Iowa Books

I read this book about 1982. I used to work the night shift at a hospital and on Sunday mornings, I recall listening to a Sunday Morning NPR talk show. One morning, Howard Cosel interviewed the author of Righteous Gentile. I was completely fascinated by this story that I had never heard. Howard was masterful in his interview and I was so taken that I immediately purchased the book and read it. It is riveting and I could not put it down until I had consumed it all. I am always in amazed wonderment at ordinary people who perform extraordinary acts under dire conditions. Wallenberg was such a man. The story is, of course, a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, as Wallenberg disappears into the Russian Gulag. I irony of his imprisonment in the Gulag after having saved so many Jews from their fate in the Holocost. It is one of those books that is uplifting because it reminds us of both the good and evil that humans are capable of.

John Bierman's terrifically tragic Wallenberg biography,'Righteous Gentile' is divided into two parts;the first 119 pages lead up to his kidnapping by the Russians on
January 17,1945.The last 97 pages deal with the world's apathy in securing his release from the Gulag.Thousands of Jews and some non-Jews owe their lives to Wallenberg's intervention on
"behalf of the Swedish government"-which dealt with the Wallenberg kidnapping issue as buroucracies tend to do.Bierman's Wallenberg book was published in 1981-and there were credible reports that Wallenberg was still vegetating in the Soviet prison system.The sin of allowing this to happen-is beyond unforgivable.

Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish aristocrat who managed to save thousands of Hungarian Jews from the gas chambers in the closing months of 1944. His relief agency in Budapest issued bogus Swedish passports to as many Jews as possible. By dint of his commanding personality, his ingenuity, and his talent for pulling the wool over the eyes of dimwitted Nazi functionaries, he contrived to convince the German and Hungarian authorities to respect these entirely extralegal documents. In mid-January 1945, he was summoned to the Soviet embassy in newly-"liberated" Budapest, and he was never seen again.

This is a great and inspiring story, and "Righteous Gentile" does justice to it. Bierman doesn't really succeed in explaining the origins of the idealism that led Wallenberg to volunteer for this job in the first place, but probably nobody could. What he does show is the skill and energy with which Wallenberg executed the task assigned to him. Actually "skill and energy" are ludicrously inadequate terms. Wallenberg not only distributed his passports, he tirelessly roamed around pulling Jews out of death marches and off trains bound for Auschwitz, he bossed Nazi thugs around in impeccable Hochdeutsch (and they listened), and he confronted Adolf Eichmann himself, all the while taking the most extraordinary risks. I can't say that Wallenberg was the greatest hero in recorded history, since I'm not familiar with all of it; suffice to say that he is by a very large margin the greatest hero I've ever read of, in fiction or history, and it is an inspiring and hopeful fact that someone like him ever existed. I am grateful to John Bierman for bringing this figure to such luminous and memorable life.

The only problem I have with the book is that half of it consists of speculations and rumor-cataloguing to the effect that Wallenberg was alive in the Gulag until about 1980. I believe that most authorities now think he was murdered by the Soviets long before this, perhaps after they failed to recruit him for espionage. This part of the book is therefore something of an anachronism. However, it doesn't detract from the general value of the book, which should be required reading for everybody, period.

A five star book about a five star hero.

The second world war threw-up some gigantic figures but ironically Raoul Wallenberg from neutral Sweden towers over all the rest.

Like the Good Samaritan he didn't pass on by but instead left his safe homeland to assist others by putting himself in danger day after day in the inferno that was Hungary during the dreadful days of 1944-45.

The man who saved a 100,000 jews from the clutches of Adolf Eichmann, the SS, and the Hungarian facists, the Arrow Cross ultimately fell foul of the Russian 'liberators.' He was never seen again as a free man after being taken into 'protective custody' by the Reds on 17 January 1945.

I read John Bierman's excellent book some 20 years ago and he charts the extraordinary crusade of his subject with a deft touch.

This is a book that will both inspire you, with Wallenberg's humanity and courage, and anger you that such a man could lose his liberty after fighting so hard for the freedom and safety of others.

