Speaking of Memoirs...

Whenever I browse the biography/autobiography section of my library, I always find several titles that look interesting. So when I picked up I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings last January, I also saw this:

The cute baby picture was enough to grab my attention, and the title was even more intriguing: A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana . Since I love subtle word-plays like Mary Engelbreit's "Life is just a chair of bowlies," anyone who spoke of "Growing up Small" must have a unique perspective on the world. I certainly wasn't disappointed, as this childhood memoir delivers Midwestern charm and humor by a pint-size agnostic with a knack for trouble and accidents. It had me laughing to the point of tears on several occasions. Being a country girl from the Midwest myself, I could certainly identify with elements of her story. It was the perfect light and fun read in between book club selections.

So when I checked out Angela's Ashes for September's book club meeting, I couldn't pass up the sequel to Zippy: She Got Up Off the Couch. This installment is even funnier than the first - I was again laughing so hard I cried, and that was only in the Preface! Haven "Zippy" Kimmel relates her own and her family's story with an honest charm and unique perspective that finds the humor in painful and tragic events and makes even simple incidents hilarious. She Got Up Off the Couch refers to her mother, a woman who had made a lasting imprint in the corner of the couch where she sat for years with her phone, books, and fried pig skins, seemingly a permanent fixture in Zippy's life. But Delonda did get up off the couch, learned to drive, went to Ball State, earned a Bachelor and a Master degree, and became a teacher.

Interestingly, Zippy lives in destitute surroundings, similar to Frank McCourt, but she doesn't seem to mind one bit. It doesn't bother her to wear the same pair of pants for the second half of fourth grade or the same outfit for most of fifth grade. It doesn't matter if her hand-me-down saddle shoes have seen better days - she'd rather not wear shoes anyway. The menagerie of animals that find shelter in their unheated house provide an interesting diversion, apart from the mice that give her nightmares. If her house is too dilapidated to have friends over, she still has plenty of friends who welcome her to their homes, where their mothers feed and bathe her and ensure her general survival. In contrast to the simple innocence of Zippy, however, Haven hints at a mounting undercurrent of tension between her parents as her domineering father and now educated mother develop new lives apart from each other.

She Got Up Off the Couch fits excellently with the theme that Captive Thoughts Book Club is pursuing this year: "the various roles and influences of women in classic and modern literature using both fiction and non-fiction genres." I would certainly recommend it to our members (like Zippy it's a quick read that is easy to fit in between other book club titles) and to anyone else who would like a humorous and, at times poignant view of a 1970's childhood in rural Indiana.

ANGELA'S ASHES by Frank McCourt ~ September 2008

Captive Thoughts Book Club began our second year by reading Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt. Our theme for this year is books about women with an emphasis on the classics. While this is the story of Frank McCourt and only indirectly that of his mother Angela, many women feature prominently in his young life. We used the discussion questions found here, which provided many topics for the seven of us to explore.

The memoir begins with the poignant statement, "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." The extent of poverty and deprivation that the McCourt family endured in Limerick, Ireland is truly tragic, especially because their father drank away his infrequent wages as well as the public assistance they were granted. Yet Frank McCourt has captured the humor, fortitude, and ingenuity that sustained them even in the most destitute of circumstances.

On the topic of the Catholic Church, we found the story of Frank's First Communion just hilarious. Shortly after receiving the host, Frank loses his breakfast in his Grandmother's backyard. She is just horrified, crying "I have God in me backyard," and hurries him off to confession to find out what to do. On a more serious note, there was something of a dichotomy between Catholic piety and true Christian charity. The schoolboys simply learned their lessons and did their duty to conform to social expectations, but even the priests were tainted with social prejudice, turning Frank away from being an alter boy and continuing his education because of his poverty and ragged appearance.

We briefly discussed genre and style, commenting that memoirs, especially those of early childhood, must contain an element of fiction or embellishment. (Maya Angelou's autobiographies have been described as autobiographical fiction.) At the same time, it's possible that family histories were more easily remembered in a largely oral society as Ireland was and is, and there are indeed some remarkable examples of memorization and story telling in the book. The style of Angela's Ashes is unique, for though there is a lot of dialogue, there is nary a quotation mark in the whole book! Run-on sentences and shifts in tense contribute to the childish, stream of consciousness narration. (This only seemed to bother the grammar/punctuation snob known here as The Editor!) Overall, McCourt captures the thoughts and reactions of a child in honest, unpretentious prose.

