An Excellent Mystery, (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #11), Ellis Peters. New York: Mysterious Press/Open Road Media, 2014 (first published in 1985).
Summary: A dying monk, a refugee from Maud’s wars, arrives at Shrewsbury Abbey with a mute brother as helper and a former aide of the monk discovers that the monk’s former betrothed is missing.
Maud’s efforts to secure the throne have taken a turn for the worst. The Bishop of Winchester won’t support her, lays siege to the town, and herself becomes besieged, escaping at great loss. but in the process both the Abbey at Hyde-Mead and the convent at Wherwell are razed, the latter with both troops and sisters dying in the chapel where they had taken sanctuary.
In August, two brothers from Hyde-Mead arrive at the Abbey at Shrewsbury. The elder, Humilis, is at death’s door. He has been tended on the road by Fidelis, who has indeed been faithful in doing what could be done. When Cadfael treats him, he recognizes an old Crusader, Godfrid Marescot, who formerly had lived on a nearby estate. He’d suffered a terrible wound, rendering him unable to father children, and slowly draining him of life. Fidelis supports his efforts, and in the process Cadfael learns that Fidelis is mute.
Before he was wounded, Marescot was betrothed to Julian of Cruce. When he realized he could not truly be a husband to her, he entered the Benedictines. He sent a trusted aide, Nicholas Harnage, to break the engagement. Now, Harnage, on leave from the Queen’s army, visits his old leader. His mission is a matter of the heart. When he carried the news of the broken engagement, Julian attracted his own attention. Now he asks Humilis for his blessing to pursue her hand, which Humilis grants. Harnage’s hopes are quickly dashed. Arriving at Julian’s brothers estate, he learns he is three years too late. Shortly after he’d brought the news from Marescot, Julian entered the convent–at Wherwell. Knowing what had recently occurred, he is worried–had she escaped or died.
He sets off for Wherwell, stopping briefly at Shrewsbury. What he finds alarms him yet more. He tracks down the prioress, and learns she never arrived, they had no knowledge of her. The focus turns to the four men who escorted her, and particularly the one men, who travelled alone with her the last portion of the journey, Adam Heriet. He is found and claims he had been ordered by his lady to let her complete the last part of the journey alone. When the wife of a jeweler in Winchester is questioned about a ring that had belonged to Julian, she describes Heriet as the seller. Taken into custody, as her longtime guardian, he stoutly denies any wrongdoing but offers no explanation.
Will Julian’s whereabouts, alive or dead be discovered before the life of Humilis, rapidly ebbing away, is discovered?
A sideplot, concerning Brother Urien, who expresses his attraction to two young brothers, Rhun and Fidelis, is handled with grace, even though Urien has acted gracelessly.
And Cadfael? Besides attentive care for Humilis and his last wishes, he plays the soul of discretion in averting what could have been a great scandal for the Abbey. But to say more, would be to say too much! All in all, an excellent mystery, indeed.
Summary: Two clinicians, one a neuroscientist and the other a mental heath practitioner, explore how the findings in their two fields may combine to raise mentally healthy, loving, responsible, and resilient children.
Parenting is both a joyful and daunting task. No manuals come with our children. And the urgency seems to never have been greater, with needs for mental health counseling due to anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues rising, as are teen and young adult suicide rates.
This book combines two approaches that together seem to hold a great deal of promise. One approach is the advances in brain science, particularly as imaging helps us look at what is happening in the brain and how things like food, environmental factors, media, and repeated blows to the head affect cognitive processes and brain health. There are things that both harm and help, including parental actions at various points of brain development, particularly since the pre-frontal cortex starts developing before birth and doesn’t finish until about age 25.
The other approach, developed by the Love and Logic Institute teaches parenting with both love and logic. In an early chapter on parenting styles the authors outline how they act in a “love and logic home”:
I will treat you with respect so that you know how to treat me.
