One Los Alamos discussion

What a turnout! I had to (delightedly) fetch extra chairs. We had new readers—welcome, Heather and Stef! New books. And a surprise visit from founding member and longtime D.C. correspondent Anagha! We started late and ran even later. Conversation flew.


Jillian felt shy about starting us off, but eventually came round. She enjoyed Let Us Descend, describing it as “lyrical” and “clearly well researched.” Its magical realism elements worked well for her. She felt confused by its jacket blurb, “a reimagining of American slavery”: she did not see it that way at all, and asked those who’d read it for their takes on it. Turns out, none of the other readers had read the jacket, and hadn’t known about that; they too had trouble understanding what it meant. She touched on reading books by Pema Chödron and Jennifer Egan, then focused on Passing, which “felt like historical fiction but was set in the time it was written.” And she plugged the soon-to-be-published Crow Talk, dealing with women’s issues and neurodivergence; author Eileen Garvin will be speaking at PEEC on May 20.

Madhavi seemed to really like Legacy, Dr. Uché Blackstock’s memoir covering racism in medicine. She spoke at length about the book’s lessons, about mistrust, and expressed concern about how little progress we humans seem to make. Anagha brought up parallels with growing up in India. Madhavi read Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes because “she likes food” and this book delivered recipes in addition to history and family. The author grew up during Pol Pot’s genocide, fled to Vietnam then Thailand, then returned to Cambodia. The memory of her mother’s cooking gave her strength. “Highly recommended.” She called What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez “short and interesting,” with themes of growing up puertorican in Staten Island. She rated it “maybe three and a half stars.”

Ellen found Olga Dies Dreaming “really compelling,” particularly the titular character and the themes of being puertorican in a rich white culture. She liked its “hidden family dynamics” and struggles. The Weight of Ink was “very good,” she liked its two timelines, one taking place in the Plague, the other present-day. Angie had also read it, she loved it. On a recent trip to Chicago, Ellen stopped in an indy bookstore and picked up The Mayor of Maxwell Street. She liked its “slice of African American life in the wealthy sector” (1920s Chicago), and was surprised to learn about the debutante customs. She and Tracy shared their thoughts about the final hundred-or-so pages, agreeing that they were confusing and could've been cut. About The Thread Collectors: “I LOVED THAT BOOK.” Two soldiers in the U.S. Civil War, one Black escaped from enslavement, one a German Jewish immigrant, connecting through music in New Orleans. The book was written by two authors, one Jewish and one Black. Bonus book: Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Anagha is not usually a reader of mythological fantasy but read Kaikeyi on Madhavi’s recommendation and “really liked and enjoyed it.” She grew up learning the Ramayana in its classical (male-dominated) form, and this “completely turns it around on its head” and “gives a raison d’etre for what [the mythical Kaikeyi] did.” Madhavi, who also read it, compared it favorably to other current reimaginings of classical stories.

Kyle listened to The Distance Between Us, a memoir of three children growing up in Mexico: their parents have crossed to the U.S. and they are left in the care of first one grandmother, then their other one. The kids “really stick together and help each other [...] Poverty underlies the entire book.”

Tracy called The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store “really good.” Themes of prejudice felt by Black and Jewish groups in a community. “Lots of miscommunications,” particularly from privileged white males making assumptions. Kyle spoke fondly of the generosity of the woman running the store. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom chronicles a true story of an enslaved couple who escape from Georgia to Boston; and in South to Freedom she believes she found a reference to that same couple. She liked The Spanish Daughter, and called The Kissing Bug a “good book, interesting.”


Angie honored Black History Month with every one of her selections: The Sum of Us, on how racism ruins everything for everyone, she found the first five chapters “really slow,” then it kept improving until “the best: the last twenty pages” covering actions we can take: solidarity dividends, truth and reconciliation. She briefly mentioned Legacy but spoke much more of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, called it “well done, [...] ties well with Legacy.” She introduced Neighbors and Other Stories, spoke of its author’s tragic death in 1966 and how her stories resurfaced only recently; fascinating history worth learning. The book itself was “very interesting, pre-civil rights era, many different genres, all go back to what was everyday life for a middle-class Black family.” Some stories she liked more than others. Oh, and save the Preface for last: it contains unwanted spoilers. Bonus book: Left Hand of Darkness, “a deep dive into what if a binary-sexed person ends up on a planet where that’s not the norm. Holds up well.”

Stef has been devouring the Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) mystery books, which (judging from nods) others in the group appreciate as well.


Ed wished that Mapping the Heavens would get an updated edition, because LIGO has confirmed some of the author’s research in the ten years since publication. The Queen of the Valley he called “phoned in.” Our Missing Hearts drew interesting conversation: Ed found the first part heavyhanded and the next two more redeeming; Madhavi and Anagha felt the inverse. A different experience for all. Everyone seemed to agree that it could’ve been a little shorter. Neighbors and Other Stories was fantastic but not much to add to Angie’s recap. Whiskey Tender was powerful and moving. Author Deborah Jackson Taffa narrates her childhood in the Quechuan (Yuma) reservation and Farmington NM. Taffa, who now teaches at IAIA, spoke recently in Los Alamos. He could not really get into Roman Stories, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Themes of alienation, prejudice, and loneliness, but the writing felt hazy.

A really beautiful gathering today. Thank you to all who made it happen and to PEEC for providing warm and welcoming space on a blustery spring day.

Links:

Eileen Garvin, author of Crow Talk, speaks May 20 2024 at PEEC: https://peecnature.org/events/details...

Deborah Taffa speaks at Los Alamos Unitarian Church, April 14, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufKae...