BOOK REVIEW: exoplanets by Michael Summers and James Trefil

Time for some nonfiction. My son, in college, wants to eventually study exoplanets, so when I saw this book in the library, I thought: why not?

Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system. Apparently, in the last few years, astronomers and physicists have been discovering new planets at a blistering pace. It isn’t surprising that there are scads of these planets or that their diversity is staggering. What I found more surprising was that the first one was discovered in 1992–which is really just yesterday. I feel like I’ve known all my life that out there in the vast infinity of space there are gazillions of planets. (We watched Star Trek, after all.) But what we all knew wasn’t proven with what was "seen" (in the weird mathematical way that physicists see things) until the first exoplanetary system was discovered in 1992.

exoplanets by Michael Summers and James Trefil is a readable, fairly simple overview of the exploding field of exoplanet research. It explains how recent advances have made study of deep space more feasible, leading to the necessary abandonment of previous "chauvinisms" or at least acceptance of new paradigms. Again, for someone whose view of planetary science was shaped by science fiction, none of these new discoveries seem so revolutionary. But maybe the realization that Diamond Worlds, Ice Worlds, Rogue Planets, and even, possibly, non-carbon-based life forms, are not fiction is what make this such a fascinating field of study.

BOOK REVIEW: Beneath the Apple Leaves by Harmony Verna

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence my review.

I really enjoyed Harmony Verna’s first historical novel, Daughter of Australia, so I was pleased to have a chance to read her latest, Beneath the Apple Leaves.

The setting is now the farmlands of Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh, and the time-frame is WWI. Verna does a wonderful job of placing the characters (and the reader) into the scene.

The female protagonist is Lili Morton, an orphaned farm girl living with her older sister and brother-in-law. Her life has been a nightmare, with an abusive father (now dead), a brother-in-law who is just as bad if not worse, and a sister who is kind but addled from the trauma of trying to protect Lili. Nevertheless, Lili is generous, sweet, hard-working, and, by necessity, remarkably competent.

The male protagonist is Andrew Houghton, son of a coal miner who has promised his father (now dead in a mining accident) that he will do something else with his life–not throw it away in the mines. Sent to live with an aunt in Pittsburgh, Andrew first finds a job working for the railway with his uncle. But a horrible accident puts an end to that.

Andrew’s uncle is a good man, but life has beaten him down. Originally from Germany, with a last name of Kiser, this uncle (as well as the aunt and cousins) discover that the prejudices of their fellow Americans make it impossible to continue living in the city. They move to a rundown farm in the country, where life just keeps getting harder.

The one bright spot is that Andrew meets Lili. He adjusts to his new life with a calm, clear-eyed viewpoint and a steadiness that helps support his family when everything else falls apart around them. He and Lili make a perfect pair, although first they have to overcome misunderstandings and insecurities that keep them apart.

Like Daughter of Australia, Beneath the Apple Leaves is a sweeping novel that depicts good but troubled people struggling through adversity to ultimately find love and contentment. Historical fiction fans can dive in and enjoy.

BOOK REVIEW: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Our history/historical fiction book club is meeting soon and chose The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, an amazing book that I read in one sitting, wrenching me out of my reading slump.

The book is fiction, but written as an intertwining collection of short stories with a "memoir-like" feel to it, even though it jumps from one point of view to another. The primary narrator is a Vietnam veteran named Tim O’Brien, who has a squishy relationship to the author because it is fiction, not really memoir or autobiography. This gives the whole narrative a real but unreal tone, which meshes with the narrator’s ruminations on the telling of war stories and how-impossible- it-is-to-get-at-the-truth-but-it’s-all-true. It has an immediate feel, even when a character is looking back, and an honest feeling whether or not it’s true.

Each chapter is a story in itself, anecdotes about a company of soldiers in Vietnam. Reminiscent in a way of All Quiet on the Western Front, these are very young men who don’t really have a "big picture" view of the war, who are focused on personal survival and the survival of their buddies. It shows the awfulness of war: its tedium, terror, discomfort, dehumanization, guilt, and ongoing trauma, as well as the closeness of the interpersonal bonds and the giddiness that comes with surviving.

The writing is beautifully stark and evocative. The characters, though presented in snapshots, end up fully realized.

Even for those who don’t think they would be interested in Vietnam War fiction (I didn’t think I would be), this book is a should-read.