Feel free to do anything you want, as long as it does not cause a problem for anyone else.
If you cause a problem, I will ask you to solve it. Please let me know if you need any ideas for doing so.
If you can’t solve the problem or choose not to, I will do something.
What I will do will depend on the unique person and the unique situation.
If you ever believe that something I have done is unfair, please let me know by whispering to me, “I’m not sure that’s fair.”
We can schedule a time to talk. What you say may or may not change what I decide to do.
Instead of parents who are helicopter parents, drill sergeants, or uninvolved, they discuss a model of of parents as consultants. These parents cultivate deeply affectionate relationships with each child that communicate empowering messages about what their kids can do and let them do it, allowing affordable mistakes, that if possible, the children solve without parents rescuing or micromanaging.
The first part of the book includes chapters on goal setting, ways to build mental fortitude, loving discipline including the development of self-discipline (one power tip here was that when children misbehave, let them know it is draining your energy and that they will need to do something that will replenish that lost energy–as doing a parent’s chores or forgoing an activity requiring parental time). They help us recognize Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) and how they undermine our mental hygiene and how to counter them. There are a couple long chapters on raising strong and capable kids and helping them develop and maintain healthy bodies. They also include chapters on differing parental styles, helping an underachieving child, dealing with technology, and when things just aren’t working and where to get help.
The second part of the book explores specific parenting challenges from potty training to dating, including helpful sections on bullying and peer pressure. They address healthy parenting during divorce and navigating the role of a step parent. They conclude with two lists: 130 things you can do to help your kids grow up to be mentally strong and twenty things parents of mentally strong kids never do.
One of the things I liked about the book is that I felt treated with the respect and affirmation they suggest we cultivate in our homes. One had the sense that we will all make mistakes at this and that even so, there is hope. We can change and our children can grow more resilient, capable of making their own decisions and solving their own problems. I loved this idea of allowing kids to make affordable mistakes early, being allowed to resolve them as well as understanding the consequences their mistakes have for others, including the parent.
This is one of those books, if purchased during parenting years, that is likely to become worn and dog-eared from being referred to so often. There is so much good, practical information that no one could absorb in just one reading. And as one on the other end of parenting, I recognize both some of the things we got right and some of the things we can agree with our adult son that we just got wrong. It’s never too late for that kind of self- and mutual-understanding–another way we may continue to grow in resilience rather than grow inflexibly older.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Such a diverse selection here! A classic Ellis Peters mystery started the month and a new science fiction novel that has received early critical recognition. A narrative of the 2016 Fort McMurray fire, asking if this heralds more intense “fire weather” and the internal weathering resulting from racial injustice. Modern classics from Joan Didion and Howard Thurman. Fresh approaches to scripture on women, evil, and, peace. Mysteries from Margery Allingham and yet another brilliant Giles Blunt. A history of Haiti and an exploration of God’s providential history at the very beginnings of creation. An Irish collection of essays and prayers and a Lenten devotional centered on the women who traveled with Jesus. A fine refection on servanthood. A few other treasures as well–nineteen in all.
