This week, we're offering you a peek into our book club discussion of The War Nurse, a historical fiction novel by Tracey Enerson Wood. If you haven't read it, make sure to check out the book description on our website. If you have read it, stop by and join the conversation!
Our Editor's Choice review for this issue is Walking on Cowrie Shells by Nana Nkweti, a collection of short stories by a debut author to watch.
We also have news of the latest issue of The BookBrowse Review, and a brand new giveaway - Jaime Cortez's short story collection Gordo.
Very best,
Davina
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The War Nurse
by Tracey Enerson Wood
From the Jacket
Superintendent of Nurses Julia Stimson must recruit sixty-five nurses to relieve the battle-worn British, months before American troops are ready to be deployed. She knows that the young nurses serving near the front lines will face a challenging situation, but nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that awaits when they arrive at British Base Hospital 12 in Rouen, France. The primitive conditions, a convoluted, ineffective system, and horrific battle wounds are enough to discourage the most hardened nurses, and Julia can do nothing but lead by example―even as the military doctors undermine her authority and make her question her very place in the hospital tent.
From the Discussion
"The concept was fascinating. World War I really intrigues me. The selfless volunteerism showed the beauty of the human spirit. I felt empathy for Julia, that she could not follow her dream to be a physician. If she could only see the strides women have made since that time. I loved the story." - vivianh
"An engaging, informative fictionalized account of Julia Stimson, one of the nurses who played such an underreported role during WWI. I think the novel was well-executed and well-researched with many characters interrelating naturally with one another, which made it even more enjoyable - a 5-star reading." - carriem
"I was expecting this novel to be about the challenges and horrors of nursing during WW l. Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to many descriptive scenes of war injuries and what Julia would have to face while treating many injured and maimed soldiers. To my pleasant surprise, The War Nurse is about relationships, family, friends, and the choices one makes. It's one of the best novels I’ve read this year." - jayne25
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Sourcebooks Landmark. Historical Fiction. 304 pages. Published July 6, 2021 |
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For Members: The BookBrowse Review |
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Editor's Choice: Walking on Cowrie Shells |
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Walking on Cowrie Shells
by Nana Nkweti
The opening story, "It Takes a Village Some Say," skewers out-of-touch upper-middle-class American attitudes about Africa. It is split into two parts, the first narrated by a presumably white woman who adopts a Cameroonian preteen named Zora with her Cameroonian American husband, the second narrated by Zora herself as a young adult.
With biting humor, Nkweti explores the seemingly well-meaning but clueless behavior of the adoptive mother, who is scammed first by the adoption agent — the woman explains that the $30,000 adoption fee will help the girl's whole village "out of shantytown quartiers, out of thatch huts, out of hollowed and hungry lives" — then by Zora. In Zora's account, the reader learns the extent of the adoption agent's hustle — how she asks for money from American couples for the adoptee's siblings to buy new clothes or attend school, then pockets the cash...
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Beyond the Book: The 1929 Women's War in Nigeria
In 1914, the British governor of southern Nigeria, Lord Frederick Lugard, placed the colony under the authority of local leaders called Warrant Chiefs. Prior to colonial rule, Nigerian women were not equal to men, but they had rights and privileges. They worked, with particularly prominent positions in trade, and had some level of autonomy. Women in elite families took part in politics. Ordinary women often met in groups to discuss village issues and matters of trade. If a problem developed in which the men in the village objected to what the women decided during their meetings, the women would often initiate a protest commonly referred to as "sitting on a man." This involved going to a man's house and causing a general ruckus. According to historian Judith Van Allen, it could include "dancing, singing scurrilous songs which detailed the women's grievances against him and often called his manhood into question, banging on his hut with the pestles women used for pounding yams, and perhaps demolishing his hut and roughing him up a bit." Women also engaged in general strikes. In one instance described by Van Allen, an entire village of women refused to cook for their families until the men cleared the paths around the marketplace of debris...
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Graywolf Press. Short Stories. 176 pages. Published June 1, 2021
Critics' Consensus: 5/5. BookBrowse Rating: 5/5
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Beyond the Book: People, Eras and Events |
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BookBrowse offers an array of "Beyond the Book" articles, which explore topics linked to our featured books. Members have access to all articles, while non-members receive limited access.
In addition to the article above about the 1929 Women's War in Nigeria, you will find articles about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Chinese Passengers Aboard the Titanic, Cultural Recognition of the Tulsa Race Massacre, and much more as you peruse this category.
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Gordo
by Jaime Cortez
From the Jacket
Shedding profound natural light on the inner lives of migrant workers, Jaime Cortez’s debut collection ushers in a new era of American literature that gives voice to a marginalized generation of migrant workers in the West.
Media Reviews
"Cortez's dialogue, timing, and humor is quick, dark and hilarious and the voice of Gordo, singular and soaring, full of naivete and grit that wrangles humor and human complexity with serious high-stake themes…Gordo, like Winesburg, Ohio, is capable of changing not only what it means to be American today, but what American literature can be…Hands down, top debut of 2021." - Literary Hub
"These stories are elemental and unfussy, their emotional hearts affecting and memorable. [They] serve as unvarnished, even fond, testaments to a tough, queer life." - Kirkus (starred review)
"Cortez's stories highlight the community's functional and paradoxical stew of interpersonal relationships, brimming with threats as well as love. Cortez has a bright, clear voice that avoids stereotypes and navigates issues of identity with ease...Readers will be delighted." - Publishers Weekly
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Grove Press. Short Stories. 208 pages. Publishing Aug 17, 2021 |
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