Review: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

 Dear Lit Loves,

This month's book club selection is The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.  The  book introduces the reader to a woman named Belle da Costa Greene who would become the personal librarian and curator of The Pierpont Morgan Library.  Belle was originally named Belle Marian Greener, but to afford her more opportunities, her mother urges Belle to change her name as she is a colored woman now "passing" as a white woman due to "alleged" Portuguese family history.  Belle worked in the rare books collection at Princeton before being recommended to J.P. Morgan as a future librarian and directress of The Pierpont Morgan Library where she works to build a powerhouse collection of rare art and manuscripts.

The majority of the book revolves around Belle actively acquiring rare paintings, art and manuscripts for J.P. Morgan's library.   The library is where Belle builds her career in the world of fine art, specifically, authenticating work, building relationships with fellow collectors and patrons as well as utilizing J.P. Morgan's wealth to acquire rare works at auctions.  We see her become a successful career woman and trusted confidante to J.P. Morgan.  And she accomplishes all of this while keeping her secret that she is technically a "colored" woman.  Part of the draw of this book is the quest to learn if Belle's secret is ever revealed and how that might have affected her given the historical nature of the book.

Belle's parents were married and both espoused the need for equality.  It is only when Belle's father, Richard Greener, first African American graduate of Harvard, goes to teach at a southern university that the couple sees the ugliness of racism and discrimination.  As a result, Belle's mom chooses to raise and keep her family living and passing as "white".  Belle's father wants to continue to support the cause of civil rights and equality.  And he wants to live as an authentic "colored" man.  Thus, he opts to leave the family.  Belle, after acquiring the career of librarian at The Pierpont Morgan Library, is the primary provider for her family consisting of several sisters, one brother and her mother.  The book notes that when Belle's mom made her decision to live as "white" colored men were being lynched, segregation was the norm, and women were fighting for the right to vote.  

Belle tries to effectively keep her secret throughout the book.  Keeping that secret comes at a cost to her and she often wonders how her father would feel about her actions.  And there are other characters in the book with secrets as well which we see depicted as Belle travels the world in the pursuit of fine art for The Pierpont Morgan library.  We see the struggle of Black women and the quest to make their voices heard and get college educations to further their respective careers though most women in this time  period were teachers or assistants.  Belle becomes a well-respected leader in the world of fine art and a leader among women.

There are many twists and turns in this book regarding Belle's friends, her work, and her love interests.  Belle's not the only character in the book that has a secret.  Even J.P. Morgan's daughter is trying to hide information from her father.  In the end, Belle obviously loses J.P. Morgan, but remains on as personal librarian to his son, Jack Morgan.  Eventually, she successfully manages to convince Jack Morgan to make The Pierpont Morgan Library public so everyone can have access to its rare masterpieces.

I think the part I liked the most about this book was the ending whereby Belle is being interviewed by a reporter from The New York Times as a profile the paper will run about Belle and her success.  She decides to have her portrait taken between Mr. J.P. Morgan's lion-footed, enormous desk and a painting of a darker skinned man that she convinced Jack Morgan to acquire as it reminds her of her father.  Essentially, Belle's career was shaped early by her father's love of art and their visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Her career success was heavily influenced by J.P. Morgan.  And in the end, it is fitting that she stands equally between emblems of both men.

I confess, I do not normally read historical fiction.  This book intrigued me as it is based on a real individual and her career at a time in history when female career success was not the norm.  While reading the book, I often wondered if Belle's ethnicity was ever revealed during the course of her life of some seventy years?  Was it revealed after she died?  And how would J.P. Morgan have reacted if he had been informed of Belle's true ethnicity?  This is a book that will make  you appreciate how far the women's movement has come while simultaneously perusing a period of U.S. history that depicts how much racism and discrimination were so very common and rampant at the beginning of the 1900s. 

I highly recommend this book not only for book clubs, but also for high school English and history classes.  It is well-researched.  There were times when the second half of the book became too drawn out and dry for me, but that's just my personal preference.  The book is definitely worthy of its length. I highly recommend this book.

Til my next review,

Grace (Amy) 

Lark Ascending: A Novel by Silas House

 Dear Lit Loves,

This month my book club chose to read Lark Ascending:  A Novel by Silas House.  This particular author has published seven novels, one book of creative nonfiction, and three plays.  Silas House is also the poet laureate of Kentucky for the years 2023-2025.  

