Resistance

The Maquis, the Nazi resistance network, moves Jews, Allied Soldiers and fleeing Belgian soldiers to France and freedom. In November 1993 a “special ceremony inaugurates a monument in remembrance of an aeroplane fallen down on 1943 December 30th at the Heights near our village.”

The story begins in December 1943, when an American B-17 bomber is downed, and Claire becomes the caretaker of its pilot, Ted Brice. They fall in love … haunted by war, their love seems impossible, making it all the more precious.

This is not just fiction, but based on realities of many villages across Europe and the horror of it all is almost unbearable. There is love in the hole of hell itself

A movie made in 2003 stars the lovely Julia Ormond (of Sabrina and Legends of the Fall) as Claire and Bill Paxton (of Big Love) as Ted

Tara at Books and Cooks is giving away three copies of Testimony, Anita Shreve’s latest novel, just released. You can enter the draw to be made on October 28 by leaving a comment on her post. She asks that you mention your favorite of Shreve’s books. This is mine.

Infusions of Healing

In San Antonio we went to hear Frances Evans talk about Folk Medicine, Mexican-American Herbal Remedies. She told us about mal d'ojo and skunk oil, moldy bread (penicillin) and milagros, spider webs to stop bleeding, sugar and honey for bed sores, garlic for high blood pressure, vinegar and brown paper for sprains and burns. Beans from the mesquite tree, steeped to make tea, for an upset stomach, mud for an insect sting. The early Sears catalogs advertisied opium and cures for addiction.

This is one of the books she recommended. Joie Davidow describes hundreds of plants and their uses, how to prepare them, where and when to find them. Early chapters tell five hundred years of history, from the arrival in 1519 of Hernando Cortes at Vera Cruz up to the present day. My ears perked up at this because I lived for three years on Cortes Island in British Columbia. The island was named in 1792 during the expedition of Galiano and Valdes, presumably after Hernando Cortes.

Today, almost everyone in Mexico uses the traditional herbal remedies to some extent. The old medicines have never fallen of of use. Urban Mexicans use both ancient herbs and modern pharmaceuticals.

In south Texas many botanicas sell traditional herbs. Like their wandering Aztec ancestors, Mexican Americans are resourcesful people, learning to make use of whatever is available

Que magicas infusiones
de indios herbolarios
de mi patria, entre mis letras
el bechizo derramaron?

What are these magical infusions
of the Indian herbalists of my homeland,
that spill enchantment
over my pages?
- Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (1648-1695)

Smoking Poppy

Graham Joyce has given us an update of a familiar tale (Conrad's Heart of Darkness)

When a divorced, middle aged electrician hears that his precociously intelligent daughter has been arrested in Thailand for drug-trafficking, he sets out with his drinking mate, an overweight fruit and vegetable seller and his son, a laconic born-again Christian, determined to bring her home. It's a journey during which he will be dogged by drug dealers, thugs of the worst kind, sorcerers and spirits.

My New Cookbook

I saw this book in the window of a used bookstore while wandering around one afternoon. The bright cover attracted me. Glancing through the table of contents and a few pages of recipes, I knew I had to have it.

There are quick and nutritious recipes, and easy - most take under 30 minutes to prepare. A vegetarian or vegan diet, utilizing plant protein, creates less of a demand on the world's resources and encourages a lifestyle that is compassionate toward Earth and all its inhabitants.

On Thursday evening, June 19, 2008, in Johnstown, PA, at the 34th Annual Vegetarian Summerfest of the North American Vegetarian Society, Joanne Stepaniak was elected to the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. She is the author of many books. This one, Table for Two, was published in 1996. She emphasizes compassion towards everyone, including meat-eaters.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Finding and reading this wonderful old classic was pure joy. I'd seen the movie many years ago, but not read the book.

First published over 50 years ago, Betty Smith's poignant, honest novel created a big stir ... her frank writing about life's squalor was alarming to some of the more genteel society.

Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive. The opening line is this: “Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York”. Can you imagine that? Well, I guess the world was much different in the summer of 1912.

It's a simple story of a family in crisis. Johnny, the father, drinks too much and can't hold a job but is the light and life of the family. Katie, the mother, loves her family ferociously, but has been embittered by the strain that Johnny and their perpetual state of poverty places upon her. The story truly belongs to Francie and Neely, the two children, who survive by staying together, inventing stories and games for each other, and finding joy in their meager surroundings.

There is magic and heartbreak, heroics and cowardice, beauty and hideousness. It describes what it was like to be a poor child in Brooklyn in 1908.

The Mermaid Chair

Not such a great book, but I so loved the movie ... it was filmed just a few miles up the road from where I'm living now ... Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island ... gorgeous scenery and a young monk who was very nice to look at. There's a great line at the monastery - "the monks shuffled off in various degrees of huff."

I enjoyed her other book, The Secret Life of Bees. and hope to see a movie soon from this one ... just recently heard that it's in the making

The Watermelon King

We watched Big Fish last night ... again ... one of my favorite movies. Wonderful, magical characters and wonderful actors ... Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Ewan MacGregor, Billy Crudup, Helena Bonham Carter, and that beautiful French woman who won an Oscar this year for playing Edith Piaf.

So I remembered another book by Daniel Wallace that I read last year ... The Watermelon King. Susan Shreve called it "a marvelous combination of Chaucer and Roald Dahl." Such humor and humanity in this story of a young man in search of his identity. His genius has produced a tale both outrageous and heartbreaking. I hope to find more of his mystery and magic.