In the pantheon of heroes Raoul Wallenberg-the righteous gentile-would have to be at the very top

I loved every essay in this book. Beautifully written. Insightful. Entertaining. Thought provoking. Brilliant but never pretentious.

The book was delivered before the estimated delivery date. The book was in the stated condition- good.

In Grammar Lessons, Michele Morano takes the reader on an unforgettable journey, a treat to the senses. She invites us to explore her thoughts and feelings as she experiences daily life in Spain in the early 1990's, while teaching English at the University of Oviedo for a year. While in Oviedo, she enrolled in a Spanish language course for foreigners or "extranjeros."

In thirteen personal essays, Morano captures the reader's heart with her descriptive and poetic style. Her themes evoke a feeling of familiarity, for her stories are organized around topics such as food, travel, and solitude versus loneliness. "I'm hungry in both body and spirit," she writes. "I crave not just a meal, not just the take-out supper I can carry to the emptiness of my room, but a complete dining experience." One pressing issue during the year in Spain was her longing for the man she left behind in New York.

Morano prefaces her book by explaining that grammar is not simply words strung together to form sentences, but the mannerisms, gestures, and ways of life that accompany language. The book is organized into three parts. The essays in Part One reveal her struggle to learn the Spanish language while living the culture. The essays in Part Two revolve around her later trips to Spain. Part Three reflects her attitude toward travel along highways and how it shapes the individual. Morano's sentiments about travel and saying farewell to relationships are reflected in these lines:

"If you move about in the world, if you live fully and fall in love--with friends, acquaintances, and places and periods of time, your heart is going to break again and again. Each time you say good-bye, you'll feel the ache of impermanence, of inevitability, of your own finite days."

I connected with this book because I would have benefitted greatly from studying in foreign lands while I was studying Spanish as my college major. However, overseas travel and study programs were not as prevalent in the late 70's or early 80's as they are now. I have since made many excursions to Mexico and Spain, although at this point in my life I live vicariously as an eager armchair traveler. I comfortably travel to many faraway places through others' spoken and written accounts.

As I read Grammar Lessons, Morano took me on a vivid tour of her daily discoveries of cultural life and relationships in Spain. The pages held me spellbound, and I wished the journey did not have to end.

by Sharon Blumberg
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Not since Tobias Wolffe's This Boy's Life have I been so moved by a work of nonfiction. Ms. Morano's economical prose, keenly observed detail and emotional honesty are a triple-threat. The essays work that magic of translating what your imagination conjures into an experience which you feel is now a genuine memory, something about which you and she have secret and sacred understanding. Everyone who has had their heart broken by their crazy boyfriend while travelling through Spain should read this book, and then everyone else should too, because after a glass of madeira or a cup of cafe con leche your mind might trick you into reminiscing about that year in Spain when your crazy boyfriend ...

Hayden Fry is a revered figure in the state of Iowa, and rightly so. He arrived in Iowa City in 1979 and quickly resusitated one of the worst football programs in the country. Under Fry's direction, the Hawkeyes went to the Rose Bowl three times in a nine-year span. Fry also integrated the Southwest Conference at Southern Methodist, and in this well-written autobiography, he brings his long, career successful career to life and recalls many colorful anecdotes. This is an entertaining and illuminating book from one of the most significant coaches of his generation.

THROUGH HIS STORIES AND MEMOIRS HAYDEN FRY SHOWS EVERYBODY ONCE AGAIN THAT HE IS A "CLASS ACT".HE MAKES ME PROUD TO BE A HAWKEYE!! THANK YOU HAYDEN!