First, let me start by saying I had never read this author's work previously.  I knew this book most definitely falls into the literary fiction category because nearly every sentence paints a picture and paragraphs elicit strong emotions.  It did not surprise me that Algonquin Books was the publisher of Lark Ascending:  A Novel; they tend to publish literature reading more like poetry over more plain-spoken manuscripts.   Both types of books have their merits in my opinion.

The book follows a young man named Lark and his family who initially reside in Maryland, but due to climate change and religious nationalism, the family is forced to move to Maine.  We get to see what the U.S. and other countries do when one person or faction takes power to the exclusion of others and personal freedoms evaporate.  Even more, we get to see what happens when others will follow one person or faction in power often to the detriment of others. Lark and his family eventually decide to leave the United States on a boat with many others fleeing the U.S. by taking to the North Atlantic and setting out for Ireland.  The family has heard that Ireland is the last country accepting American refugees, but the trip is fraught with immense danger.  Upon reaching the outskirts of Ireland, the boat is hit with bullets quickly sinking it and leaving only Lark left alive while the others parish at sea including both his parents.

Ireland has also descended into chaos due to climate change and religious nationalism. In this part of the story the reader sees the Nays in power and those fighting the Nays are called the Resistance or Rebels. Lark has to try and find his way to a place his parents were intending to travel to called Glendalough; Glendalough being imagined as a place of beauty and freedoms.  Along the way, Lark encounters a deep bond with a Beagle in a place where dogs have been banned.  And he also meets Helen, a woman who is searching for her son who she believes has been kidnapped and held in what often sounds like an internment camp.  The bulk of the story is about Lark, Helen, and a dog named Seamus trying to make their way to the beautiful area of Glendalough.  

At the heart of this book, the author wants the reader to contemplate what happens to humans when climate change occurs and control-seeking factions are placed in power.  More importantly, the book demonstrates the power of grief and what helps Lark to survive long enough to make it to Glendalough.  The powerful connection between animals and the ones who love them is exhibited throughout the book.  There is also the notion of losing your biological family and choosing who you make your "Found Family".  The book deals with grief and hope and how they can be entangled and coexist.  The larger questions the author wants the reader to think about include:

1) Does a place shape its people or do people shape a place?? (My answer:  Both)

2)  There is strength in numbers, but is there not also a danger when there is strength in numbers?

Honestly, I had a difficult time even reading this book as I am still grieving a personal loss myself.  There were moments when I had to put this book down and walk away from it.  And yes, parts of this book were difficult and shocking to read and envision.  I am glad I kept reading though because in the end is where the beauty in this story lies. (Also, I wish I had read the end of book essay by the book's author before starting to read the book itself!)  This book will make you think about the future of our planet, what happens when power is in the hands of a chosen few, and how it is often the smallest of wonders that bring humans the most joy as we live many lives in one lifetime.

I would recommend this book, but also caution readers about the immense grief and disaster portrayed in the book.  Overall, I would recommend you read this book and determine what you think it says about the future of our planet and our people should we ever encounter an apocalypse.

Till my next review,

Grace (Amy)

Review: The Story of a Heart: Two Families, One Heart, and the Medical Miracle That Saved a Child's Life by Dr. Rachel Clarke

 Dear Lit Loves,

Wow.  I just completed reading an in-depth story of two children belonging to two loving families when one passes away via a car accident and the other has a failing heart and needs a transplant.  The two children eventually match as donor and transplant recipient.  Additionally, this book relays a thorough history of the field of cardiothoracic surgery and transplantation.  You get a moving memoir and an education regarding the heart and its ability to be repaired, and transplanted!

Initially there is Keira who is about eight years old living in England in a rather large, close family.  When Keira and her mother and brother are in a dire car accident, it is apparent to a doctor at the scene of the crash that Keira quite possibly will not make it through this incident alive.   The doctor appearing on the scene implements Dr. James Styner's Advanced Trauma Life Support technique whereby there is a protocol for addressing trauma patients.  The technique involves knowing what can kill a patient first which is the list you go by when assessing trauma patients:  A is for Airway (is it blocked) B is for Breathing (is the chest rising and falling) C is for Circulation or (is the heart beating and pumping blood) D is for Disability (check for spinal fractures and immobilize body if necessary) and E is for Exposure (has the patient been exposed to prolonged periods of cold or heat).  Keira is given life sustaining measures until she can reach a children's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

We all know it is the precarious nature of life that causes a parent to not be able to shield a child from all the bad possibilities in life.  This is particularly true for Max, son of Paul and Emma Johnson, who around the age of eight begins losing weight, sustaining low energy levels, and having shortness of breath.  His parents are informed he has Dilated Cardiomyopathy - his heart is enlarged and is being attacked by a virus.  Eventually Max will require a drug known as Milrinone to increase the force of his heart muscle's pumping ability.  Also, Max will need a Left Ventricle Assist Device to help his heart circulate blood throughout his body.