The Pilgrim of Hate (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #10), Ellis Peter. New York: Mysterious Press/Open Road Media, 2014 (Originally published in 1984). The Feast of the translation of St. Winifred is the occasion of new found love, a fugitive fleeing from murder, thievery, and a miracle, all of which engage Cadfael’s attention. Review
Leadership or Servanthood?, Hwa Yung. Carlisle: Langham Global Library, 2021. Contends that, contrary to our focus on developing or training leaders, Jesus was concerned with the formation of servants. Review
Fire Weather, John Vaillant. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2023. An account of the Fort McMurray fire of 2016, when a forest fire consumed a town and became a harbinger of things to come in a hotter, drier world. Review
On the (Divine) Origin of Our Species. Darrel R. Falk. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2023. Accepting the evidence for our evolutionary origins, considers God’s providential activity through his hovering Spirit and how that shaped our evolution. Review
Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays, Joan Didion. New York: Open Road Media, 2017 (Originally published in 1968). A collection of essays, most originally published as Saturday Evening Post articles describing Didion’s first years back in California, during the height of the hippie movement. Review
The Minor Prophets: A Theological Introduction, Craig G. Bartholomew & Heath A. Thomas. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2023. Combines introductory discussions of the last twelve books of the Old Testament with an exploration of the theological themes of each book as well as the theological significance of the whole corpus. Review
Being Here: Prayers for Curiosity, Justice, and Love, Pádraig Ó Tuama. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2024. A book of essays and prayers, including 31 days of readings and prayers, focused on being in communion with God as we seek to live lovingly and justly in our own places. Review
The Delicate Storm(John Cardinal and Lise DeLorme #2), Giles Blunt. London: HarperCollins, 2004. A gruesome murder in the woods is soon followed by another, leading to an international investigation, a terrorist plot from the ’70’s, and a shrewd murderer on the loose, climaxed by an epic ice storm. Review
Strange Religion, Nijay K. Gupta. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2024. Roman society thought Christians weird for both their beliefs and practices, and yet oddly compelling. Review
Flowers for the Judge, Margery Allingham. Avarang Books, 2023 (Originally published in 1936). Campion is called in when a member of a publishing family disappears, only for him to be found dead in the firm’s vault, with all the evidence pointing toward younger cousin Mike as the murderer. Review
Eve Isn’t Evil, Julie Faith Parker. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023. Feminist readings of biblical texts involving women, mostly from the Hebrew Bible. with one chapter on the New Testament. Review
The Bible is not Enough, Scot McKnight. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2023. In reaction to the embrace by American Christians of “humane” approaches to war and Christian nationalism, calls for an imaginative and improvisational approach to living out the Bible’s vision of a peaceful world. Review
C. S. Lewis in America, Mark A. Noll with Karen J. Johnson, Kirk D. Farney, and Amy E. Black. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2023. An analysis of how C. S. Lewis’s works were received in the United States, considering Catholic, secular, and Protestant/evangelical critics evaluating his work between 1935 and 1947. Review
Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman (Foreword by Vincent Harding. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996 (Originally published 1949, link is to 2022 edition). Explores the significance of Jesus for the disenfranchised, the discriminated against, and those marginalized by various forms of injustice and equity. Review
Haiti: The Aftershocks of History, Laurent Dubois. New York: Picador, 2013. A history of Haiti, from colonial rule under France up to the earthquake of 2010. Review
Women Who Followed Jesus, Dandi Daley Mackall. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2024. 40 reflections through the eyes of women who followed Jesus to the cross and witnessed the resurrection. Review
Demystifying Evil, Ingrid Faro (Foreword by Heather Davediuk Gingrich). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023. A biblical study of the evil and God’s work in the world illustrated by the author’s own wrestling with evil. Review.
The Limits of My World, Gregory Coles. Loveland, CO: Walking Carnival Books, 2023. A small group of people from two races encounter, and in the process, discover the challenge of communicating across two languages and a larger reality beyond their known universe. Review
Book of the Month. I found Nijay Gupta’s study of what set Christians apart in Roman society to be fascinating. They weren’t trying to be different but their beliefs and practices not only were weird but also compelling.
Quote of the Month: I loved this expression of God moving toward us as we move toward God in Pádraig Ó Tuama’s Being There.
Turning to the light the light turns to us. Moving toward the source the source moves toward us. Holding on to hope hope holds on to us.
