Library Staff Book Club: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

For the February staff book club, we read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikryby Gabrielle Zevin based on our theme of books that have become movies. You can find a copy of the book at the Union Library in Recreation Reading. The movie is available for streaming through the Hulu app.

A.J. is the grumpy widowed owner of Island Books, a small bookstore in the island town of Alice Island.  Amelia is the publisher rep assigned to Island Books. A.J. is very particular about the books he sells in his shop and rejects most of Amelia’s recommendations. Things start changing for A.J. and his bookshop when an unexpected package is left at the store. This was a novel with several unexpected plot elements, but one you might choose to read on a cozy night in.

Here is what our book club members thought:

Why do you think the author chose the island setting? How does that reflect A.J.’s character?

Melissa, Library Director, answered: The island setting (reiterated in the name Island Books), to me, conveys AJ’s sense of isolation, especially after his wife’s death. Throughout the book, his island/world becomes larger as he opens himself up to loving others.

Amber, Instruction Librarian, answered: The island setting, to me, is symbolic of A.J.’s character. The island is remote and maybe not the friendliest place, at least not until you get to know the different businesses and people there. That is true of A.J. too; he is isolated from the world socially and emotionally. He is standoffish and doesn’t want friends, but as he meets new people who push into his life, he becomes more open and less closed off to everyone and everything (except maybe e-readers).

Mary, Residence Life Secretary, answered: A.J. has isolated himself from the outside world, and the island of Alice is also a bit isolated. However, the community of Alice is close-knit and supportive, and that’s exactly what A.J. needs.

Sarah, Circulation Associate and Administrative Secretary, answered: Both the island setting and the bookstore’s apt name of Island Books made me think of the phrase “no man is an island…” coined by Elizabethan poet and priest John Donne. Given how much The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry references other books and stories, I think there was an intentional reference.

At the beginning, A.J. is aloof and alone with no real connections to other people; they’re sort of a bother to him. Over the course of the story, he develops deep, lasting relationships. Donne’s sermon emphasizes the importance of community, which is a key theme in Zevin’s novel as well.

Rachel, Circulation Manager, answered: I think the island setting was chosen in part to help represent A.J.. While I enjoyed reading some of his snarkiness, I know that personality isn’t always easy to be around. Getting to the island took time, and similar to A.J., it took time and a desire to get to the heart of who he was as a person for people to have a relationship with him.

Each chapter begins with the description of a short story. What do you think those represent/mean?

Melissa answered: It becomes clear by the end of the book that these brief vignettes are something of a love letter to Maya—both his love for her and his love for books.

Amber answered: I didn’t pay too much attention to these descriptions. However, I think they showed more of who A.J. was and why he liked the books he did. A.J. connected through books and learned a lot about someone based on their book selection. This is further illustrated by these little notes at the beginning of the chapters.

Mary answered: I loved that these chapter introductions expanded the use of literary works in the book, and I loved A.J.’s insights that he wanted to pass along to Maya. I didn’t relate each one to the content of each chapter, so if there was a correlation, it wasn’t obvious enough for me to pick up on that.

Sarah answered: I think there was foreshadowing tucked into the descriptions of some of the short stories. Also, if I remember correctly, there was a part when A.J. said he was going to make a list of impactful short stories for Maya to read. I wondered if the stories described at the beginning of each chapter were part of that list.

At one point Maya speculates, “your whole life is determined by what store you get left in.” Is it the people or the place that makes the difference?

Melissa answered: Maya’s life is certainly shaped by books, and by people who love books and have been shaped by those stories. That is true of anyone who loves books. And I firmly believe that had A.J. run a drugstore, and Maya been left there, her whole life would have been different.

Amber answered: I think it is a little bit of both. Your place can impact your perspective but the people who are in that place have a great impact on you as well. As a librarian, I think about the times I visited the library as a child and how that helped shape my love of reading. The library was a place, but the librarians and the fact that my parents brought me to the library impacted how I viewed and continue to view libraries.

Mary answered: Personally, I believe the people make all the difference. However, the place of the bookstore drives the story with books and the reading life as an integral part of the plot. Bookstores are very community-oriented, and this environment—along with her love of reading and the pursuit of the intellectual life—shapes Maya.

Sarah answered: I think it’s the people that ultimately make the difference. However, I also think it’s possible that certain people gravitate toward certain places. Maya’s life likely would have been completely different if she was left at a restaurant or the island’s local tourist trap.

Rachel answered: While I think the setting/situation you’re in can make a difference, I think the people we’re around make the most impact on us.  

Did you find A.J. and Ismay to be likeable characters? Why/why not?

Melissa answered: I didn’t like either of them initially, though by the end of the novel, A.J. had won me over (or I would argue, he had changed into someone I really liked). I don’t normally like (or even finish) books where I don’t like the main character, so the fact that I loved this book is probably reflective of my love for books and stories. I want to go to Island Books—listen to the book discussions, browse the shelves, and meet these people. It became a very real place for me.

Amber answered: I liked A.J. more than Ismay, although neither is the most likable character. Both Ismay and A.J. grew a lot during the novel, which I appreciated. They blossomed through their relationships with Maya and Lambiase and the bookstore.

