The Boys in The Boat

The Boys in the Boat

Our book for this month was Boys in the Boat:  Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics, by Daniel James Brown.  Like Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken, which we read last year, it was a wild ride of action, sweeping the reader along on the highs and lows of crew racing in Depression-era America.

We’re drawn into the story through the life of Joe Ranz, one of the University of Washington boys ultimately chosen to be a part of the Olympic crew and, like the rest, comes from a humble background.   These boys didn’t have sponsorships, amenities, family money, or at times even family support – things sometimes considered crucial to chances of success in sport.  Joe’s life story is interwoven with the lives and backgrounds of the rest of the crew, the stately boat-builder George Pocock, the reticent coach Al Ulbrickson, and other rowing personalities of the time.  

Through it all, Hitler is laying plans and the run-up to World War II is building.  The book follows characters such as Hitler’s right hand propaganda man Joseph Goebbels and his intense sidekick, the filmmaker Leni Reifenstahl.  As Hitler’s plans heat up, so do the boys in the boat.  We experience their seasons of races all the way to the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  The final scene of the race on the Langer See is a breath-holder.

We all enjoyed the writing and could sense what it was like to row, though some thought that being in a boat themselves would have added to the experience of reading it.  You could feel the cold, relentless, Seattle winters, with wet and wind and choppy waves, and the "swing," or not, of the boat.  You could sense the tension when boats race next to each other at regattas, slipping forward or back by an inch, a seat length, a boat length.

We all carpooled together to our chosen restaurant - Agua Verde Café and Paddle Club in Seattle.  This small café on the water has a casual atmosphere where you choose your own salsa at the bar, and can sit inside or outside overlooking the water.  The food was yummy and fresh.  We feasted on fish tacos and other Baja fare.  On the way, we passed the Montlake Cut where regattas are still held every year and we pictured the 1936 boys in their wooden shells flying under the bridge.

By Robin White

Orphan Train

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
This is a beautifully written story about the unlikely friendship and bond that develops between Vivian, an elderly woman, and Molly, a troubled teenage girl. Despite their 74-year age difference, they come to find they share tragic childhood experiences that, until now, no one else in their respective lives have been able to relate to.

During the years between 1854 and 1929, more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned and homeless children from the East Coast were transported by train to the farmlands of the Midwest. These so-called orphans were then 'adopted' by Midwest families. Babies and healthy older boys were chosen first -- as the boys were wanted for field work -- and older girls were generally chosen last. Some children were fortunate to be adopted by kind, loving families, but most began an indentured life of hard labor and servitude.

The author cleverly weaves a relatively unknown part of American history with the present-day struggles of a teen in the foster care system. The result is an impactful tale of hope, resilience and strength as the two main characters help each other to solve unanswered questions that have troubled both their lives.

Our book club members were unfamiliar with Orphan Trains and did not know about this time in our history. Pleasantly, the book prompted many of us to conduct our own research to learn more about the real Orphan Train riders. We agreed this was an enjoyable and realistic book with vividly depicted characters we felt sympathetic to. The situational descriptions were believable and we found the events, jumping between different narrators in past then present and back again, were surprisingly easy to follow. The events were sad, at times tragic, but in the end uplifting and hopeful.

This is a story that left us thinking about the lost children of history and the lost children of today. We strongly recommend this well-researched book, and promise it will be a novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading the last page.

We met at Spicy Talk Bistro in Redmond, an exceptional Szechuan restaurant that was new to most of us. Although the service was a bit to be desired, we all agreed the food was excellent and well worth the visit. In particular, the hand-shaved noodles and green onion pancake were amazing will ensure our return.

By Mari Colbourne

The Kitchen House

The Kitchen House

Celtic Bayou

We meet another young orphan this month in The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.  When seven-year old Lavinia’s parents die during passage to America years before the Civil War, she becomes indentured to the owner of a Virginia tobacco plantation.  Though she is white, the plantation’s black slaves take her in, nurse her to health physically and emotionally, and in return, she finds a loving home with them – at least for a while.  She grows up as a slave, but when she’s a teenager, she’s forced to leave her adopted family and pursue an education in another city.  She finds that she can no longer straddle the two worlds of black slavery and white freedom, and  eventually marries the plantation owner’s son, a flawed character with a tragic history of his own. 

The story is told in the alternating viewpoints of Lavinia and Belle, a slave in the kitchen house and the plantation owner’s illegitimate daughter.  Through these two narrations, the many characters and their complicated relationships come to life.

The club members agreed that the story was a captivating and emotional one.  The story twist of a white indentured servant living with black slaves created a complex dynamic that kept some of us turning pages into the night.  For others, the story was good but maybe not the most riveting that we’ve read.  We agreed that after working out way throughRoots, we felt like we had some depth to our understanding of life in antebellum Virginia. 

In keeping with our southern theme and adding a dash of Irish fare, our restaurant was the Celtic Bayou, a pub in Redmond whose menu includes fare such as bangers and mash, jambalaya, and red beans and rice.  The casual atmosphere was perfect for a lengthy discussion, not all of it about the book, as usual.  Sunday night wasn’t very busy, so our server gave us plenty of time for discussion while we enjoyed blackened catfish and hush puppies, cilantro-lime shrimp salad and Guiness.  We also happened to catch snippets of the 2013 Academy Awards playing on the bar television.  Since we’ve read, in the last year, The Secrets of Mary Bowser, Roots, and the Kitchen House, we decided we wanted to continue our education on the pre-Civil War South and see (and maybe read) this one of this year’s winners:  12 Years a Slave.

But, before that, we look forward to next month’s book:  The Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.

 written by member Robin White

Roots by Alex Haley

     An oldie but a goodie, this book was one that the Ladies of the club had always wanted to read but just never got around to it.  It's a lengthy book and we broke it down into 2 months work of reading.  Perfect for our limited time together over the holidays.

Half of the group was able to finish and the others are still working on it.  It's a definite "must read" on the list of all time reads in my opinion.For those unfamiliar with this novel, the premise is that Alex Haley wanted to capture his family history in a narrative way.  Many oral stories had been passed down and the large book was a cumulation of all those he knew.

The story is multigenerational and is a common one for the "everyman" African American in the United States.  It tells the beginnings of a deep family history and exposes a very painful, raw and shameful part of American History as well.

Our discussion on this book, as with many, were woven around moral values and the comparison of modern day ideals with that of those from past societal norms.  We discussed the horrendous nature of the way black people were treated and viewed and how that could have been acceptable but also reflected on various situations around the world from then until now that still linger and continue to occur.

The Eastside Ladies absolutely recommend adding this to your collection of reads for the year!

We had been playing with the idea of branching out across the bridge and leaving the Eastside suburbia for Seattle so we settled on KingFish Cafe.  A soulful restaurant that blends good southern food with a spirit of creole.  The restaurant is just as exciting and comfortable as the food and you truly feel like you've left the west coast once you step through the door.  Whether comfort means shrimp and grits, Sunday potpie or spicy gumbo, notice the lovely crab leg on the side, KingFish Cafe   should be a must go for any foodie in the Seattle area.  It's all in the details from the mint julep cocktail down to the heavenly slice of red velvet cake with homemade whipped cream that was easily shared by the group!