I’ve discovered a new monthly linkup called Spell the Month in Books, hosted by Jana at Reviews From the Stacks. It’s very straightforward – you just pick books you’ve read, according to the month’s theme, that spell out the letters in the month. This month was fairly easy, with only four letters, although the “J” was a bit challenging. This month’s theme is history. I’m choosing both historical fiction and nonfiction, and all of these are books I highly recommend.
J: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
In this powerful book, Stevenson writes about his own experiences with the law and creating the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). He starts out just wanting to help defend those in prison. Then he starts up a nonprofit to represent death row inmates in Montgomery, Alabama who can’t afford lawyers. He’s overwhelmed by the amount of work, and how few resources he has. But over time, his organization grows – and what EJI does today is truly amazing.
I went to law school, and I already knew there was racism and corruption and unfairness in the legal system. But I didn’t see it through the eyes of the people who have suffered. This is a book everyone should read.
U: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The novel begins on a slave plantation in Georgia, in the early 1800’s. Cora is a young woman whose mother and grandmother worked on the same plantation. She’s approached by Caesar, an educated slave who’s new to the plantation, about running away to the Underground Railroad. Whitehead uses the idea of a literal Underground Railroad as a way to explore the different ways States mistreated and exploited slaves. It won the Pulitzer Prize and is a powerful novel about our country’s past.
N: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
I loved this book, which tells the story about the Turtle Mountain tribe and their fight to maintain federal tribal status in the 1950’s. Erdrich is telling a fictionalized story about her own grandfather, who is the title character, a night watchman at a jewel bearing plant. Thomas is a scholar and an advocate, so when he hears that a bill has been introduced in Congress to “emancipate” Turtle Mountain, he rallies the community to fight back. The bill would eliminate the federal protections on the land and would eliminate all benefits to the tribe, devastating the entire community, who would be forced to move and scatter, losing their traditions and their history. Erdrich notes in the afterword that this is something that happened to many tribes.
E: Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
This book is about three friends in World War II London. Cleave writes about the people who stayed, and the people who went off to war. The bombings are horrific, as is the sense of fear that must have pervaded the city. But it’s also a time when ordinary people are tested and rise to the challenge, like those who serve as ambulance drivers and nurses. One character is an officer during the siege of Malta. This was a good story with complex characters and one that showed different sides of World War II.
I hope you’re enjoying the summer so far! I’m enjoying my garden and we’ve had beautiful weather. Plus, I just got my bike tuned up and I’m anxious to get out and ride it.