As a long-time fan of the Iowa Hawkeye football time, I watched them get repeatedly shelled during the late sixties and the seventies. Teams used to defeat them by thirty or more points and rarely have to throw a pass. In 1979, the savior arrived in the form of coach Hayden Fry, but at first it did not seem that that was the case. His statements like, "Scratch where it itches", at times sounded so homey that many people wondered if he was just another over-hyped coach who would add to the string of failures.
However, that all changed in the first half of the first game the Hawkeyes played under Fry. They stormed ahead of Indiana 26-3 in the first half, although they ultimately lost 30-26. From that point, everyone was a believer and his teams went on to give us some of the most exciting moments in our lives. This is Hayden's recollection of his life, although most of the ink is used to describe his years at Iowa, and there is very little of a personal nature that does not directly involve football. Reading it brought back so many fond memories of listening and watching, that I found myself reliving some of those times. If you are a Hawk fan, then this is a book that you must read.

Easy reading book on the very successful career of legendary (ranks as 10th all-time winningest coach in NCAA history) college football coach Hayden Fry, known nationally as the long-time and much loved coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes ("Americas Team"). The book chronicle's his [unprecedented] success in "turning-a-round" hapless football programs at SMU, North Texas and Iowa. Highlights include his 17 bowl games (including 3 trips to the Rose Bowl), spending a lot of time with the Iowa Hawkeyes where he coached for twenty years, including 3 Big Ten Championships, but also recalls his days at SMU where he was the man responsible for integrating football in Texas (SouthWest Conference)- arguably his greatest achievement in his football career. His days as a high school and college standout player are also explored - a true "aficionado" for the game of football! Hawkeye fans and football fans alike will enjoy this "yarn" from one of the most colorful characters in college football in a generation!

Jennifer S. Davis' first book, "Her Kind Of Want" definitely deserved the Iowa Short Fiction Award; her writing is absolutely stunning. Although the stories in this book are not my usual 'reading fare,' (I prefer Austen, Gabaldon, Pilcher--something uplifting with happily ever after endings) I do make exceptions if the writing is extraordinary. I loved Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible" because of the beautiful writing (even though the story was quite sad). Both women have similar writing styles.
I read somewhere that a writer should write what she knows and Davis has written stories about women (albeit damaged) from her native Alabama. All the women are products of their dysfunctional families with the exception of Dena (who is a product of events surrounding her life).
Davis' writing is deep, rich, and poetic. Only a gifted author could have written the subtle differences in each woman's personality. I was enthralled with every story and the lovely and poignant way each was presented. The characters are so well developed that by the end of the book, I felt that I knew them personally. I could not put this book down! Jennifer Davis is a remarkable writer and I know we will see great things from her in the future (a Pulitzer?). I also hope her next book will be more uplifting. I love Southern Writers and am so glad I can add Jennifer to the top of my list!

There are nine compelling stories in Her Kind of Want by Jennifer S. Davis. For the most part, Davis's characters are women trapped and betrayed by either their bodies or men or both.

In "Only Ends" Sissy is a 14-year-old whose best friend is 9 and whose Grandma tells her she's lucky that because of her bad brain she won't have to worry about men. In "Some Things Collide" Nadine is a woman alone with breast cancer. In "The One Thing God'll Give You" Hula's Momma warns her that "there ain't but one kind of man" and that is borne out by what happens when Hula starts dating Willie. Most of these stories are domestic tragedies, as depressing as a fat-fingered man with a wet toupee and a pinky ring drinking sugared iced tea and Jack Daniels while hitting on the 13-year-old next door. But they are also beautifully written.

Although the events of the story are as heart-wrenching as the events in the other stories, "Tammy Imagined" breaks from the pack in that it is written from a point in the future that implies hope. By its placement in the collection, "Tammy Imagined" highlights the complexity and dignity of the characters in previous stories. The collection as a whole is poignant and unforgettable.

Like Southern women writers before her, Davis writes colorfully with great attention to the telling detail. Her Kind of Want would fit in well on the shelf next to anything by Bobbie Ann Mason.

I started reading this book one morning and didn't put it down until I finished it. As a true Southerner (born and raised in Alabama), I recognized many of the characters in the book. Jennifer Davis truly captured the essence of many Southern women in her characters. I found myself disappointed when the book came to an end. I am anxiously anticipating her next book and highly recommend Her Kind of Want.

