"Five-Finger Discount" by Helene Stapinski

The only reason I can offer as to why I have never posted a review of this wonderful book before is that I read it in 2001;  eight years before this blog began! Now, with that explanation out of the way.....

What a charming and masterfully written book this is. So much so that it even made the cut recently when downsizing our home with my wife, Sue, in North Carolina. Both lovers of books, we had massive amounts of them at the old house but clearly, many needed to go. This book was not one of those.

Over the years I have read this book several times, and the characters in Ms. Stapinski's life have become as familiar to me as the ones drawn by Harper Lee or even Betty Smith in their respective accounts of growing up, the iconic "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."  (Technically those books are fictional though both are actually thinly disguised autobiographies.)

I grew up in Brooklyn, just opposite Bayonne, the city a bit South of Jersey City. Perhaps that's why the book caught my interest. Aside from the story of her own colorful family, Ms. Stapinski has also painted a vivid portrait of the corruption which splashed across the headlines of the newspapers I delivered daily when I was about 12 years old in 1966.

Tracing her roots to find out just how her family got to Jersey City is a story familiar to most immigrant families. This includes the family skeletons left behind, and the characters surrounding you growing up. But her biggest question is why did they stop in Jersey City?

Her father and mother are immediately recognizable as being the same type of people we all grew up with. Hard working and basically honest folk, who bend the rules a bit when necessary to make ends meet, or provide something extra for the family.

Jersey City was a major shipping point for all kinds of  goods. From locally manufactured things like toothpaste to imported hams and clothes, a portion of everything seemed to "fall off the truck" just in time for birthdays, or even Christmas. It was the same in Brooklyn as it was in Jersey City. These were two cities where "bringing your work home with you" clearly meant something different than elsewhere.

Ms. Stapinksi writes ably; and with great style. On page after page the reader is regaled with stories of her colorful family; all their strengths and weaknesses are on display. But the love is there, too. I can feel it every time she goes to meet her Dad at the Majestic, the tavern he stopped into each night, coming home from work at the frozen food warehouse, a frozen portion of the nights dinner under his arm.

The author grew up during a time of great political and social change. Jersey City seemed to be doing it's very best to avoid both. Corruption was the norm. But, through the sepia lens of time, and with the skilled hand of a gifted writer, I actually find myself wishing for the "good old days" when I read this book.

We all have our quirky family members. But though many families try, usually in vain, to hide these black sheep,  Ms. Stapinski's family celebrates them in story, passing them down from one generation to the next.

It's a multi generational tale about the Polish and the Italian sides of her family and how they got together. It's also the story of the next generation, her parents. And, it is also the story of millions of 2nd generation Americans, and the line they walk between the values of their own heritage and the American "dream."

From her Grandfather Beansie, to her long suffering grandmother Babci, and her own parents daily struggle with the world around them, this book will keep you reading. And you'll come back to it again for a second helping. Because in so many ways we all share this story.

Masterly interwoven is the history of Jersey City and it's neighbors, along with the political corruption endemic to most industrial towns of the time. With a reporter's skill, she chronicles the major events of the times which came before here, allowing the reader to understand more fully the attitude of most in her community to legitimize the "swag", the stuff which "fell off the truck".

This book works on so many levels that it is almost impossible to do it justice here. You'll follow Ms.Stapinski's journey as a reporter on the local paper, to her year in Alaska and her eventual return to Jersey City, and ultimately her settlement in Brooklyn, where the trees grow. And when the time comes, when all of the loose threads of this tapestry are tied together, you'll savor the memories.
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NOTE: Ms. Stapinski's father passed away on October 22, 1987. I happened to be reading that chapter on October 22nd. So, I found the authors web site and dropped her a note via e-mail. Mistaking me for someone else she replied with a short note which referenced a reading. Looking back at her web site I noticed that she has another book out.

It's about that family skeleton, a crime left behind in Italy.  That book is titled "Murder in Matera". You can be sure I will be reading and reviewing it here. Even if I have to find a copy which has "fallen off the truck."

Also of note is that "Five Finger Discount" was made into a mini series. I'll have to check that out. I wonder if the characters can be portrayed on film as vividly as the way in which the author presented them on paper. It will be a tough match....