What I’m Reading. I just finished a couple books I’ll be reviewing soon, An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters and Raising Mentally Strong Kids–chock full of helpful ideas. My appreciation of Richard Mouw is only growing in reading Divine Generosity, a Calvinist study of the scope of God’s saving work–far greater than you might think. Micha Boyett’s Blessed Are the Rest of Us is a very personal exploration of the Beatitudes by the mother of a child with Down’s Syndrome diagnosed later with autism. Wintering is an exploration of rest and retreat from a non-religious but spiritual writer. Peter Leithart’s Creator explores our theology of God through the lens of the first chapters of Genesis with an engagement with Greek philosophy. In Agatha Christie’s Passenger to Frankfurt Sir Stafford Nye has an unusual encounter with a mysterious woman in the Frankfurt airport that won’t be the last. Finally, Tomorrow a friend and I begin working our way through Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age–a huge and important book. So many good things to read.
The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014!It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book.
Remember Bazooka Bobble Gum, with a comic inside the wrapper for each piece? How about Tootsie Pops, with that chocolate center? There were those Red Hots, those big red balls that grew hotter as you sucked them. We loved licorice twists, Milky Ways, Hershey bars, Tootsie Rolls…and maybe Necco wafers. And remember Milk Duds! Of course at this time of the year, there were jelly beans, chocolate eggs, and bunnies. No wonder I had so many cavities as a kid!
Some of these candies are still around fifty years later. And some enterprises are bringing them back–probably for the boomers who loved them as a kid. The picture above was taken at the counter of a local family restaurant.
Many of us bought at least some of our candy at local mom and pop stores, often tucked into our neighborhoods. My wife and her friends would stop at Curry’s Pharmacy. We’d go to Mrs. Borey’s on Oakwood, just up the hill from Washington. Many of us walked past, and some like me, detoured. I can’t recall that Mrs. Borey sold anything other than candy, and maybe popsicles and ice cream bars, It was literally a store front in a residential home, where I presume someone lived. I recall hearing that the apartments next to Washington School had a store on the first floor at one time.
Further up Oakwood, across from Borts Field was Zitello’s. It was on my way home from West Junior High, so I would sometimes stop for chips, or maybe a Slim Jim. But they really did business during baseball games in the summer. Between innings, we’d run across the street and get a pop and your favorite snack.
If I was hanging out with friends during the summer, we’d often run down to “Pop’s” on Mahoning Avenue near Lakeview for our bubblegum and Red Hots or a candy bar. “Pop’s” was actually a grocery, so sometimes, particularly before Sparkle opened up the street, we’d be there to pick up some bread or something else mom needed–and get a snack on the side with the change.
This was a part of a culture of local businesses within walking distance for many of us. This is something I don’t know much about beyond my own part of the West side, and perhaps part of our vanishing local history. I’d love to hear if there were penny candy stores you used to go to at which you got your candy “fix” as a kid? Where were these stores and what happened to them?
To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.”Enjoy!
Summary: A small group of people from two races encounter, and in the process, discover the challenge of communicating across two languages and a larger reality beyond their known universe.
Tei and Kanan are Fledglings hoping to be selected as Finals. Only ten from each class are selected, the rest being archived. Kanan is a runner who can complete a circuit of the Universe they inhabit in 17 minutes. Tei delves deeply into the archives. Both expect Kanan to be selected. Instead, neither are. Then something strange happens. They announce a special Final is to be selected, an Interpreter to learn the language of beings that exist in the world above, called Natchers. Tei, of all people, is selected, for his deep delvings into the archives, from which he will learn the language. Tei and Kanan have made a promise to find each other, but Kanan will be archived. Except she uses her speed to elude capture, finding herself in a meat locker among remains without the protective shell-like skin that has already been partially stripped off her.
Suddenly she finds herself in the world above with the “Natchers” except they don’t call themselves. They speak of themselves as humans, what Kanan’s race calls itself. The people she finds herself among call Kanan’s race the Cyborgs because of the shell-like covering called “skin” worn over what the “Natchers” call skin. She discovers why communication between the two peoples is so impossible–almost everything in one language means something else, sometimes just its opposite. “Sorry,” meant genuinely is considered a word of contempt.
