Review of "Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic" by British Library

In 2017 'The British Library' mounted an exhibition called "Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter novel. This is a companion book to the library's presentation. Harry Potter fans will find much to like in this tribute, which is BEAUTIFUL to look at and FUN to read.





The book contains a variety of wonderful tidbits related to the Harry Potter series. Examples follow.

The volume contains original sketches by J.K. Rowling, drawn while she was writing the books. These include: the Hogwarts school and grounds (including the Giant Squid and the Whomping Willow); Harry and the Dursleys (I love this one - Dudley is a mini-Vernon); Harry and his friends (Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Gary....who was later renamed Dean); Professor Sprout and her magic plants; Argus Filch (looking exceptionally creepy); Nearly Headless Nick (showing why he's 'nearly headless'); Professor Snape; and more.







The book also has copies of original manuscript pages by J.K. Rowling, featuring: annotated handwritten and typed pages from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'; emended pages from 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'; an edited handwritten copy of the 'Sorting Hat' song; a handwritten story from 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'; and others.



Also included are Rowling's handwritten lists of classes and teachers at Hogwarts and a detailed plan (in chart form) for 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.'

All this shows a little of Rowling's 'writing process', which is interesting and instructive.

*****

The book has numerous GORGEOUS drawings by Jim Kay, illustrator for the illustrated editions of Harry Potter. These pictures include: Professor Dumbledore; Professor McGonagall; a busy Platform Nine and Three-Quarters; Professor Snape; Fluffy (the three-headed dog); Professor Sprout (surrounded by mandrakes); Diagon Alley; a Hippogriff; Aragog (the giant spider); Fawkes (the phoenix); winged keys; and many many more.

















*****

The publication features examples of books, objects, and factoids that relate to 'magic', like: a bezoar stone in a gold filigree case; a cauldron from 800 B.C.; an actual mandrake root (this looks exactly like a little person); medieval books about herbology and potions; a medieval witch's broom owned by Olga Hunt of Manaton - who allegedly rode it during the full moon; an Arabic astrolabe (used by ancient astronomers to chart the night sky); a witch's scrying mirror (used for divination); a fortune telling cup and saucer (for tea leaves); magic wands; illustrations of constellations; names of stars; and innumerable others.







Snippets from - and anecdotes about - the Harry Potter stories are linked with the things mentioned above - to demonstrate how they may have inspired Rowling.

*****

There are also miscellaneous engaging segments scattered through the book, such as: Nicholas Flamel (featured in 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone') was a real person; a man called George Ripley wrote a book about how to make a Philosopher's Stone (which apparently didn't work because he died in 1490); many modern medicines are based on plants (digoxin, quinine, aspirin); Leonardo DaVinci wrote notes in mirror handwriting (which reads from right to left); people once believed that the smell of a weasel could kill a basilisk; and lots more.





*****

Lastly , the book includes suggested activities for children (with instructions), such as: how to make a color-changing potion; how to make flowers change color; how to make a charmed banana (sliced inside it's intact skin); and how to find the lines on your palm (for palm reading).

I'm a big Harry Potter fan and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I highly recommend it to fans of the series, both kids and adults.

Rating: 5 stars

Review of "Fear the Worst: A Thriller" by Linwood Barclay

Tim Blake, a divorced car salesman in Milford, Connecticut, has his 17-year-old daughter Sydney living with him for the summer. Sydney has a summer job at a cheap local motel called 'Just Inn Time.'



One morning Sydney goes off to work and doesn't come home. When Tim goes to 'Just Inn Time' looking for his daughter he's told Sydney never worked there and no one there has ever seen her. Confused and worried Tim reports his daughter missing and begins an obsessive search for her.



When she's not living with her dad Sydney lives nearby with her mother Susanne. Susanne has recently moved them both in with her boyfriend Bob, the owner of a car dealership.



When Tim learns that Bob's 19-year-old son Evan recently came to live with them Tim becomes infuriated, convinced this is a recipe for trouble. Evan claims to know nothing about Sydney's disappearance but Tim doesn't believe him.

Meanwhile, Sydney's friends offer their assistance. Her ex-boyfriend Jeff Bluestein sets up a website to help search for Sydney and her girlfriend Patty Swain offers moral support and fast food while Tim continues his search.



It soon becomes clear that Sydney was involved in something that put her on the radar of some bad guys, and Tim runs into trouble everywhere he turns. To add to Tim's problems the police aren't very helpful. They seem to look at Tim as a suspect in both Sydney's disappearance as well as other crimes that are happening in Milford. Tim's recently dumped girlfriend doesn't help, being angry and neurotic and willing to throw Tim under the bus when she's questioned by the police.