Here is a link to the films website. http://fivefingerdiscountfilm.com/

"Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee (2015)

I have been waiting for this book since 1966 when I first read “To Kill a Mockingbird”. I was 12 years old and found the book in the school library. The title intrigued me, and the book became a lifelong friend. I had not yet seen the movie and had only just taken my first trip down south with my family. The South was still the south of Jim Crow; though in its dying day at the time.

Here is the short version: Scout comes home and finds the idyllic town changed; it is charged with a racism she never saw in her sepia toned memory. The dichotomy of the Southerner at the time of this novel was that of Christian values versus Anglo-Saxon supremacy. You can throw in the Civil War if you’d like, though I doubt it would make much difference. This was a dying culture which; after almost 100 years; was still advocating gradualism at a time when the people affected were demanding change “now”.

Scout discovers her father is human and has a need of being able to control that change in society which; though inevitable; could be delayed under the guise of Christianity and Gradualism, much to Scout’s dismay. The conflict which ensues takes her back through some of her own memories; as well as new discoveries. Just as she is about to leave Maycomb for good her Uncle Jack has a final confrontation with her in which he sets her straight on the history and experience of Civil Rights as he sees it. He is surprisingly adept at turning Scout’s mind around about leaving the South forever. He feels that to truly change the place she needs to come home and lead by example.

The dialogue in some spots is over emoted; but the messages on both sides of the issue are clearly stated. And the dilemma of the Southerner of Scout’s generation is laid bare; were the sepia toned memories just that? Or were things really better for everyone concerned when the lines of demarcation were more clearly defined? And, finally, is there really a middle ground to this issue at all?

Well worth the wait and thanks to Sue for buying this for me at lunchtime on Tuesday when it was released. Now, my more detailed analysis;

I have been waiting for this book since 1966 when I first read “To Kill a Mockingbird”. I was 12 years old and found the book in the school library. The title intrigued me, and the book became a lifelong friend. I had not yet seen the movie and had only just taken my first trip down south with my family. The South was still the south of Jim Crow; though in its dying day at the time.

Marja Mills book “The Mockingbirds Next Door” is almost a pre-requisite if you are to get the full benefit of this book. That book, written with the help and consent of Ms. Lee and her older sister Alice, chronicled the real life of the 2 sisters who lived in a modest house; eschewing many modern conveniences, and choosing mostly to communicate by fax machine, even with their neighbors and closest friends. An understanding of the iconic author’s day to day life in her later years will go a long way towards understanding the full scope of this book. In addition you will see Scout as Jean Louise; and vice versa.

To begin with the reader must be familiar with the title’s origin in Scripture. It appears in Isaiah 21:6 which reads “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.”

There is an article on Alabama.com by Wayne Flynt, a friend of Harper Lee and the Baptist minister who appears in Marja Mills book; his take on the title, from his view as a Baptist minister; is that “Go Set a Watchman’ means, ‘Somebody needs to be the moral compass of this town. ‘Isaiah was a prophet. God had set him as a watchman over Israel. It’s really God speaking to the Hebrews, saying what you need to do is set a watchman, to set you straight, to keep you on the right path. What more elegant title could there be?”

The intent of the title is to set the tone of the 1950’s against the more sepia like era of the 1930’s, when everybody had a defined place in the local social structure. The upheaval of the Civil Rights movement threatened to knock many Christians off the true path; hence the reminder to set a watchman against that occurrence. Now that we understand that we can deal with the book itself.

When Jean Finch returns home from New York City to the small town of Maycomb she is almost immediately aware of a sea change in the attitudes of the white residents towards the town’s Negro population. She is taken aback by this; after all she was raised, like so many others of her generation; by a “colored” woman whom she had always considered to be a surrogate mother. Her own mother passed away before she was old enough to remember. Indeed it was the reliable Calpurnia who ushered the confused Jean Louise into womanhood; making up for the lack of a mother to impart that information which is so necessary for a daughter to know.

To further confuse; make that infuriate her; is that both her intended fiancée Hank, and her father, Atticus; whom she idolizes; have both become involved with the White Citizen’s Council in a quest to thwart the advance of the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement in their town. Scout is appalled at what she sees while looking on at a meeting of the group in the very courthouse where Atticus had so eloquently defended Tom Robinson for a crime he did not commit in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She cannot reconcile the man she knew then with the man she sees before her now.