We speculated quite a bit about the meaning of the title Angela's Ashes. There are several instances in the narrative when Frank's mother Angela stares into the ashes of the fire, usually when she has to endure yet another instance of neglect or injustice for her family. Was she pondering her life, her regrets and lost dreams, or simply resigning herself to her circumstances? Was she falling into the depression to which she was prone after losing three children? And what does Frank intend to communicate with these references? Did he blame or resent his mother's lack of interest more than his father's irresponsibility?

In spite of his father's drinking and neglect, Frank obviously maintained a child-like reverence and love for his father. He knew that he did "the bad thing," but it was easy to forget that when his father shared the paper with him over bread and tea in the morning and helped him with schoolwork in the evenings. Ironically, his father seemed to be the more nurturing of his two parents, and certainly his story-telling, reading, and emphasis on education made a lasting impression on Frank, who went on to become in teacher in America.

Angela is a rather enigmatic figure in Frank's life. In contrast to other very strong and bossy women in the story (his grandmother, aunts, and mother's cousins), Frank's mother often seems to be just a shadow in the corner of the house, waiting for the next good or bad event to befall them. Conversely, whenever they are in the most dire need, she is not too proud to gather bits of coal from the roads, stand in line for public assistance, or even beg at the door of a priest. It seems as if she does barely enough to survive while struggling with depression and despair. Certainly the poor of Ireland had inherited something of a culture of hopelessness after years of oppression and occupancy by England and the potato famine of the 19th century. For many families, poverty and disease were the expected way of life.

The book begins and ends in New York, where the first five McCourt children were born and one died. Though he was ridiculed in Ireland for being a Yank, Frank always had a certain nostalgia for America. Certainly his family was not as wretchedly poor in America, and the thought of returning always held a promise of a better life. After working from age 14, he finally saved enough for his passage and sailed away from his family and Ireland when he was 19. His story continues in 'Tis: A Memoir and Teacher Man: A Memoir.

Most of our members found this memoir to be enjoyable, even if it was at times a bit course and gratuitous (especially during his teen years). Hopefully, they will post their personal comments and critiques. More critical and harsh assessments of Frank McCourt and Angela's Ashes by Limerick natives Gerard Hannan and Richard Harris can be found here and here.

Other books on Ireland that our members have read:
How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History) by Thomas Cahill. A fascinating and very readable history of Ireland and the monks who preserved classic literature when the rest of the Western world was reeling from the fall of Rome and barbarian invasions. This provided some interesting background information to the Irish psyche that was helpful for understanding parts of Angela's Ashes.

For the Love of Ireland: A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers by Susan Cahill. A good introduction to Irish literature and great for planning a trip, too!

Some interesting links for book lovers

I found a couple bookish things online today and thought I'd share. Actually, my husband alerted me to this one: NPR shares a recent release of some recordings of Agatha Christie. What if Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot had met? Then, there's a slideshow of photos from Prince Edward Island, celebrating Anne of Green Gables.

Moral Virtue in Literary Genius

I'm almost finished with Bel Canto, then will delve into Angela's Ashes. Bel Canto has been a good read, but not wow. There's pretty good character development, foreshadowning, suspense - a well-thought, almost classic plot - but there could have been more all around. Maybe authors these days feel so compelled to keep their audience entertained that they're afraid to go deeper. I'm afraid that this is the way of our culture and it reduces the possibility of great modern literaturists. Bel Canto is good, but it could have been great had the author been more patient.