If the stories in Her Kind of Want were a song, I'd crank it up, roll down the windows, and light a Marlboro. These women, hailing from the University of Been There Done That, have a gorgeous resilience, an awkward gift for recognizing that their own yearnings somehow aren't justified by the world and probably never will be. Davis's prose is lyrical and swoony, the kind you like to read aloud and listen to...She also takes on the daunting task of deconstructing the redneck/southern female stereotype. "Rewriting Girl," the introduction, frames the rest of the collection, by inviting us to witness how girl/southern has been written (by men? by Sean the male protagonist?) and how
it will be (inevitably) up to Southern Women (capitalization intended) to re-write their own narratives-- secretly, subversively, cunningly and quietly-- in bars and backseats and with lovers who don't really get their mystery. I loved this book and highly recommend it. Davis's style is darkly Carson McCullers-ish but it has a sense of humor that is purely original and real. A real ...kicking collection. Poetry. One of the best books I've ever read.

"The Indian War of 1864" is a reissue of a memoir originally published in the early 1900s. It recounts the day-by-day adventures of Eugene Ware, a young officer in an Iowa cavalry unit serving in far western Nebraska toward the end of the Civil War. The author, who later in his life was a published poet and friend of Mark Twain's, writes beautifully of life in the ranks on the far edges of civilization. He not only recounts the nitty-gritty of service in a volunteer cavalry unit, he wisely and graphically documents the clash of settlers and Indians. As a serving Army officer, I most enjoyed the many hard lessons Ware learned as a junior officer trying to maintain order and discipline among his soldiers. The volunteer soldiers of his unit were a rough and unruly bunch who had the signal virtues of being fearless fighters who never shirked their duties. All other soldierly qualities--such as the ability to stay sober--were in doubt and posed extreme leadership challenges for Lieutenant Ware. I have often shared anecdotes from the book with my peers and subordinates as examples of both how to earn the respect of American soldiers and how to live up to the demands of duty as an officer under extreme stress in remote locations. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in the settling of the West, the US Army of the time, and the sad downfall of the American Indian.

I picked this book up by mistake. What a wonderful mistake.

This is a first hand account of the Indian War of 1864. In terms of its chronological time slot, these remembrances of Captain Eugene F. Ware, Seventh Iowa Cavalry, fit smack in the middle of the flood tide of Western migration from all parts of the east. Captain Ware's responsibilities were to keep the overland migration routes free from Indian attack while simultaneously protecting the Indians from white depredations. The story depicted is one of continual conflict resolution, long, weary hours of patrol, inadequate manpower and intense exposure to drought, flood, heat and cold. It is a story of fifteen mile wagon trains, vast buffalo herds and space, truly wide open space. It is a story of the OLD west, that which existed before fences and cattle ranches, before complex Indian reservation systems and most of all, a time when Native American tribes were still a force to be reckoned with. It is extremely well written.

That portion of the trail which Eugene Ware patrolled is today Interstate 80 as it passes through western Nebraska.

Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska around the Platte river --1864. Cheyenne, Sioux, Pawnee, Kiowa, and others. Wagon trains from horizon to horizon. Confederate deserters. How to build a fort. Drunken troopers. A prairie fire moving at the speed of a train. A fort surrounded by thousands of Indains. Watching the beaver play. Surrounded by wolves. Brave soldiers. An incompetent officer. The secret society. A phonetic roster of Indian scouts. Hunting buffalo. The price of bacon, flour, rice, coffee, and other supplies. The different landscapes described. Tracking and running from Indians. An "accidental suicide." Premonitions. Real people as they really lived. A thousand vignettes as seen by Captain Eugene Ware of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry.

This is the memoir of a young cavalry officer serving on the Plains at the end of the Civil War. It is very interesting in the way it depicts day to day life, and merges the two conflicts. I was not aware, for example, that the Union was so concerned about Confederate attempts to ally with Indian tribes.

