So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior

I just finished reading So Terrible a Storm by Curt Brown. This November 27, 1905 storm on Lake Superior sank the Madeira off of Split Rock and inspired the building of Split Rock lighthouse. Many other ships sank or were damaged severely and the loss of life was horrific. The ship Mataafa ran into the canals in Duluth and 9 men die while the residents onshore were only 700 yards from the ship but unable to do anything in the tremendous surf to rescue the surviving sailors until the next day.

This book fascinated me because, as a child, I used to play on the remains of one of these shipwrecks, the Amboy, located on the North Shore beach where my father grew up.  The fishermen of Thomasville (no longer in existence) rescued the sailors from the Amboy and also the Spencer. I believe those rescuers were my great-grandparents who helped found Thomasville. Later, in 1935, my grandfather and great Uncle also drowned on Lake Superior when a sudden Nor'easter came up while they were out picking fishing nets. My father was only 2 years old at the time.

For anyone interested in the North Shore of Lake Superior, the book offers lots of photos, some of Duluth, MN, in the late 1800s and early 1900s as well a lot of history of the area and the development of the shipping industry on the Great Lakes.

Parnassus Books--An Independent Bookstore

Below is a link to an Atlantic Magazine article about Ann Patchett starting the Nashville independent bookstore: Parnassus Books. I hope the support she is offering will inspire the growth of independent bookstores everywhere once again.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/12/the-bookstore-strikes-back/309164/

November Reading

I actually finished Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal in late October. This is an adoption memoir by Jeannette Winterson. She is an adoptee, feminist, author, and lesbian. The book club read two of her books many years ago; she refers to one of them – Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit – numerous times in this book.

Winterson recounts aspects of her childhood as the adopted daughter of Mrs. Winterson, who is abusive and unbalanced. In the end, the author searches for and finds her biological mother, but decides to not form a lasting relationship with her. That last part is something that we rarely hear about in the reunion stories of popular press. Her reasons are tied up in her own complex history and are interesting to me as I reflect on my relationships (or lack thereof) with certain members of my own biological family.

The book reads like an extended essay, side-tracking as she re-examines memories and incidents from her youth and what they mean for her today. I enjoyed the book immensely and the story of her search touched me deeply.

Two other books that I read simultaneously and finished within days of each other: There But For The by Ali Smith was a fairly humorous and at times interesting look at loneliness in the midst of crowds and a plethora of social media. When I first finished, I thought “that was OK.” My feelings about at as the days go by are improving.

The other book was The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. The author’s name is about all you need to know – it is a well-constructed, well-paced murder mystery (not a Harry Bosch novel).