As we go, it's interesting to feel the differences b/t good and great. There are many good writers out there, but so often their thoughts lack real moral depth. Their characters act, but they don't know why they act. Ahab's Wife was well written, too, but the main character was rather blah - despite her extreme circumstances. She didn't come to any crises of character that led to profound character development. The book spent most of its pages interjecting modern thought onto 19th century American characters w/o giving any substantial reason for it. The author certainly did her research, but did this compel her to intersperse every odd tidbit about the sexual behaviors of men and women forced from each other for long periods of time? Liberation seems to be its theme - liberation from slavery (bravo, although the main character didn't sound willing to get too involved in the issue), from the church (personified in her father who is, of course, cruel and unreasonable), from society (how convenient to be independently wealthy), and from marriage (and did you know that homosexuality was practiced quite openly back then?). Okay, but liberation for what? For the right to live in the deception that we are each the center of our individual worlds? Lord, help us - and I mean this quite literally!

Year I in Review: March '08 ~ A GRIEF OBSERVED by C. S. Lewis

A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis was our second selection for the month of March. It was very interesting to compare this volume with Madeleine L'Engle's Two-Part Invention. Madeleine L'Engle's narrative gave a lot of background information that helped us to understand how she dealt with the process of her husband's death, while C. S. Lewis revealed the agonizing questions of one recently bereaved as he wrestled with doubts in the days and months immediately following his wife's death.

We spent a few minutes trying to sort out the timeline of Lewis' relationship with Joy Gresham, for there was not much background information in the text and the explanatory notes vary depending upon which edition you read. Lewis and Joy's love was certainly as deep and strong as Madeleine and Hugh's, but the subtle way in which their romance blossomed after they were united in a civil union and the relatively short time they had together after their "church" marriage, certainly differs from Madeleine's marriage relationship that matured over four decades. We wondered if perhaps the brevity of their relationship, which was overshadowed at all times by Joy's cancer, made Lewis' grief that much more acute. We marveled at the brute honesty with which he questioned God and his faith and were relieved that he once again found a bedrock for his faith in God by the end of the book. Many people wrestle with similar feelings when they are faced with tragedy and personally confronted with the age-old problem of evil (how can a good God let bad things happen?), but it seemed that Lewis was particularly surprised by his questions and doubts. Perhaps with his sharp intellect and well-reasoned apologetics he had supposed that he understood God, but like Job, he was left with no adequate answers when his faith was put to the test.

This is a book that can comfort the grieving, but it really should be read in its entirety lest it lead to despair. For those who are not presently grieving, it can certainly help one to understand the questioning of faith and unsettling of one's worldview that can come with intense tragedy.

RELATED TITLES:
Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff - another excellent resource on grief and faith.

A Poem for Lent

We concluded our discussion of Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (The Crosswicks Journal, Book 4) and A Grief Observed by reading this poem which was quoted by Madeleine L'Engle in Two-Part Invention. The poem appears without a title in that book, but it is described as being translated from Spanish by a personal friend and is attributed to John of the Cross. It was truly a fitting way to end our discussion and focus our thoughts during the Lenten season.

I am not moved, my God, to love you
By the heaven you have promised me.
Neither does hell, so feared, move me
To keep me from offending you.

You move me, Lord, I am moved seeing you
Scoffed at and nailed on a cross.
I am moved seeing your body so wounded.
Your injuries and your death move me.

It is your love that moves me, and in such a way
That even though there were no heaven, I would love you,
And even though there were no hell, I would fear you.

You do not have to give me anything so that I love you,
For even if I didn’t hope for what I hope,
As I love you now, so would I love you.

Year I in Review: March '08 ~ TWO-PART INVENTION by Madeleine L'Engle

During the season of Lent, we read two books on the subject of grief, specifically grief for the death of a spouse: Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (The Crosswicks Journal, Book 4) by Madeleine L'Engle and A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis (see separate post). Two-Part Invention is the fourth and final book in a series of non-fiction titles that are reflective journals written mostly from Madeleine L'Engle's summer residence of Crosswicks over a period of twenty years or so. The other volumes provide some background and context for her life and ideas, but they each stand alone, so we did not have trouble reading this one by itself.

As the title indicates, this book tells the story of Madeleine L'Engle's forty year marriage to Hugh Johnson. From their whirlwind courtship on tour with a play (Hugh was a professional actor, and Madeleine played smaller parts until family and writing took precedence), to their life as country store owners in rural New England, to raising three children, and living from job to job in New York City, this couple faced a variety of trials and experiences which honed their relationship to one of steadfast, devoted love. Madeleine weaves the story of their forty years together with the events surrounding Hugh's battle with cancer, which sadly brought those years together to an end. Throughout the narrative, she offers insights into marriage and faith that are both thought-provoking and inspiring.

