Reading Group Calendar in 2024

Wednesday 10th January at Paulette's :  " TRUST" by Hernan Diaz (Argentinian)

Wednesday 14th February at Blanka's: "FRACTURED SOUL" by Akira Mizubayashi", translated from the French "Âme Brisée"

Wednesday 13th March at Anne's:  "THE KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON" by David Grann (American) 

Wednesday 17th April at Anne  : " GHOSTWRITTEN" by David Mitchell (English)

Wednesday 15th May at Loeky  : "ENTER GHOST" by Isabella Hammad (British-Palestinian)

No reading group meeting in June

Wednesday 17th July : meeting at Loeky's

Wednesday 7th August at Blanka's: "THE ISLAND WITH THE MISSING TREES" by Elif Shafak

Meeting cancelled in September

Wednesday  9th Octobre at Anne's: "KANTIKA" by Elizabeth Graver

Wednesday 13 November at Blanka's:"MAZEL TOV" by  Margot Vanderstraeten

No meeting in December

Kantika

 By   Elizabeth Graver 

Kantika ( « song » in Ladino), is a multigenerational portrait of a Sephardic family moving across four countries : from Istanbul to Barcelona, Havana and New York.

The Cohen family, of the Sephardic elite of early 20th century  Istanbul, lose their wealth an status ( end of the Ottoman Empire , transfer of populations), are forced to move to Barcelona. The place is unknown to them, although the Sephardic Jews have a deep knowledge of their Iberian origins – before 1492- !

The family has to start anew.

The main character REBECCA, mother of two boys,  after a failed mariage, has to reinvent herself from what comes her way.

 Self reliant , she finds a new job she enjoys  and relishes the pleasure of motherhood. «  I took a chance, I made a life »

Moving from Spain to Cuba and then to New York for an arranged 2d marriage, she faces her greatest challenge : her disabled stepdaughter LUNA.

Rebecca had decided right from the beginning to make Luna transcent her disability, both physically ( with exhausting exercises)  and mentally :

 «  love yourself Luna , you can be like the other girls. It’s your life, you only get one » 

This book explores the themes of exile, displacement and belonging.

It celebrates the resilience of women and the importance of seizing beauty and grabbing hold of one’s one and only life .

Our group  ( but for one lady ) really  enjoyed reading this book for its humanity, Rebecca’s strength  of character  and new positive approach to disability.

                                                                            Anne Van Calster

                                                                                              November 2024

The Island with the Missing Trees

By  Elif Shafak

 

This book gives us many insights into the story of Cyprus and its divided history, although the historical part is only the background to the main subject, which is the love story between Defne and Kostas, a Muslim girl and a Christian boy and the consequences this love has on themselves and their families.  The other main theme is the story told by a fig tree, which becomes a full-fledged character in this book and gives the reader a whole new perspective on the life of the plants and animals among which we live.   

All our members liked the book and found it easy to read.  We learned about the conflict in Cyprus, which most of us didn’t know much about.  The parts in which the fig tree becomes the narrator and we learn about its life and the life of the animal world are written very poetically.  Moreover, we learn a great deal about the life cycle of trees, insects, birds and other animals from these passages. 

I personally was struck by the love for the island of Cyprus as expressed by the author whereas she has no particular connection to it, according to her biography.    This, to me, is the sign a talented writer, able to transpose her feelings for a place she doesn’t really know into a deeply felt attachment. 

Christine  

August 2024                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Enter ghost

 by Isabella Hammad

A timely read !

It narrates the story of how a cast of actors from mixed nationalities is going to put on Shakespeare’s play  «  Hamlet »,  in classic Arabic,  in Ramallah.

This production has to face enormous challenges : the Palestinians’ poor living conditions in the West Bank, the checkpoints, the uncertainty as to when protests might erupt …

With references to the past History of Israël and Palestine,  «  Hamlet’s » story is transposed in our 21st century in the West Bank.

The questions are  :

What is the point of playing » Hamlet » in the West Bank ?

What is the role of theatre  ( and Art in general) ?

The book answers : «  we can do resistance without going full-on political, without slogans ».