The story is suspenseful from beginning to end and I sympathized with Tim's fear and anguish. He's clearly a nice guy in over his head. The other characters add interest to the story, which moves fast to a dramatic climax.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it to fans of mystery thrillers.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis" by J.D. Vance

People looking for an explanation of Donald Trump's popularity among low-income and unemployed white Americans can get a little enlightenment from this memoir. The author, J.D. Vance, was born into an Appalachian hillbilly family with Scotch-Irish roots.


Author J.D. Vance

Though the word hillbilly is often used in a pejorative sense, it's defined as 'people who live in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in Appalachia and the Ozarks.'



Mountain people traditionally work blue collar jobs, and the closing of factories, mines, and mills in their towns left many hillbillies unemployed and disheartened. Moreover, those hill folk who do have jobs, and a good work ethic, resent their taxes being used to subsidize their unemployed neighbors - who they consider lazy whiners who illicitly profit from food stamps, eat steaks, and buy gewgaws like cell phones.....which many working hillbillies can't afford.



If these indolent food stamp recipients DO get work, they show up sporadically, and slack off when they're present. Vance tells a story about a hillbilly who - when he deigned to show up for work - took five half-hour bathroom breaks during his shift. Naturally, the man was fired.....and probably thought he was done wrong.

All this leads the working poor to resent welfare nets/entitlement programs associated with the Democratic Party.



According to Vance, economically disadvantaged hill folk - many of whom disdain education and resent locals who better themselves ('get too big for their britches') - have a culture of 'learned helplessness.' They're poor, they're resentful, and they want someone to blame. Thus, Donald Trump 'speaks to them' with his diatribes about jobs going overseas, rapist immigrants, callous environmentalists, terrorist Muslims, and so on.



Vance claims that the hillbillies dislike of Obama doesn't focus on race, but rather on the fact that he's a cultured Ivy League graduate who speaks well and doesn't understand their concerns. I don't totally buy this argument since I've met some Scotch-Irish descendants who express their dislike of black people in colorful terms. Be that as it may, I do understand the attraction of disaffected people to a rabble rouser like Trump.

*****

Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio, with a drug-addicted mother who hooked up with a long string of boyfriends and husbands.




Young J.D. Vance

Luckily for the author, he was able to take refuge in the home of his grandparents - Mamaw and Papaw - who lived down the street. Mamaw and Papaw grew up in Jackson, Kentucky and married at the ages of 13 and 16, respectively, when Mamaw got pregnant. Like many other residents of eastern Kentucky, the young couple took the 'hillbilly highway' to Ohio - where the steel mills offered good-paying jobs.....until they closed.


J.D. Vance and his Mamaw


Old steel mill in Ohio

For much of their marriage Mamaw and Papaw had a troubled home, since Papaw was a raging alcoholic. However, Vance's grandparents provided him with unconditional love, a sense of stability, and the will to learn and improve himself. Thus Vance eventually served in the Marines, went to Ohio State University, and graduated from Yale Law School.


J.D. Vance and family members at his graduation from Marine boot camp

Unfortunately, the author's early years, during which he observed constant screaming and throwing matches between his mother and her men, left Vance without a framework for a healthy relationship. Vance admits he was a 'bad husband' until his wife Usha, whom he met at Yale Law School, helped him learn the proper way to disagree.


J.D. Vance with his wife Usha

Vance speaks lovingly of his 'lunatic' Mamaw, who carried a gun and wasn't afraid to use it.

Everyone feared her, which worked to the boy's advantage during his mother's many stints in rehab. Mamaw insisted on caring for young J.D. herself - though she didn't have fostering credentials - and kept him out of the system.

Vance was strongly attached to all the members of his family, including his sister; aunts; uncles; cousins; and especially his great-grandmother - Mamaw Blanton - whom he often visited in beautiful eastern Kentucky.....which he considered his true home.


Some of J.D. Vance's family members

Like many hillbillies, Vance was (and is) intensely loyal to his clan, and any insult to himself or his kinfolk resulted in a fist fight.....starting at age six. As an adult Vance still has a bad temper, and takes pride in being able to restrain himself, like the time he wanted to - but DIDN'T - confront a driver who flipped him off.

Vance relates some interesting (and humorous) anecdotes about his ignorance of the 'outside world' as a young adult. For instance, when Vance bought his first car, a fellow marine made him shop around for a car loan.....not just accept the dealer's high interest rate. And during dinner with a potential employer at a fancy restaurant, Vance had to sneak off to call Usha- for instructions about the over-abundant cutlery.



During that same meal, the author spit out his first sip of sparkling water - thinking something was wrong with the carbonated beverage. Moreover, Vance had to learn about professional attire. The author wore jeans and combat boots to an early job interview, before he learned that a suit was the appropriate garb. These are telling stories about the cultural divide between mountain folk and the 'educated elite' they disdain.