Both Tei and Kanan, unaware of each other, learn that the two races depend on each other. Mahlah, a swimmer, leads a raid to obtain medicine desperately needed from the Cyborgs for an ill child, using re-skinned Kanan to gain access. Eventually Mahlah is captured by the Cyborgs and is “allowed” escape with Tei. Meanwhile, Tei has learned how a single group became two races, and that the Nothing beyond, is not nothing but a larger reality and end of a story they no longer comprehend. The contact Tei and Kanan have with the Natchers, and what they learn implicate them as traitors in the eyes of both races and yet point to truth both races desperately need to understand. As Coles writes, “Truth must be a fragile thing if it only survives in one language.”
Gregory Coles has done both some incredible worldmaking and explored how languages shape societies, and how truth is perceived. And as he puts it toward the conclusion of the work:
“The walls of the human world–the boundaries of their worlds–kept them from seeing the one sight that might have opened their eyes” (p. 322).
This is Gregory Coles first work of science fiction. It is the Foreword INDIES Award Finalist for science fiction in 2023, Kirkus Reviews Starred Pick, and a PW Booklife Editor’s Pick. I thoroughly enjoyed the twisty plot, the development of Tei, the descriptions of the Universe they inhabit, and the rich exploration of how language works. I hope I will see more from this writer.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Demystifying Evil, Ingrid Faro (Foreword by Heather Davediuk Gingrich). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023.
Summary: A biblical study of the evil and God’s work in the world illustrated by the author’s own wrestling with evil.
Ingrid Faro tells us at the outset: “The purpose of this book is to demystify evil by taking it out of its dark corners, finding out where it comes from, asking why, and exploring how it operates to disrupt and disable our lives.” Faro does this both through extensive discussion of relevant scripture, but also through personal narratives in each chapter related to the chapter material.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the book is how bluntly, and at points, terrifyingly honest she is in these narratives, justifying the trigger warnings at the beginning of this book. The most memorable example is her description of the evil spirit that inhabited her late husband from his time in Vietnam. “Sergeant Rock” offered him protection as he learned to be a trained assassin, sometimes participating in horrific realities. After his conversion, he recognized Sergeant Rock as a demon, and gained a measure of freedom although the demon sought, and sometimes gained control telling Ingrid Faro, “You’re not welcome here! Get out!” to which she replied, “No! You’re not welcome here! You get out now!” and it did.
The book is organized in five parts. The first, on “wrestling with evil” distinguishes evil, suffering, and pain and discusses the ambiguity of evil–the different things evil can mean to different people. She then focuses on a biblical definition of evil as “the corruption of good, with an emphasis on God’s creational goodness.” Part two begins with natural causes, noting the action-consequence character of reality–“You reap what you sow” This last idea has in it the concept of seed–so much in life emerges from seed–plants, animals, and humans. But also words that produce actions and bear consequences, for good in God’s creation, and ill, when evil enters in at the fall. She turns to nature, whose processes may be both good and evil in their impact on humans but may also be shaped for good and harm by human beings.
Part three considers human causes of evil. Faro begins with human need and desire, made for good by God but capable of working for ill to us and others when inordinately pursued. Then she focuses on self-sufficiency as the root of both our pride and insecurity. She addresses our human responsibility and authority as beings in God’s image. Our call is to reflect God’s character and guard his garden, his temple. When asked why God allows so much evil, her reply is, why do humans in God’s image allow so much evil? She then looks at our role to restore the world under the redemptive work of God in Christ.
Part four challenges the illusions people have about the personal spiritual forces for good and evil in the world–Satan, demons, angels, and other spiritual beings. Another reality little considered is what she calls the divine council and the rules of engagement and the cosmic involvement in human systems. Perhaps Neil Gaiman in American Gods wasn’t entirely out to lunch!