Complicating the situation is the drunken driving accident by one of the Calpurnia’s children; which kills a white man. Mr. Finch has been asked to defend him. His partner Hank; the prospective son-in law; refuses the case in Atticus’ name, but Atticus takes the case anyway. His motive, however, is suspect to Jean Louise when she hears him state that if he doesn’t take it and plead guilty, then some NAACP attorneys will show up to defend him, bringing change; and possibly even violence; to the town. He is also an adherent of White Supremacy, which makes his daughter despise him even more.

It is interesting to note that Jean Louise; early on in the book; faces the dichotomy which is inherent in most Southerners of her era; a total distrust of everything from Washington, D.C. In Jean Louise’s case this distrust begins early on in the narrative; before she learns of her father’s racist attitudes.

She remembers the patch of earth by the school where she used to play a game called “Tip Top”. That area was paved over by a WPA project and resulted in so many skinned knees that the children were forced to play elsewhere. This, she says, was her first taste of that resistance to change. To put it more plainly; she is saying that not only had the federal government changed the rules; but also the game. This metaphor comes back to haunt her later on when she is forced to deal with her Uncle Jack who just may be the real hero of this story.

But it is how her father and the citizens of Maycomb handle that change is what drives her distaste for them. Even reliable Calpurnia, who raised Jean Louise and her brother Jem, has changed. She now admits to having hated the system under which she so faithfully served the Finch’s; calling into question whether that love which Jean Louise perceived was real.  And if it wasn’t; then the question arises, what is real and what is not? What is right and what is wrong? Remember, this was supposed to be a relaxing summer trip home…

As she comes close to the verge of leaving Maycomb for good it is her beloved Uncle Jack; lost in his own world of reverie; who saves the day and makes her understand that we are all bigots in our own ways. He also makes her realize that the only way to change Maycomb for the better might be if she came home to live there, leading by quiet example rather than urging sudden change from afar. (Uncle Jack also imparts a secret to Jean Louise which will surprise the reader; I know it did me!)

This book was written before “To Kill a Mockingbird” and in some ways is its polar opposite. The sepia toned Maycomb of that book is a child’s view of life in the Jim Crow south. “Go Set a Watchman” is a mature; though sometimes jarring; look at the realities beyond the rosy pictures we all tend to paint of our own, sometimes flawed lives.

For the review of the Marja Mills book "The Mockingbird Next Door" see the following link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-mockingbird-next-door-by-marja.html

"The Mockingbird Next Door" by Marja Mills (2014)

Here is a book which is long overdue. Harper Lee; born Nelle Harper Lee; is the reclusive author of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the iconic novel set in the little town of Maycomb,  Alabama during the Great Depression.  Scout, the little girl who recounts the story, is really the author herself as a child. So much of the book is semi-autobiographical; even the little boy named Dill who spends his summers next door is based on Truman Capote, who really did spend the summers next door to Nelle Harper.

Journalist Marja Mills finds herself on an assignment about Chicago’s “Chicago Reads” program, and the chosen book happens to be “To Kill a Mockingbird”.  Ms. Mills makes a journey to the hometown of Ms. Lee in order to get some background material for the article she intends to write. In her wildest dreams she never expected to score an interview with Ms. Lee herself. Others have tried and failed over the years and so she had no illusions on that score. She was there just to get the feel of the place. She got way more than she bargained for.

Nosing about a small town is never accomplished anonymously, and so Ms. Mills presence is communicated to Ms. Lee through the town grapevine. When the two women meet there is almost an instant connection which blossoms into an unexpected friendship. Soon, Ms. Mills is living next door to Nelle Harper and her older sister, attorney Alice Lee; a remarkable woman in her own right. She passed away just a few months ago at the age of 102, after having served as the town’s lawyer for more years than anyone really remembers. She worked until 5 years before her death; going into the office each day.

Her primary duty in life seems to have been to record the history of the County where the Lees grew up. The local Pastor once opined that when Alice passed on she would be taking a library with her. Her other occupation was to shield her little sister from the unwanted attention that “Mockingbird” bought into their lives.

The book is fairly short; but it is filled to the brim with all the things Harper Lee had wanted to set straight about her life and the fame that accompanied the success of her only book. She is free and giving on almost every topic imaginable, including Truman Capote, with whom she traveled when helping to write “In Cold Blood”.

These 2 sisters lived a relatively Spartan lifestyle by today’s standards. TV didn’t enter their home until 1997, when their caretaker moved in part time and didn’t want to “miss her soaps.” There were no computers in the house as late as 2004 when this book was written. Communication took place between the 2 houses primarily by fax machine. Cell phones were looked upon as an intrusion. The house, unsurprisingly, was simple and filled with books.