We had a great discussion this month! From Two-Part Invention, we discussed ideas such as blending different faiths in a marriage (Madeleine was raised Episcopal, Hugh was raised Baptist), the need for and efficacy of prayer in life/death situations, the common but misguided idea of God's "blessing" when things go well, and the mystery and majesty of God, especially as seen in the incarnation which "affirms the worth and dignity of man." Many of these themes complemented the soul-searching questions raised in A Grief Observed, and it was very interesting to compare these different responses to the death of a spouse.

We also shared some of poetry during this meeting: one of Madeleine L'Engle's poems that reflected on her marriage and a prayer by John of the Cross that was quoted in Two-Part Invention.

Our members did not record any comments or critiques about Two-Part Invention, but here are some of Page Turner's favorite quotations, several of which provided material for our discussion:

“I learned fairly early in my marriage that I did not have to confide everything on my mind to my husband; this would be putting on him burdens which I was supposed to carry myself…Some of my life was mine to be known by me alone. But our marriage was ours, belonged to the two of us, and was full of wonderful things, terrible things, joyous things, grievous things, but ours.” (73)

“…there are prayers that one is not allowed to pray, such as my ‘Please, dear God, don’t let it be cancer.’ Rabbi Kushner says I can’t pray that way, because right now either it is cancer or it is not. But I can’t live with that. I think we can pray. I think the heart overrides the intellect and insists on praying.” (94)

“I hear different people tell of some good or lucky event and then say, ‘Surely the Lord was with me.’ And my hackles rise. My husband is desperately ill, so where is the Lord? What about that place of excrement? Isn’t that where Love’s mansion is pitched? Isn’t that where God is? Doesn’t such an attitude trivialize the activities and concerns of the Maker? Doesn’t it imply that God is with us only during the good and fortuitous times and withdraws or abandons us when things go wrong? I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights. It is when things go wrong, when the good things do not happen, when our prayers seem to have been lost, that God is most present.” (124)

“I do not believe that true optimism can come about except through tragedy.” (147)

“Hugh has been surrounded by literally hundreds of prayers, good prayers of light and love. What happens to all those prayers when not only are they not ‘answered’ but things get far worse than anyone ever anticipated? What about prayer? We do not know. We will not know in this lie. Some prayers are magnificently answered. More than once this has been the case in my own life, glorious miracles of prayer. But this summer the answers have all been negative…Surely the prayers have sustained me, are sustaining me. Perhaps there will be unexpected answers to these prayers, answers I may not even be aware of for years. But they are not wasted. They are not lost. I do not know where they have gone, but I believe that God holds them, hand outstretched to receive them like precious pearls.” (187)

“I loved my husband for forty years. That love has not and does not end, and that is good. I think again of that evening after I had come home from a speaking trip and said to Hugh, ‘Wherever I go, you are with me.’ Surely that is still true.” (230)

FOR FURTHER READING:
The first three titles in The Crosswicks Journal Series by Madeleine L'Engle:
A Circle of Quiet
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother (Crosswicks Journal, Book 2)
The Irrational Season (The Crosswicks Journal, Book 3)
One of Madeleine L'Engle's volumes of poetry: The Weather of the Heart (Wheaton Literary)

Poetry of Maya Angelou

This poem shares the title of the first volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that the book club read in February 2008.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks

of another breeze
and the trade winds soft

through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting

on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky

his own.

But a caged bird stands

on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts

on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped

and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat

to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Another poem that our members enjoyed:

When Great Trees Fall

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down in tall grasses,
and even elephants lumber after safety.

When great trees fall in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile.
We breathe briefly.
Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines,
gnaws on kind words unsaid,
promised walks never taken.

Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us.
Our souls, dependent upon their nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance, fall away.
We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of dark, cold caves.

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly.
Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us,
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be better.
For they existed.