If only it were that simple … 

                                                                                       Anne Van Calster , Mai 2024

Fractured soul :Translation of "Âme brisée"

by Akira Mizubayashi  (Japanese writer and translator°) 

 Akira Mizubayashi was born in 1951. He  first visited France in 1973 for pedagogical training in Montpellier, where he became certified to teach French as a second language. Since 1983, Mizubayashi has taught French in Tokyo, where he currently is professor emeritus at Sophia University. His work has been critically acclaimed in France; in 2020," Âme brisée "won the Prix des libraires among other awards. Mizubayashi resides in Tokyo and writes in French. He said in an interview that “he was born again at the age of 18, when discovered French” and dedicated himself to its study, to end up writing in French himself, starting with essays.

" Âme brisée" or its translation"The Fractured Soul" is his first novel.

A universal story about music and restoring one’s faith in others amid the aftermath of tremendous loss, a story of reconstructing the past (in Tokyo 1938) and connecting it to the present (in Paris 2023), in which all the pieces of the puzzle finally lead to a completed picture. The title refers to the real “hero” of the story, a violin, first destroyed by a racially motivated act of violence and in the end restored to life by the son of the original owner, Rei/Jaques, prompted by series of purposeful or accidental meetings with the Japanese/Chinese members or their descendants of the erstwhile amateur string quartet.

Also a poetic attempt to remind the world of the horrors the WWII, and to contrast the prevailing evil with the goodness of individuals, with the help of music, a common denominator; an accusation as well as an apology.

Overall, the book got a mixed appreciation by our group – liked for its expert passages on music and violin making, disliked for its many repetitions, and by those, who read it in French, for the somewhat contrived and stilted use of the language. 

Also somewhat lost in translation, was the title: in French, l´âme of a violin has also a physical meaning, described in the book:

(Larousse illustré: les parties du violin: „……le chevalet, qui supporte les cordes, et qui soutient l´âme entre les deux tables…..“)

And in English: (Internet): parts of violin: ……..Sound posts /tablets inside the violin  - no mention of the soul, though, of course, the idea is there – that´s where the „soul“ of the violin resides and trampling on it equalls killing it…

Blanka

the Personal Librarian

by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The Personal Librarian tells the remarkable, little-known story of the lifework of an extraordinary woman, the personal librarian to J. P. Morgan - the most powerful man in N.Y. then -, as well as the first director of the Morgan Library & Museum, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to - for the protection of her family and her legacy - to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.

Belle da Costa Greene, became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true.
She was born not Belle da Costa Greene, but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality, a civil rights activist, and from Genevieve who came from the well-established Fleet family, while her father was descended from slaves.

• -  She received her education from her mother’s Fleets family: “Never do anything to stand out”:

  never were we to raise our voices, and never were we to do anything that would make the

  adults have to raise their voices at us”. Always be dignified!

• -  From her father her love of arts: “One day, the beauty of your mind and the beauty of art will

  be as one”

  Belle's parents separated because of Genevieve's decision to have their family pass as white.

  Later, Belle learns that her mother wasn't always set on passing as white. Belle's father Richard had been hired as a professor at a newly-integrated university when they were younger. They both became involved in activism for equal rights upon seeing the resistance people had to being de- segregated.

  Eventually most Reconstruction-era policies were dismantled. The university went back to being whites-only, and Richard and Genevieve left with people spitting and throwing garbage at them. It was that experience that launched Richard's civil rights career, but it also led Genevieve to believe that the only way to survive was to take advantage of their light skin and pass as white.

  “While Papa held beautiful dreams of equality for us all, Mama saved me - and all my siblings - from the segregation and racism in America”.

  Belle’s words to her father:

  “My plan is to turn the Pierpont Morgan Library from a private library into a public institution so that thousands and thousands of people will see the beauty and significance of the early written words - the importance of reading and books as a great equalizer among humankind” The power of the written word to lift humanity!!

  Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white - her complexion is dark though because she is African-American.
  Belle didn’t want the colour of her skin as an excuse to keep her relegated to the lowest jobs, the worst neighbourhoods, with little possibility for a better life!!

  The Personal Librarian - based on a real story - was an eye-opening look into the lives of Belle, her relationship with her mother versus her father, who leaves when Belle is 17, after her mom proclaimed that the family be white. Belle’s success came with an overwhelming sense of fear that she’d be found out, as well as the weight of financial stability to support her sisters, brother and mother. Belle: “Success must be my commitment!”

  It was nice to see her finally find joy amongst friends: the Fricks, Rockefellers, the Carnegies a.o. ....