Alice is the more gregarious of the two sisters, and it is she who frequently accompanies the author as she travels the county searching for the past. The story of Atticus Finch and how closely his character resembled that of their father, attorney A.C. Lee is particularly insightful. There is much about this book that will remind you of the Delaney sisters book “Having Their Say”. At one point Harper Lee even suggests that as the title for this book; after all, copyrights do not extend to titles; but the idea is more of a jest than a real consideration.

Amazingly, and for whatever reason, these 2 women “took to” the author and even helped her to find the house next door for her to rent while working on the project.

This is a wonderful book; a rare treat and a look into the heart and mind of one of the least prolific authors of any age; as well as an insight into our own changing set of values. The author’s experience with these 2 remarkable women also has an effect upon the author as she struggles with a chronic illness of her own. As the book progresses the younger woman is able to draw strength from the example set by the sisters as they deal with life, seemingly one page at a time.

If you have ever read “To Kill a Mockingbird”; or only seen the movie; then you will want to read this book. And when you are through you will want to re-read “Mockingbird” again. It will be different now; somehow more intimate than it already was; if that is possible.

Note: The photo on the cover is of Ms. Lee with "Scout" on the set of the film in 1961. They are sitting on the porch swing which Scout shared with "Atticus" in one of the earlier scenes in the movie.

"Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird" (2011)

If you have never read “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee then skip this film. It will not be as meaningful if you have not read the book which spawned this wonderful documentary look behind one of the most powerful books ever filmed, and the remarkable woman who penned it.

Through archival footage of New York City in the late 1950”s, and also photos of the small Alabama town where Ms. Harper grew up, the film tells the story of how the book came to be written, and the two remarkable people who made it possible.

It was Christmastime 1956 when Ms. Lee arrived in New York City to visit her friends Joy and Michael Brown. She had been working as an airline reservation clerk and writing sketches of the people she knew back home. These sketches tremendously impressed both Joy and Michael who were fellow transplants form the South. Believing in the integrity of her work they proposed to her that she should remain in New York with them for one year in order to write the book they knew she had within her. That was their Christmas present to her. She accepted the offer and “Atticus” was born.

The initial printing was 5,000 copies, which scared everyone except the publisher. By 1960 the book was released and the awards began to flow in. The book garnered the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was made into the classic film starring Gregory Peck in 1962. The film, just as the book, was an instant hit and is considered one of the finest contemporary American classics ever written.

With commentary about the book from such luminaries as Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Roseanne Cash and Oprah Winfrey, the film tells of the impact this book had on the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of the people who lived through the Jim Crow years down South. When she wrote the book, Ms. Lee had no idea of the impact, and change, that her book would engender.

Sometimes, when explored through the eyes of a child, the image of what we see around us becomes clearer. That is what happened with “To Kill a Mockingbird”. When the nation looked at the plight of Tom Robinson, and then walked around in his skin; as Atticus would say; it became harder and harder to look in the mirror. Though Ms. Lee never wrote another book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” will stand the test of time for the gem that it is.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Happy Birthday to Harper Lee. She is 84 years old today. In 1960 she gave us one of the greatest literary treasures of all time - "To Kill A Mockingbird." This is the only book Ms. Lee has written. In a way I am glad. I can't imagine anything more perfect than this story.

Based loosely on her own childhood and growing up down South during the years of Jim Crow, the book crackles from beginning to end. The first time I read it, and I have re-read it many times, I just couldn't put it down. I ran into this book when I was 11 years old and it became an instant favorite. I have several copies so that I can give them away to people who have not read it. I buy them at yard sales and used book stores.

The story, as if you did not already know it, involves Scout and her brother Jem, who both live with their father Atticus Finch. He is a widower in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. He is somewhat of an embarassment to his two children. Jem complains that he doesn't play football, while Scout bemoans her fathers rule against fighting.

The Finch family lives next door to Boo Radley, a young man whose family has kept him locked up in the house for years. Apparently the boy suffers from some sort of mental illness and so the family keeps him locked away. He is a constant source of intrique for Scout and Jem. When the neighbors nephew, Dill, arrives for summer vacation, they decide to try and lure him out.