Having said this, I caution, that it's not exactly like reading about Custer. The most exciting encounter with the Indians involves Ware and his troop trying to make a mad dash for the fort before the Indians have time to persue, and the major accomplishment is replacing the telegraph wires that the Cheyennes destroyed. Thus I would not recommend this for an individual new to the topic of the Indian Wars, but if you're at the point where you want to delve deeper, and get more insight into the times, this is a very valuable work.

I found this book an excellent resource for info on the Iowa class of battleships. I was a sailor myself, too late to serve on any of these ships, but I have been on New Jersey and the Missouri and I have seen the Wisconsin while she was berthed at the Norfolk navy base. So, I am an avid fan of the Iowa class battleship and this book is my #1 resource.

Bob Sumrall is very well known among the Naval community and this book is one of his best efforts. Of course, I am a bit prejudice as I was the structural design project leader and hull configuration manager for the reactivation of the 4 ships in the 1980's. In a way, it is a shame that the book was published before the (still debated and despised) inactivation of those tremendous Dreadnoughts. Then the author could have included their last hurrahs at Lebanon (USS NEW JERSEY) and the Arabian Gulf (USS MISSOURI and WISCONSIN). I also would like to have seen his comments on the IOWA turret II "incident". But, the book is more of an overview on the technical aspects of the ships rather than a blow by blow historical log. And that's the way it should be. Garzke and Friedman have put out books of greater technical detail, but not every reader wants that much info. Stillwell is more into the human aspects of the Battleships. Sumrall, on the other hand, justifiably ignores the personal stories but highlights the most important technical nature of the ships. Any Naval historian or student of Naval Architecture should have a copy of this book in their collection.

An authoritative monograph of such a quality is a real gem. The volume is simply stunning for the high standard it sets. The first chapter deals with the evolution of battleship design, beginning with the frame imposed by the Washington treaty and the neverending erosion of its limits. Consequently the concessions to opposing countries triggered a naval race that shaped the operational requirements for the Iowa class. This comprehensive preamble is instrumental to the chapter dedicated to narrate ships design backgrounds, development stages and construction phases. Superbly completed by snapshots at building yards and drydocks, the author delivers outstandigly all the historical details of class birth, in particular the amazing incompatibility of barbette and turret design due to different dimensions in the Service Bureaus' drawings. Armament, Fire Controls and Protection are thoroughly described; many illustrations and design sketches are available, an usefull insight of project complexity and of the inner strength of the class, true reason of its longevity.

A nice feature is printed in appendix. Many general arrangement drawings are printed full page, showing different outfits during ship career. Paintings and camouflages are very handy, since modelers can study many assembly details. For the technicalities enthusiast, internal general layouts, decks configuration, sheer, body and halfbreadth are carefully depicted.

As a naval book, this one is unrivalled for the specific warship design and history, a true masterpiece and a pleasant reading for the scholar and for the general public alike.

The authors have done a good job with this book, offering more on the techincal aspect of this class of battleships than found elsewhere. There are several color schemes shown, and details on various modifications over the years to allow more detail to come through. I do wish there had been more on the process of modernizing these ships for the last time under President Reagan, but this does not detract much if one is seeking information on the ships themselves. If used as a reference on WW2, it will not be entirely useful, but for its technical help, this book is great for modelers.

This book truly helped us make one of our most important decisions in life... where to send our daugther to college. We appreciated the helpful and inciteful information that one does not always have easy access to. KUDOS to Ms. Miller!

An honest look at college life that you won't find anywhere else. This is really what you can expect if you attend ISU. Highly recommended.

everything you need to know about real college life
very good book.

If you're considering attending ISU, you should DEFINITELY check out this book. It's chock full of helpful, honest information that comes from actual students! It really is an accurate portrayl of life on campus here. A must-have for those who are considering Iowa State University!

The Kind of Things Saints Do is a guided tour through the bars and streets of South Florida, where heartbreak and melancholy meet heady tropical breezes and dazzling sunshine. The characters in this collection are conduits for the many sides of South Florida--cruel, indifferent, chaotic, self-absorbed, unknowable, spicy, seductive, passionate and wonderful. The relationships depicted here contain all of these characteristics, making these stories unfailingly faithful to their setting. Reading these stories, I felt as if I were really hearing the din of conversations in a Miami cafeteria, or studying the "melancholy features of mismanaged buildings on Hollywood Beach" or strolling the cafes and art galleries of Lincoln Road . . . Buy this book, it's cheaper than a plane ticket. Besides, you'll get to see the real South Florida, a thrilling peek way, way below the surface.