  Through her job, Belle meets Bernard Berenson, who wrote a book of art history that Belle's father had gifted her as a child. Though he is older than her, married and lives in Italy, Belle finds herself attracted to Bernard. When she learns that he's in an open marriage, Belle allows herself to pursue a romance with him, but that would and could never lead to marriage. Belle’s relationship with Bernard Berenson lasted for decades.

Quote Belle: “I still believe that someday there will be equality in this country. That someday there will be a new civil rights act, and a new president and Congress to enforce it. That everyone will be able to follow their dream, regardless of race. That those words about the equality of men in the Declaration of Independence will be true.”

Belle gets a job as J.Pierpont Morgan's personal librarian for his newly constructed Pierpont Morgan Library in 1906. She is then 26 years old.
Over time, Belle gains the trust of Mr. Morgan and greater responsibilities. As she makes major acquisitions, it raises Belle's profile when she is featured in newspaper articles as a woman succeeding in an entirely male industry and building up an impressive collection of works, and she eventually becomes indispensable to him, even required to attend family events.

When Mr. Morgan passes away in 1913, he provides for Belle in his will, and she stays on as librarian. The book ends with Belle successfully convincing Jack (J. P. Morgan's son) to make the library public in the early 1920’s.
Pierpont Morgan Library still operates in NYC under the name The Morgan Library and Museum. The Morgan Library is celebrating 100 years in 2024 with a.o.: “Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian's Legacy”. From October 25, 2024, through May 4, 2025.

Many years later, as she burns all her records (to protect her identity and her life's work by extension), she wonders if people will someday learn that the personal librarian to J. P. Morgan was a black woman.

Every one from our reading group highly appreciated the book, that we gladly recommend to other reading groups.

Quote Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray: !!!Victoria still suffers daily degradation!!!

“This book is a guide that aims to spark conversations that will foster connection, action, and, hopefully, progress towards equality”
We hope we did justice to Belle’s struggles and brought to life the terrible injustices and pain racism and segregation have exacted on upon individuals and in the United States as a whole.

Another book that we read and could be interesting to understand more about Passing is: - “TheVanishingHalf”byBrittBennett”.

Loeky Borloo.

Trust

by Hernan Diaz

This is a novel in four different  parts, all  telling the story of a couple, Andrew and Mildred Bevel with a special focus on the wife.

It is set in the New York of the 1920's, at the time of the Great Depression, in the harsh reality of the world of high finance.

From these four versions of the same story by four different narrators, which one are we going to trust ?

And what are the circumstances of Mildred’s death ?

_  BONDS by Harold Vanner tells the story of Benjamin and Helen Rask, fictional incarnations of  Andrew and Mildred Bevel

_  MY LIFE is Andrew Bevel’s autobiography. He has hired a secretary, Ida Partenza , to write it but he dies before the project is completed.  Andrew Bevel does not agree with Vanner’s version as to the origin of the family’s wealth and the couple’s life.  So, he wants to set the records straight. But he conceals  Mildred’s role in increasing his wealth and belittles her social role.

_ A MEMOIR  by Ida Partenza is the third part. This is an apocryphal version of Bevel’s biography. Decades later , the former secretary  Ida Partenza, investigates as a journalist the couple’s house made into a museum, and has access to documents among them Mildred’s Journals.

_ FUTURES is made up of the journals written by Mildred Bevel as she lay dying in a hospital in Switzerland. But her handwriting is difficult to decipher and parts of the journals are coded.

However, while scrutinizing the documents, Ida Partenza discovers the truth about Andrew and Mildred Bevel. In fact , Mildred had a superior intelligence and she was the mastermind behind Bevel’s success. She also explains Mildred’s love of music and her support of multiple charities  dear to her heart.

Conclusion :

Which story tells the trut?  Each narrator has a subjective and thus a biased way of telling the same story.

We are confronted here with mainly two competitive narratives, the second and the fourth one. 

So, whom do we trust ? The question remains open…

Hernan Diaz denounces the world of the high finance and wealth , a male dominated realm, where women are just adornment.  He also praises the fortitude and the resilience of women. 

Although the first part talking mainly about finance was off- putting for us , we have  appreciated reading this intelligent but complex book in which Diaz keeps confronting the double meaning of the words TRUST and BONDS , the material and the human.

                                                                                                    Anne Van Calster

                                                                                                                            January 2024