I have three book reviews for you. Blogging about them is on the to do list of things that need to happen before Baby Girl arrives. She may come soon.
1. I read The Hardest Worst Time by Tim Egan, which chronicles the lives of the people who stayed in Oklahoma and thereabouts during the Dust Bowl days. TADA! This is how history was meant to be taught! Egan is a great writer and has chosen a fascinating angle (the lives of people) to explore this time. I need to find what else Egan wrote because he's funny, insightful, and interesting. I had zero (ZERO) interest in Oklahoma or the Dust Bowl, but Egan drew me right in. Fabulous. Liz, give this one a try.
2. My Life in France by Julia Child is my latest most delightful find. Child writes about (guess what) her life in France. But it's really about food. Good food. And enjoying food---and life, really. This will be on my list of "Could recommend a good book?" books to pass on and relish. Usually I go on and on about good books, but that's all I have to say about this one. It's good. Anjanette, this would be a good one to recommend for the Merced girls, especially Debbie Fire who says that she has just discovered cooking.
3. I'm almost done with Wallace Stegner's The Gathering of Zion, The Story of the Mormon Trail. (Pause. Deborah is gathering her thoughts . . . Pause. Deborah is trying to figure out how to say what she wants to say. Pause.)
I'm glad I came to this book in my 30's. That's about the right time. For some, earlier or later would be better. Stegner is clearly an admirer of the Mormons and their determination. But he looks at the Mormon migration through the lens of a non-believer. A respectful non-believer, but a non-believer still. I think this would have jarred me had I read it younger. Now it's easier for me to sort out where Stegner may be right and where he's probably wrong in his perspective. Like Refuge, by Terry Tempest Williams, which I did read too young. I could go back to it now.
On the up-side, Stegner is Stegner. This isn't as polished as Angle or Crossing to Safety, but it's still solid writing, which sprinkles of wit, charm, humor, and lovely word choice. And I was charmed by the introduction where he writes:
"That I do not accept the faith that possessed them does not mean I doubt their frequent devotion and heroism in its service. Especially their women. Their women were incredible."
See? I claim that. Incredible Mormon women. Pioneer stock. I come from some of those. I know some who are alive today.
On the down-side, Stegner trusts sources like Fawn Brodie, who I don't trust at all. (Ever noticed how there are are no Mormon baby girls who are named Fawn? Thank you, Ms. Brodie, for purging that name from our Primary rolls. You can have sole credit for that one.)