"This book of short stories was an emotional tour through different dysfunctional relationships: a teenage girl coming to terms with her father's abusiveness and her own complicated sexual desires; a young woman caught in a triangle between a former love, a new one, and a safe one; an angry man confronting his father about having left him and his mother... In each and every one, the main character acknowledges some kind of deeper need that is at the root of their destructive behavior, but in the end there is always a tone of hope and redemption, a way of "seeing" that leaves the reader feeling like the characters' secular experiences have a spiritual resonance. Growth comes wiht pain, but it's Valeri's ability to dance subtly between hurt and hope that make these stories special and profound. The characters feel real and the situations both familiar and new. You will come at the end of the book feeling like you know these people, have known them all your life, and you may find yourself thinking about them long after you put the book down."

Valeri writes in lush yet precise sentences that vibrate with emotional honesty. Her willingness to explore even the darkest corners of the human psyche is matched by her near-prescient ability to understand--and accept--human behavior.

At its best The Kind of Things Saints Do got under my skin and wrapped itself around my soul holding me captive from sentence to sentence. At its worst i was simply engaged. This collection of short stories is worth the five or six hour investment of time it takes to finish the read. Throughout the book there is a wide range of psychologically charged characters. Valeri does a fine job depicting complex characters whether a young girl or an old man. The Miami setting in many of the stories also helps push the tales along for Miami is always a complicated and interesting set.

I'm a history junkie and I admit it. And this book feeds my habit superbly. Drake Hokanson has done an excellent job of documenting the birth of the concept of a national road across the United States. It was the dawn of the motor age and the car makers realized that the future of their business depended on more than just regional travel. The visionaries of the Lincoln Highway saw their concept as unifying the continent, much as the transcontinental railroad had done 50 years before. The job of selling an idea, the politics of route locations, the romanticism and danger involved in striking out across no man's land to "see the country" and the techniques of keeping people motivated are all part of a well-woven story. His narrative mastery in describing what it felt like when he camped out where others had camped in the past had me feeling like I was right there with him. I love it when writing pulls me into the flow. In addition, Hokanson includes some beautiful archival photos from the University of Michigan as well as some he himself shot during research trips for the book. I wound up a little sad when I got to the last chapter because it was soon to be over. I think that's the mark of a good writer.

American children grow up learning about the first transcontinental railroad and the Pony Express, and rightly so given their role in binding the adolescent United States together. Few, however, learn about the nation's first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln, or Pacific, Highway. This was the road that launched automotive travel as adventure, in a nation that would link its lifestyle to the automobile. The irony is that while we all learn about the Pony Express and Transcontinental Railroad, neither is much more than legend to us today. But automotive travel, especially as adventure, is very much part of the American way of life. Yet few of us know much about the highway that made early 20th century Americans see the adventure in motor vehicle travel. This book, with its outstanding collection of historical and contemporary photos and well-researched and readable text, recounts the great, though forgotten, place the Lincoln Highway had in America at the time. From Times Square to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, the Lincoln Highway carried the most adventuresome motorists across some of the most settled, and most wild, landscapes in the country. In places, like central Utah's Great Basin, it wasn't much more than a two-track trail. Even today, one can drive a long, remote and spectacular unpaved segment of it across Utah, the same route followed by the Pony Express and Overland Stage. When I drove the route, which includes the ruins of Pony Express and stagecoach stations, this book helped me relive one of the most exciting and memorable, yet least remembered, chapters in American motoring history. No, I didn't write it. I just loved it. If you're a fool for driving and for personally reliving Western history, this is the guide to take you there

Long before Route 66, there was the Lincoln Highway -- a transcontinental road connecting Times Square to San Francisco, marked and promoted by private interests.