J.D. Vance had to learn to wear proper attire for a job interview

Vance acknowledges that hillbillies need help, but their situation is complex....and Vance can't pinpoint the best way to assist them. An influx of jobs would be good, but wouldn't solve the sociocultural problems like family conflict; drinking; drug addiction; poor eating habits; bad health; bad teeth; aversion to learning; disinclination to work; over-spending; and so on. Also, to successfully 'climb the ladder', people have to WANT to pull themselves up.....and this doesn't seem to be the case among hillbillies right now.



In an interview after the book was published, Vance cites a study that says upward mobility is stymied by living in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty; and residing in neighborhoods with a lot of single mothers. Addressing these issues might provide an initial boost to underprivileged groups.

Vance also remarks that religion (Christianity in this case) helped his biological father and himself focus and make better personal choices. In Vance's words, "I’d make one important point: that not drinking, treating people well, working hard, and so forth, requires a lot of willpower when you didn’t grow up in privilege. That feeling–whether it’s real or entirely fake–that there’s something divine helping you and directing your mind and body, is extraordinarily powerful."



Vance also notes, "I remain incredibly optimistic about the future. Maybe that’s the hillbilly resilience in me. Or maybe I’m just an idiot. But if writing this book, and talking with friends and strangers about its message, has taught me anything, it’s that most people are trying incredibly hard to make it, even in this complicated and scary world."


J.D. Vance at book signing, advancing his message

Vance is a political conservative and a reluctant (I think) Trump supporter. He wants his people to have better lives - and has made a push in that direction with this memoir.

I like the book, which has many interesting and instructive tales about Vance's life, his struggles, and his successes. I'd recommend the book to everyone interested in what's going on in the country today

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Good Liar: A Novel of Suspense" by Catherine McKenzie

This psychological thriller revolves around three women whose lives are profoundly affected by a disaster. Their names are Cecily, Franny, and Kate.

*****

The story: Cecily Grayson, running late as usual, was hurrying to meet her husband Tom when his Chicago office building blew up in front of her eyes. 



Shocked into immobility, with ashes raining down on her, Cecily just stared at the building until a stranger grabbed her hand and yelled 'run.' 



Cecily's savior was Teo Jackson, a documentary filmmaker who happened to be taking photos in the area.



Teo admitted to snapping a picture of Cecily in the midst of the explosion, and - with her permission - sold it. The photo went viral and Cecily became the 'poster child' for the tragedy, which killed over 500 people, including her husband. The hubbub resulted in Cecily and her children, Cassie (now 15) and Henry (now 13), being thrust into the public eye.

Investigators determined that the disaster, called 'Triple Ten' - because it happened on October 10th at 10 A.M. - was due to an accidental gas explosion, and a fund was established to compensate the victims' families. Applicants had to prove their relative was killed in the blast, and rejected claimants could appeal to the 'Compensation Initiative' - a committee co-chaired by Cecily and a twentysomething woman named Franny Maycombe.



Franny, an adoptee who had just reconnected with her biological mother, was shattered when her 'real' mom was killed in the blast. The biological mother's family - husband Joshua Ring and daughters Emily and Julia - were denied compensation, and Franny has been petitioning the Compensation Initiative, trying to get money for them.

It's now the first anniversary of Triple Ten, and a memorial service is planned for the victims. Stories about the commemoration are all over the media. Kate, who works as a nanny in Canada, can't bear to watch these features - but her employer Andrea is addicted to the news. So Kate can't help but see what's going on in Chicago.



As the story unfolds, we learn that Cecily, Franny, and Kate are all harboring secrets.....but maybe not for long. Teo Jackson is making a documentary about families affected by Triple Ten. The film features Cecily Grayson and her children; Joshua Ring and his daughters; and Franny Maycombe.

Inevitably, unknown facts come to light.

The narrative alternates between the points of view of Cecily and Kate, with excerpts from Teo's interviews with Franny. Thus we see events from several vantage points.

Cecily is struggling to raise her teenagers without her husband, and trying to get on with her life. Her media exposure puts Cecily in the sights of paparazzi and reporters, some of whom will do anything for a story. (One of these guys should go to jail!)



Kate anguishes over her troubled past, and keeps busy with the two cute toddlers in her care. The kiddies are more perceptive than their self-involved mom, and almost expose Kate's secret.



Franny had a sketchy childhood and seems to have little use for the people that adopted her. She longs for a new loving family.

Some of the characters behave less-than-admirably, and would make great guests for television talk shows. (Calling Dr. Phil.....LOL)

There's surprise after surprise as the story proceeds, all of which leads to an eyebrow-raising finale that I didn't see coming.



I enjoyed the novel and recommend it to fans of psychological suspense stories.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Catherine McKenzie) and the publisher (Lake Union Publishing) for a copy of the book. 

Rating: 3.5 stars