Finally, Part five develops God’s response to evil. Faro begins with the power of mercy and grace and how this triumphs over evil and its judgment ultimately in the cross. She builds on this to explore forgiveness, including sharing a tremendous forgiveness story. Finally, Faro discusses the idea of the beauty that comes from ashes when the followers of Jesus follow the one who absorbed the consequences of the evil we have done and the evil done to us, freeing us to live as his royal family, one that repays evil with good and so heals the fabric of the world.
For all the sobering material and stories about evil, Faro shows us the power of God that overcomes through grace and mercy and the agency we have as God’s redeemed creatures, in resisting evil and evil forces as we guard God’s garden. We are not hapless victims. Even aside from her stories, this is no mere intellectual treatise on evil but actually a field manual for spiritual warfare. Faro shows us how to live both as those liberated from evil and empowered to resist it with gospel authority. What our enemy would shroud in darkness is brought to light. What our enemy would obscure of the works of God are uncovered. This is a book that will teach us to “fear no evil.”
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Summary: 40 reflections through the eyes of women who followed Jesus to the cross and witnessed the resurrection.
Through most of church history, when speaking of the company who followed Jesus, the focus is upon the men, either those who became apostles, or Judas the Betrayer. We hear less often of the women. There was a company of women who traveled with and assisted Jesus, including providing out of their means, showing hospitality, and crucially remaining present until his death, and coming to his tomb on Sunday to finish preparing his body, hastily buried. Notably, women were the first witnesses to the risen Jesus, and condescendingly disbelieved by the men until Jesus himself set the record straight.
In this book of Lenten devotions, Dandi Daley Mackall looks at the final journey, and a few other events through the voices of the women who encountered and accompanied him. We hear from Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Susanna, Joanna, wife of Chuza, the Samaritan woman, Mary and Martha of Bethany, and Salome (the mother of James and John) Each of the reflections are preceded by scripture related to the reflection, the reflections are two pages long and followed by a few reflection/application questions. The text is also broken up with well-drawn illustrations, mostly floral.
Some of the most moving for me are those of Mary the mother of Jesus, particularly at the cross. Through her, we hear the mockery of her son, and the stunned wonder with which she addresses a young priest, “Do you not yet understand the scriptures or the power of God? The Messiah comes to die for the sins of us all?” Mary thinks of how the Son, her sons provides for all humanity, yet wonders humanly how she will be provided for with him gone. Then Jesus speaks to her, “Woman, behold your son: and to John, “Behold your mother.” And she knows the Lord will provide.
I wish I could have gotten a review out before Lent (sorry Paraclete Press!). I’ve certainly been grateful for these imaginative yet biblically grounded reflections that help me appreciate the role of the women in Jesus’ life. If nothing else, get these for next year!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
I read a lot of books. If you notice, most days on this blog are devoted to book reviews. This happened to be the rare day when I had no finished books waiting for review. Last year, I read 219 books. It’s an occupational hazard of book reviewers! I’m not bragging because I know a number who read more. Equally, I know a number of very happy people who love reading who have read far less. What’s important is that you find enjoyment and enrichment in whatever you read. Here are some things that help me make the most of my reading time.
Eliminate distractions. This is the biggy! When you read, read. I always read better when my smartphone is plugged in somewhere else. Don’t try to multi-task, especially with loved ones.
A good reading location. This means a chair that offers comfort and support and good light (neither to dim nor too glaring. If you are an older reader, you probably need more light, unless you’ve had cataract surgery. I like it when I can rest my book on a table, though the binding on books don’t always lend themselves to that.
Good eyewear. My eye doctor learned I read a lot and gave me a prescription for reading glasses in addition to my regular glasses that include a reading prescription. This has so improved my reading experience.
I always have several books going at a time. Partly this reflects reviewing where this allows me to have a book I’ve finished most days. The other thing is that I tend to want to take a break after reading a stretch in a book, usually about 30 pages of non-fiction and 40 pages of fiction.