The Lincoln Highway and its brethren (the Dixie Highway, Victory Highway, National Old Trails Road, and dozens more) were replaced by the U.S. Route system almost 75 years ago, but many stretches of the old Lincoln are still part of major auto routes. The most scenic and historic stretches include US 30 through Pennsylvania and western Nebraska and US 50 across central Nevada (the "Loneliest Road").

Drake Hokanson brings the Lincoln Highway era back to life with a combination of modern observations, quotes from pioneer motorists, and well-chosen illustrations. Anyone who's ever driven, or thought about driving, Route 66 should look also at the Lincoln: it's longer, more historic, more scenic, and less tied to the world of the Interstates. Drake Hokanson's book is the perfect introduction to the world of the Lincoln Highway.

The outstanding aspect of this book is that it gives a detailed history of the conception, implementation, and fight to save the Lincoln Highway. Upon completion, one has a thorough knowledge of the people and politics of the highway. But there is more. It gives a summary of the different sections of the Lincoln as it exists in the late 1980s. While not a complete travel guide, it makes for an excellent companion for anyone thinking of retracing the old highway. After reading this book, I wanted to resign my job and drive this road. The author has taken no short cuts here.

Abildskov perfectly portrays the heartbreak of loving more than one can be loved. In liquid prose, she both startles and cajols, rendering a painfully honest tale of heartbreak. I read this beautiful book in a single sitting.

This is a lovely work about a women's journey to find what love might mean- and no way is it trite. Ms. Abildskov is placed in a foreign country with new stimulations, finding for herself that love can show itself in a variety of forms and yet hasn't she maybe felt love before without recognizing its subtle ways? I hated to have this story end. I held myself back reading- trying to let each moment penetrate my feelings as they might have Ms. Abildskov. Her descriptions are as beautiful as they are heavy, letting me visualize and feel the weight of her emotions.
A lyrical non-fiction memoir that left me feeling like I had been granted a gentle good-bye:
"Are you sorry to go? I ask
Kind of, one woman says
In a way chimes the other. But it's time, you know what I mean? You can't stay forever. I mean this isn't real life." (page 115)
Stay inside the real life Ms. Abildskov recreates and savor the moments. I for one was very sorry to go.

I picked this up because I thought it was about teaching in Japan. Having taught abroad (China and Egypt), and having taught many Japanese students in the US, I thought it was a travel book about the teaching experience.

It turned out to be something very different. It is common knowledge among expat teachers, that some US men teach abroad to meet women, who "unlike American women, know how to treat a guy". As I got beyond the introductory pages about sensing and "watching" Japan, I wondered if this book was about the reverse, liberated American women shattering a taboo and having sexual exploits in a foreign land.

Further into the book, there is more insight. This is a highly sensitive person, looking for a place, affirmation, love, or maybe permanance in a world that hasn't offered it to her. Needs transcend her awareness of the wake she leaves behind. Despite her deep love (or is it need) for one man, she entertains two others. The man she loves wants her in some way, but is emotionally unavailable. Of the other two, one is married, and the other, as a worker in a noodle factory is not a serious suitor. I would expect that both have emotional scars from their relationship with the author. None of the three men speaks English well enough to have a normal, let alone nuanced, conversation with her.

The book chronicles, after 7 years retrospect, her memories of the encounters, from her observation, along with a backdrop of the intrigue of a foreign adventure.

I would recommend this to anyone going through a romantic breakup. Like a conversation with a fellow sufferer, it could offer a balm. The pain comes through the detail of obsession for the lost. The writing is very good, and I like the remembered conversations italicized and not quoted, since there is no way they can be exact. For those looking for a travel adventure, or insight into teaching English, this is not the book.

The cover is great. The oragami figures in subtle colors clearly evoke Japan.

I could NOT put this book down. Ms. Abildskov has created a story of such difficult beauty and courage, such clear and striking insight, such sweetness and humor and fury, every page took my breath away. A journey, from the moment I opened the book to the wee hours of the morning. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.