This week, our First Impressions readers discuss Fly Girls, novelist Ann Hood's memoir about working as a TWA flight attendant beginning in the late 1970s. Meanwhile, our Book Club participants talk about Shadows of Berlin by David R. Gillham, a historical novel set in Manhattan in the aftermath of World War II.
In Editor's Choice, we review Jenny Tinghui Zhang's debut novel Four Treasures of the Sky, about a Chinese girl with a gift for language and storytelling navigating the 19th-century American West as an unwilling immigrant.
We're also highlighting the Read-Alikes function on our website, which helps you find more books and authors that are similar to your favorites. And for members, we have a brand new issue of The BookBrowse Review.
With best wishes,
Davina Morgan-Witts
BookBrowse Publisher
|
|
Each month we give away books to BookBrowse members who live in the U.S. to read and review. Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every 3-4 months. Here are their opinions on one recently released title. |
|
Fly Girl
by Ann Hood
"The moment I saw this memoir I knew I had to read it. Based on the experiences of Ann Hood as a TWA flight attendant, it is an entertaining and informative telling of her experiences at the end of the "glamour days" of flying. I loved every page of this book, gained lots of historical information along the way, and laughed out loud at many of the episodes described. I highly recommend it." - Emily C. (Naples, FL)
"Many young people long to travel the world, but perhaps none so passionately as aspiring flight attendants. What is it like to thrust aside college plans and follow your travel lust? As Hood describes in this excellent memoir, it's a tough path in many respects. But for her, the adventures far outweighed the difficulties. Jaw-dropping sexism? Check. Spur of the moment free travel to Rome? Double check! Readers of a certain age will well remember the days of complimentary meals and cabin smoking. Younger readers, who may hop on an airplane as casually as hopping into an Uber, will find tales of the early days both enthralling and appalling. An enjoyable vicarious trip up, up, and away!" - Diane C. (Gainesville, FL)
"I admire Ann Hood as a writer and looked forward to reading her memoir about her career as a TWA flight attendant. She has a lively and conversational style that drew me in right from the start. Whether she was dishing on some of the more outrageous experiences she had, or describing how she and her career grew and changed with the times, it was both enlightening and thoroughly engaging. I was surprised and happy to learn that the author still finds joy every time she boards a plane. Highly recommended!" - Lisa H. (Clinton, NJ)
|
|
Shadows of Berlin
by David R. Gillham
From the Jacket:
A captivating novel of a Berlin girl on the run from the guilt of her past and the boy from Brooklyn who loves her. From the cafes of war-torn Germany to the frantic drumbeat of 1950s Manhattan, Shadows of Berlin dramatically explores survival, redemption and the way we learn to love and forgive across impossible divides.
From the Discussion:
"The book explores the plight of "U-boat" Jews (underground in Berlin, hiding in plain sight) both during and after World War II, with particular emphasis on collusion and post-war survivor's guilt. It's a different perspective from the usual (and horrific) Holocaust story, but one well worth exploring. Gillham's characters are well-developed (though occasionally a bit stereotypical) - flawed but sympathetic. Much of the book is sad, as Rachel struggles to cope with her Berlin experience, so the ending was surprisingly uplifting for me." - laurap
"I thought this was an interesting book and I liked it. I think of the war and I think of the devastation and all the lives that were lost, but I seldom think of the survivors, who would never forget what happened to them and their loved ones and friends. I never thought about the guilt they might struggle with. This book brought that to my attention." - Maggie
"I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave me a clearer perspective, or maybe a reminder of the perspective, of the horrors experienced by the Jewish people in the lead-up-to and during World War II." - dorinned
|
|
Four Treasures of the Sky
by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Reviewed by Maria Katsulos
To put it simply, a book like Four Treasures of the Sky is why I read historical fiction. The genre can come across as removed from the present, as irrelevant to the 21st-century world we know. But despite its 19th-century milieu, Zhang's novel is painfully germane to the present day. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, there were overwhelmingly more hate crimes against Asians or Asian Americans in 2021 than 2020 in the United States. Despite huge leaps in civil rights and institutional diversity and inclusion, the fact is that many people of Asian descent in America continue to face discrimination and violence, just as Daiyu does in the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Daiyu faces unspeakable horrors throughout the book. When she is a child nearing her teenage years, her beloved parents disappear in the night, snatched by an unseeable, unknowable force; to keep Daiyu from the same fate, her grandmother sends her from their rural haven to the bustling city district of Zhifu, disguised as a boy for safety. There, she finds work in a calligraphy school, falling in love with the artistry and purpose granted to a calligrapher by their ink and brush. She envisions becoming a master calligrapher like Master Wang, a teacher whom she idolizes and who serves as a personification of her conscience throughout the novel. Yet this bright future is not to be. Stolen on the streets of Zhifu, Daiyu is trafficked and sold into sex slavery in San Francisco after a harrowing trip across the Pacific... continued
Visit BookBrowse for more, including our full review and Beyond the Book article, "The Four Treasures of Chinese Calligraphy."
|
|
Using the read-alikes function on BookBrowse allows you to find your next favorite author or book based on what you've read and enjoyed. Look through our hand-picked read-alikes for more than 4,000 books and 3,000 authors. For instance:
If you like:
Louise Erdrich
We recommend:
Rumaan Alam (Leave the World Behind)
Rabih Alameddine (An Unnecessary Woman)
Lisa Bird-Wilson (Probably Ruby)
🔒 Subscribers have access to even more results!
|
|
For Members: The BookBrowse Review |
|
The just-published issue of The BookBrowse Review is packed with new reviews and articles; plus author interviews, recommendations for book clubs and previews of notable books publishing soon.
Membership is just $3.25/month with an annual subscription.
|
|
In addition to individual memberships, we also offer library subscriptions, giving all patrons full and free access to BookBrowse's premium content.
|
|
In case you missed it, BookBrowse recently interviewed Julia Orlova, CEO of Ukrainian publisher Vivat.
We discuss how the company is keeping operations going during the Russian invasion and the increased interest in Ukrainian literature around the world.
Read all about it on the BookBrowse blog.
|
|
With so many new books published every month, it's difficult to find the standouts, the ones which are really worth your time. This is why hundreds of thousands of readers rely on BookBrowse to do the hard work of sifting though the multitude of titles to find the most promising new books, with a focus on books that entertain, engage and enlighten. |
|
BookBrowse Highlights is one of our four free newsletters. We also offer Publishing This Week every Sunday, and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly.
|
|
1-408-867-6500
Toll Free: 1-800-745-5306 (US & Canada)
Copyright 2022
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