Some interesting historical details in the book included:

1) 5 Liters of blood are pumped through the body every minute.

2) The Glasgow Coma Scale is the assessment of the level of consciousness of a trauma patient and it is measured from 3 to 15.  In this story Keira scores a three meaning no brain function. 15 meaning optimal brain function.

3) Heartbeats used to define the essence of life and over time physicians learned sustainable life requires brain function thus leading to the argument of whether to keep a patient on a ventilator or to opt for withdrawal of ventilation and potentially select organ donation.

4) Children spend two and a half times longer on a transplant waiting list than adults.

5) A heart transplant is considered palliative care and not a cure.  Average life span of patient receiving a transplanted heart is 14 years.

6) VAD (ventricle assist devices) help improve the force behind the heart muscle and its ability to pump blood.  

7) Heart-Lung machine was invented to take over function of the heart and lungs so a surgeon can make a repair to the heart.

8) The lungs function is gas exchange or removing carbon dioxide from the blood while replenishing red blood cells with fresh oxygen.

9) May 6th, 1953:  Dr. John Gibbons performs first open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass machine.

10)  Brain death of a potential organ donor must be confirmed by two doctors replicating the result of each other's tests.

Eventually, we see Max agonizing in a PICU for months waiting on a potential heart transplant.  Keira's family decides to allow her to live on through donating her organs:  heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. We see where for children the size of the transplanted organ is critical in terms of matching a donor with a recipient along with blood and tissue typing.   Keira is eventually moved to a theatre (operating room) and there is a moment of honor where all assisting in removal of organs reflect on generosity and cost to family of the donor patient.  Keira's heart is removed, placed in three sealed bags, and the heart is bathed in cardioplegia to not only stop the heart but to preserve it as well.  Keira's heart is then placed on ice in a cooler and a "go" team transports her heart to PICU where Max lies unconscious in an operating room awaiting the new donor heart.

There is a 25% chance Max will not even survive the transplant surgery so his parents know upon seeing him enter the operating room, they may have seen their son for the last time.  The heart is the first organ to form and usually at five weeks gestation.  Once Max's new heart is in place he is given a bombardment of intravenous steroids to keep his cells and body from attacking the newly transplanted  heart.  Some heart transplant patients suffer Hyperacute Rejection whereby a donor recipient's cells attack the newly transplanted heart with a 70% mortality rate.  The author does give a history of immunosuppressants, in particular, Cyclosporine which was found through a soil sample from Norway and considerably inhibits helper T cells from attacking the newly transplanted heart.  

The Organ Donation Act becomes law in the UK on May 20th, 2020 whereby instead of opting "in" for organ donation, trauma patients are assumed to be organ donors automatically unless they expressly want to opt out of organ donation.    In the first year after the new law, 296 patients in England donated organs which is about one-third of all total organ donations.  Each day in England over 200 children need some type of organ transplant and 50 of those are generally in need of a heart transplant.

Overall, this is one of the best, most thorough transplant memoirs I have ever read.  The unimaginable loss of a child from the donor family and the overwhelming anxiety of the transplant recipient's family are never underestimated.  After organs are extracted, Keira's body is returned to her family.  Max excels with his newly transplanted heart.  Max's story is covered widely by the media via The Mirror.  Both donor and donor recipient's family eventually connect and maintain close ties.  Joe and Loanna Ball, (Keira's parents) set up a charity for organ donation and also the same organization supports families who lose children and opt for organ donation.   Though this story did not take place in the United States it most definitely happens each year in the United States as well.  I do believe in the United States a person must opt, upon receiving a driver's license, whether to be an organ donor.  What a richly moving story and a compelling history of organ transplantation.  My hat's off to you Dr. Rachel Clarke!  Bravo!

Till my next review,

Grace (Amy)