia Plath and many others, 28 in all.  The theme is love, of course, in its many guises.

Here is the good news if you enjoy well-written short stories and want to expand your library. The book was published in 1996 and a new hard-cover edition on Amazon is selling for approximately $75;  the good news is: there are many used copies also for sale on Amazon and the are only one penny .01, strange but check it out if  you are so inclined.