Take stretch breaks between books. For me, it’s a way of clearing my mental palate. As readers, we also need to move our bodies. Usually, I don’t read more than 30 to 45 minutes at a stretch without getting up, maybe doing a household chore or two or at least refilling my coffee cup or water bottle.
Read when you are most alert. Sometimes a half hour nap or walk perks me up enough that my mind is refreshed. You don’t read much when you are nodding off–usually the same paragraph ten times.
Reading expands to fill the time you give it. And usually with little difference in comprehension. I can read 30 pages in 30 minutes, or 45, or an hour. I find that if I am determined, I can do it in 30, and sometimes less if I focus. Often we are slowed by distractions or going back over what we’ve read. This will vary, of course with the density of what we are reading–not only the words on the page but the complexity of the ideas. Sometimes a skim to get the outline of a plot or argument followed by slower reading helps with dense material.
Reading with others. Recently, a friend mentioned wanting to read Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age–a significant book coming in at over 900 pages. I have too, and we decided to tackle it together, beginning April 1. I’ll let you know how it goes. Book clubs do the same thing with more people. The ones I’ve appreciated most are those where we get into books we’ve wanted to read, often ones that have sat on the shelves of some of us.
I usually have a series or two and a good one will spur on my reading. Right now, I’m reveling in the Brother Cadfael stories as well as Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion series. These are just great fun! Louise Penney’s Gamache series got me through the years of the pandemic–allowing me to lose myself in her writing during those grim times.
When you find a writer you like, read all you can by them. I find the more I read such writers, the more I get “in sync” with them, whether it is Wendell Berry’s essays, or Willa Cather’s fiction, my discovery of last year. When I discovered David McCullough, I read everything by him. I miss him.
Those are some of the things that have worked for me. If they don’t work for you, we’re just different. I think all of us who love reading live under the awareness of “so many books and so little time.” Some of what I’ve written here falls under making the most of our reading time so that we might read a bit more of those books. But another part of what I’ve written relates to getting the most enjoyment and enrichment out of our time. If that is happening when you read, you are reading enough. And don’t let anyone tell you any different!
Summary: A history of Haiti, from colonial rule under France up to the earthquake of 2010.
If you are following world news you will have noticed the descent of Haiti into gang violence and a dissolution of its government with no president since the assassination of President Moise in 2021 and the resignation of acting Prime Minister of Ariel Henry in March 2024. Numerous citizens have been kidnapped, many have fled the country and the country is facing critical levels of food insecurity. With that in view, I picked up this history of the country to see if I might gain some understanding of the current events. Laurent Dubois narrates the history of the country from the colonial period under France up until 2010, although the period after the Duvaliers, father and son, is only briefly covered.
It is a history to make one weep. The country is the only country to gain independence through the revolt of a slave people, in this case against France. Slaves on the profitable sugar plantations rose under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture in a fight running from 1791 to 1804 for independence. Toussaint died as a prisoner of war during an attempt by the French to recapture the former colony. The French were finally defeated in 1804 under a coalition led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines who proclaimed himself emperor, re-established the plantation system rather than the small farms people wanted, and then died.
One element of this story is the instability, authoritarian character and corruption of leaders that goes back to the nation’s origins. Over its history, the country has experienced over 30 coups. Leaders re-wrote constitutions several time to protect their power, in one instance, for life. There was a reliance upon the military, or in the case of the Duvalier dynasty of 30 years, the employment of a private militia, the Tonton Macoutes to ruthlessly stifle opposition.
Another is the pattern of foreign interference throughout the country’s history, beginning with the colonial rule of France. After independence, France held the country in thrall through an onerous indemnity, that took the best part of a century to liquidate, setting up a destructive pattern of borrowing and debt that held a stranglehold on the country. For a period of time, the country’s treasury was a French bank!
The United States did not recognize Haiti for over fifty years, frightened by the idea of a successful slave revolt. Then with the expansion of U.S. Naval power Haiti first became attractive as a site for a coaling station. Later, business interests were interested in what could be extracted from the country. Internal order brought an invasion of U.S. Marines in 1915 to restore order, build roads and infrastructure, and promote agricultural reforms.