More poems by Maya Angelou can be found in The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou

Year I in Review: February '08 ~ I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by Maya Angelou

We wanted to read more than fiction in our book club, so in February, we read an autobiography of Maya Angelou and individually selected some of her poetry to read and share. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first volume of Angelou's life story (other titles are listed below), that recounts her childhood and teenage years, ending with the birth of her son. It was surprising to read of the prejudice and segregation that she experienced as she was raised by her grandmother in Arkansas in the 1930's. That really wasn't so long ago! Yet the town was essentially divided between black and white, and each community existed separately. Even a dentist refused to treat her when she had an agonizing toothache, forcing her grandmother to take her to another town for treatment. Angelou has a remarkable way of describing her life with a child-like vision so that we feel her embarrassment when she wets her pants at church, we sense her befuddled attempts to understand the grown-ups' concerns and conversations, and we feel her pain and confusion when she is molested at the age of eight. Though she was certainly marked by that incident and refused to talk for several years, she learned great powers of observation through listening and eventually found the magic of reading when an older woman began loaning her books. Her command of language is evidence of a well-read woman, though her formal education did not go beyond high school.

In spite of the challenges of her circumstances, Angelou determined to triumph and gain her freedom from stereotypes and prejudices. She completed her education in San Francisco where she moved with her mother at age thirteen. During high school, she became the first black female street car conductor, a job she earned by her determined persistence at the hiring office. In pursuing independence, she became pregnant in a one-afternoon-stand. But she hid the pregnancy as she finished her senior year of high school and gave birth to a son just a few weeks after graduating. This volume closes with her realization of the intense love and protection she feels for her baby boy.

We had plenty to discuss from this book, for it presented a view of life and such a variety of experiences that were foreign to most of us. We laughed over some stories, were shocked by other experiences, and at times inspired by her innovation and ingenuity in the face of difficulties. As mentioned above, each member also tried to read selections of Angelou's poetry. Several of us shared a poem that particularly resonated with us, either for the beauty of the language itself or the way the poetry captured the essence of her story. (See separate post for a couple of poems we liked.) Although we didn't record any comments from this discussion, I think most of our members would recommend this book.

FOR FURTHER READING
Other autobiographical titles by Maya Angelou:
Gather Together in My Name
Singin' and Swingin' and Getting Merry like Christmas
The Heart of a Woman
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
A Song Flung Up to Heaven
Poetry by Maya Angelou: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou

Year I in Review: January '08 ~ GILEAD by Marilynne Robinson

After a break in December, we returned in January to discuss Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson. Although our members had varying opinions about the book, we all agreed that its perspective was truly unique: a letter written by an aging pastor to his young son, but more accurately a stream of consciousness portrait of a dying man's attempts to bring his life and relationships to a peaceful end. One might expect such a letter to be full of sage advice and sound wisdom for life, and you will certainly find that here. But these gems are woven throughout John Ames' reflections on his past and present life, it's triumphs and tragedies, including his own family's storied history, his calling to the pastorate, what brought him back to the small town of Gilead, Iowa, his love for the boy's mother (John Ames' second wife, who is 35 years younger than he) and amazement that she loves him, and the long-standing tension in his relationship with his namesake, John "Jack" Ames Boughton, the son of his best friend and fellow pastor Robert Boughton.

Our discussion included speculating about some of the untold details of the story, reflecting on the emotional and logical struggles in John Ames' relationships, and commenting on some of the theological points alluded to in the book, particularly the various views of predestination expressed by different characters.

Here are some comments from our members:

"A beautiful book - worth reading again and marking up for its tidbits of philosophy and theology. I liked it!"

"Ditto - will reread (3rd time) and mark up my copy where the gems are."

"Slow start, but very interesting in the end."

"What an interesting way to tell a story! There is much wisdom to be gleaned from its pages."

See further comments in this post by Slow Reader.

FOR FURTHER READING:

Housekeeping: A Novel This is the first novel by Marilynne Robinson, published more than 20 years before Gilead. A couple of our members have read this, and found it to be a rather odd book, lacking the depth of Gilead. Although this was also an award winning book, we would not necessarily recommended it other than for the comparative value of reading the author's first novel.

Home: A Novel This is a newly released sequel to Gilead that tells the story of some other characters from the first novel, including more from Jack Boughton's perspective. Maybe this will fill in some of the gaps about which we had to speculate!