Read: August 21, 2022
5 Stars
Monday, August 22, 2022
Books Set in North America: United States: New York, New York
Snow in August, by Pete Hamill (1997)
Read: August 21, 2022
5 Stars
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Books Set in North America: New York
The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (2021)
This novel is a fictional account of Belle da Costa Greene, born Belle Marion Greener. She was born in 1879 in a Black family, although both parents were very light-skinned as was she and her siblings. Her father, Richard T Greener, was the first Black graduate of Harvard University and spent his life advocating for racial equality. Her mother, Genevieve Fleet, came from a prominent family, but didn’t want her children to suffer from racial discrimination. She made the decision to raise her family as white. Belle’s parents separated over this difference.
Genevieve changed their name from Greener to De Costa Greene, adding a fictional Portuguese grandmother to explain their olive-toned skin. The family then moves into a white neighborhood and pass as white.
Through her friendship with a Morgan relative, Belle landed a job as J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian. She quickly learned the ropes for acquiring rare books and artwork. Morgan trusted her vision and she traveled to Europe to negotiate additions to Morgan’s extensive collection. Along the way, she rubbed shoulders with New York’s elite. To keep her job and her reputation in this life, however, Belle had to keep secret that she was passing for white. This is the main theme of the novel.
On every page, Belle expresses her anxiety that she might be discovered, and her secret revealed. For this reason she feels that she can never marry. She fears that she may give birth to a dark child. The book notes that her sibling marry and have children, so this fear she has seems a bit unfounded. Instead, the novel notes that her love interest was the married Italian Renaissance art expert Bernard Berenson. In the afterwards, the authors note that, while it is known that she did indeed have a relationship with Berenson, much of what they portray is speculation. I think this does injustice to both Belle and Berenson.
I am probably one of the few people who didn’t particularly care for this book. I didn’t find Belle that likeable. She comes off as being too good, but is clearly conflicted by her passing as white, especially since her absent father was such an advocate for civil rights.
This book did, however, pique my interest in Belle da Costa Green née Belle Marion Greener and I will do some of my own research to learn more of this woman.
Read: August 9, 2022
2 Stars
Monday, August 1, 2022
Books Set in the Middle East
The English Teacher, by Yiftach Reicher Atir (2013)
Read: August 1, 2022
3 Stars
Friday, July 29, 2022
Monday, June 20, 2022
Books Set in Africa: Congo
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa, by Adam Hoschild (1998), with a 2005 update
Belgium was a relatively new monarchy when Leopold II became King. He had an inferior complex as his country was so young and small. He made the decision to conquer and colonize as much of Africa as possible. In the mid-1800s, Africa had become one of the last land masses ripe for European colonization, and Leopold was ready. He had his agents plunder a huge swath of territory surrounding the Congo River. When rubber became an important product for the nascent automobile tire industry, Leopold had African slaves tap rubber plants. His agents were brutal and would often kill or chop off the hands of slaves who didn't work quickly enough.
This was a fascinating story of a piece of history that I was unfamiliar with.
Read: June 20, 2022
5 Stars
Sunday, June 5, 2022
Books Set in the United States
Bring Her Home, by David Bell (2017)
A forgettable thriller about mistaken identities.
I read this on the flight to Budapest, so I was a captive audience.
Read: June 5, 2022
2 Stars
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