It was a high-handed paternalistic effort, with few bothering to learn the language and culture. When resistance was encountered, villages were destroyed and atrocities occurred for which there has never been a reckoning. Our Marines were only withdrawn in the 1930’s but our countries’ interests continue to be intertwined. In the Duvalier era, for example, Nelson Rockefeller can be seen in chummy photos with “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Dubois extends this paternalistic approach to many of the NGOs, aid and mission organizations working in the country, that often competed with local economies, supplanting local trades, draining resources, and often repeating the military’s mistake of not learning French or Creole, nor the indigenous culture.
Dubois presents a picture of a country in which the people often outshine the leaders, pressing to be free from plantation economies and foreign interests, and for government reforms. Sadly, the pattern of people rising to leadership, only to follow the corrupt, authoritarian models of their predecessors, is repeated again and again.
Finally, we see the natural devastation of the country, from monocultures that exhaust the soil, hillside erosions and the loss of topsoils, and deforestation, culminating in the devastating earthquake of 2010 (and another, after publication, in 2020). What is grievous is that this was a country once rich in natural resources that is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
Amid all the devastation, Dubois still holds out hope that the people who rose from slavery can rise to build a new Haiti. I found myself far less certain, wondering how the habits of good civil government, the rule of law, ethical business practice and sustainable agriculture can be established and developed. Given the current descent into gang violence and anarchy, I wonder if we are watching a nation in the throes of self-destruction, one that could precipitate a terrible genocide. Is it not time for the international community to act to prevent great loss of life, provide critical aid, and to offer the breathing space to restore civil order? But only Haiti can do the rest.
My wife and I were driving past a familiar plaza and we noticed that the shoe repair shop was no longer there. This set us wondering how shoe shops make it these days, and we recalled memories of the shoe repair shop I went to as a child.
Growing up, it seems we wore more traditional shoes with leather soles and uppers. I remember our Saturday afternoon ritual of polishing our shoes for church on Sunday. We had a can of Kiwi bootpolish, an old rag we used to apply the polish, and a soft rag to buff it off. I loved how the polish would cover all but the worst of scuffs and make the shoes shine! Of course, then I had to scrub the polish off my hands. And you had to make sure the lid was tight on the polish can or the polish would be all cracked and dry the next time you polished your shoes.
Like all things, those shoes wore out. The heels would wear down on one side. The soles would wear thin or even get a hole in them–no fun in the rain. Women would have the heel on high heels fall off. If you hadn’t grown out of the shoe and the uppers were still good, you took them to a shoe repair shop to get more life out of the shoe and stretch that working class budget.
We used to take our shoes to an old cobbler who had a shop on Steel Street, just north of Mahoning Avenue. The shop was old with all the machines (like the one above) and tools behind the counter. It smelled of shoe leather and polish. There wasn’t much light, maybe one hanging bulb. On shelves on the sides, you saw all kinds of shoes with claim tickets attached. I don’t remember the gentleman’s name and he seemed a man of few words. You gave him the shoes. He usually could see what needed to be done. He told you what it would cost, when they would be ready and filled out the claim ticket. and you were out the door. A few days later, you’d go back and have shoes almost as good as new. Sometimes, you’d get new soles and heels several times, if the shoe was well-made.
It’s been ages since I’ve had shoes repaired. Most of the time, it seems we just discard casual shoes when they wear out. I have a pair of dress shoes I rarely wear, probably 15 years old that I’ve never re-soled. I suspect this is true of many of us. It strikes me as I write that the old way of repairing shoes was often more thrifty and more earth-friendly, even though we didn’t talk about re-using and recycling in those days.
I’d love to hear your memories of going to shoe repair shops in Youngstown!
To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.”Enjoy!