As all this is happening, a young woman who lives on the edge of town, near the Negro section, is beaten and possibly raped. She claims it was done by Tom Robinson, a local black man with one bad arm. Mayella's father Bob Ewell, is local white trash, seldom sober and always mean as a snake. He has Tom Robinson arrested for the crime and a trial is to take place. This is Alabama in the 1930's so it is a foregone conclusion as to what the verdict will be.

The trial is the biggest thing to happen in Maycomb County since the Civil War and so it attracts a lot of attention. What happens both shocks and sickens you, even as the sweet scent of magnolia seeps from the pages to surround you.

If you have read the book, then my review will annoy you. If you haven't read the book, you should. It is a book about growing up, learning tolerance and also understanding the other fellows position before lashing out. Atticus Finch often tells his children not to judge another person "until you get in his skin and walk around a bit."

After the trial of Tom Robinson,in which he is found guilty in spite of the evidence, Mr. Ewell is hell bent on revenge. He considers Atticus Finch to be a race traitor for trying to defend a Negro. His savagery comes to a head on Halloween night with traumatic results for all.

A little trivia on the character of Dill. He is based on Ms. Lee's freind from childhood, Truman Capote. Mr. Capote used to visit his aunt next door to Ms.Lee as a child. They remained freinds until Mr. Capote's death.

The 1962 movie version, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, is true to the book and still ranks in the top 100 films, placing at number 34. The role of Boo Radley is played by Robert Duvall in his first screen appearance. With only a brief role and no speaking lines, his presence, thanks to Ms. Lee's writing, dominates both the book and the movie. Unseen, he serves as a metaphor for all that we do not understand. The fear of the unknown is akin to the fear engendered by the racial segregation of "Jim Crow."

Happy Birthday Ms. Lee, and thanks for giving us the best present of all - a great book that will always stand the test of time. And that is our gift to you.

No Book Today

We are in the midst of moving- not far- about 11 miles to the East and over the County line. I started 4 or 5 books this week- from Mike Wallace's memoirs to a deep philosophical tome on Descarte and a couple of light things in between. But with all the packing etc I just couldn't get into any of them enough to do them justice.

So I turned, as I often do, to rereading some of my favorite books. Like old friends they provide comfort in the familiarity of the characters I have come to know and love over the years. They, in turn, remind me of some of life’s lessons learned from some of the reading I have done.

Nowadays I read almost exclusively Non Fiction. But until about 20 years ago I was an avid fan of fiction by Clive Cussler, John McDonald, Herman Wouk and many others. But my real love was always with the so called "classics"- Dickens, Melville (is there anything more perfect than Moby Dick?) Twain, etc.

But one book that keeps coming around to provide me with solace is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. Although not a prolific writer (aside from "Tree" she has written only one other major book- Majorie Morningstar) Ms Smith writes with a charm and elegance that will make you weep in joy or sadness and have you laughing at descriptions of people you have known in your own life. But most of all, her book rings true in relation to the human spirit.

In telling the story of an Irish immigrant family in 1912 Brooklyn, Ms Smith creates a true and compelling portrait of social issues as well as the human dramas we all face in life. This is not the story of just one girl coming of age- but the tale of an evolving immigrant society and their desire to assimilate and become something more. Even Johnny Nolan, with his character flaws and short comings, has dreams of something better coming down the pike. The book is bristling with optimism and even as the characters face some devastating events there is always the belief- not hope- but belief- that better days are just ahead.

The principal character, Francie, has an overworked mother, an alcoholic father and a pesky brother. But she also has an Aunt Sissy, as flamboyant a person ever introduced into a novel. The book draws a realistic picture of a long gone era when horses pulled milk wagons, cops walked a beat, kids were free to indulge their childhood passions and allowances were made for those that followed the beat of a different drummer. (It is interesting to note that the book was originally written as an autobiography and then rewritten at the suggestion of an editor.)

Life doesn't change that much over the years- just the "window dressing" of style and taste- but the core issues of morality, education and hard work never change.

And that is the great thing about this book- the challanges faced by the Nolan family in 1912 are largely the same as those faced by later groups of immigrants as they struggle to make a new life.

This is one of my all time favorite "comfort books" and alongside of "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (an even less prolific author than Ms Smith!)stands the test of time and can be revisited now and again to reinforce or even to rethink some of my own positions on the issues that confront us all as humans.

So, onward with the packing and hopefully the reading will resume as usual once I settle in at the new house.