Mary answered: I did sympathize with A.J.. He was a tragic figure because of the loss of his wife, and I saw qualities in him that endeared him to me (his love of books, his willingness to take in Maya, his attraction to quirky Amelia and his ability to banter/flirt with her on their date, despite his grief and anti-social tendencies). He must have been less anti-social before Nic’s death, and he is in a time period in which he has to “find himself” again. The arc of his transformation is caused by Maya and Amy’s entrances into his world. Ismay was less likeable, but she did grow on me as she settled in with Lambiase (who was a favorite in the story!)

Sarah answered: At first, they were not likable characters to me. I began to like them better as they grew as people and their personalities softened.

Rachel answered: Not always. They had rough exteriors, but characters like Maya and Officer Lambiase pulled out the best qualities in both characters. 

If you watched the movie, what are your thoughts about the two?

Amber answered: This movie actually followed the book pretty closely. Amelia’s movie character didn’t really meet my expectations based on the book. She was not as quirky, and bubbly and she did not dress the way Amelia does in the book. I thought Amelia’s appearance was an important part of her character that was missed in the movie. All the running scenes in the movie were too exaggerated for me as well. There is running in the book, but it didn’t seem as important to plot development as it seemed in the movie.

Sarah answered: I thought the movie followed the book very closely. The script, for a large part, was almost verbatim, which I liked. While I thought that, on the screen, it was a little Hallmarkified, and I felt like some of the actors gave stronger performances than others, I still enjoyed it overall.

Rachel answered: I watched the movie and enjoyed it. I don’t always do well visualizing a story while reading it, so I liked seeing it come to life. I also liked the casting for the main characters and how much of the script matched the book. 

Library Staff Book Club: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

For October’s staff book club meeting, members read the suspenseful thriller Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. The book begins ten years after the disappearance of 15-year-old Ellie Mack. Her mother, Laurel, is long divorced and estranged from her family as she still struggles to cope with the loss of her youngest daughter. But when she connects with Floyd, an attractive man with a young daughter named Poppy who looks eerily like Ellie, she begins to delve back into the mystery of how her daughter disappeared and where she could be now.

Book club members share their thoughts about the novel below…

Then She Was Gone is, first and foremost, a mystery. Yet many questions are answered quite early on in the book. How soon did you guess what really happened to Ellie, and if you did, did it affect your enjoyment of the book? 

Sarah Blevins, Circulation Associate, answered: I will be the first to admit that I’m not very good at figuring out plot twists. That being said, I guessed one of the biggest plot points relatively early. Knowing what happened earlier than I anticipated sort of made me enjoy the book less, since the main character, Laurel, was solving what we as the readers already knew.

Rachel Bloomingburg, Circulation Manager, answered: This book started off slow to me, and I didn’t really pick up on the clues. 

Sara Hand, Circulation/Serials Associate and Administrative Secretary, answered: While I did have a fairly good idea of what was going to happen early in the book, I was invested to see how everything would unfold. I was especially interested in finding out how Laurel would react when she found out the truth. The ending was more anticlimactic than I expected it to be, but I still thought it was a good novel with a realistic perspective of how a family heals after a devastating tragedy.

Amber Owrey, Instruction Librarian, answered: I think I kind of knew what happened to Ellie in the beginning but wasn’t totally sure of all the details. It was definitely a different way to write the book and not a typical mystery. However, I don’t read too many mystery novels, so I am not usually too great at guessing the ending anyway. I did still enjoy the book even though we were told many of the details at the beginning and then throughout the novel.

There are four different perspectives shown in the book, but only Noelle and Floyd’s narration are in first person. Why do you think the author chose to write their chapters in first person while Laurel and Ellie’s chapters are told through third person? What effect did this have on you as you read? 

Sarah Blevins answered: Reading Noelle and Floyd’s narration in first person made it a lot creepier to me, since we could see the innerworkings of their actions through their warped viewpoints. I wonder if it was the author’s intention to up the “creepiness factor.” If so, it worked.

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: It didn’t have much effect on me while I was reading, but I could see how Noelle and Floyd’s perspective being in first person could help us think about how we might have acted in their situations. I don’t think we would forgive what either one did, but I do think it helped garner some sympathy for them. 

Sara Hand answered: I think it was an excellent way for readers to understand how someone could get to a place of such desperation that they choose to commit an unthinkable crime. While Noelle was a very unlikeable character, her inner monologue about her past leading up to her present made it more believable as to how she could have decided to do what she did.

Amber Owrey answered: I truly did not notice this while I was reading, so I am not sure it had any effect on me as I read. However, I think possibly writing in first person for Noelle and Floyd helped personalize them more and increase the reader’s empathy towards them. It may also have given Laurel and Ellie more victim characteristics because things were happening to them that couldn’t be controlled. It probably also helped show similarities between Noelle and Floyd and then Laurel and Ellie.

What was your impression of Poppy when she is first introduced? Did this change over the course of the book, and if so, how?

Sarah Blevins answered: Honestly, I struggled with what I thought about Poppy. A lot of her mannerisms and dialogue throughout felt more like an adult than a kid, especially for a kid her age. However, given she’s an only child raised by a single parent, it’s possible she just wasn’t around kids her age very much and instead adopted adult mannerisms. 

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: Poppy was a unique character, and she is very different from many children I know. I don’t think my impression of her changed much, but it does make you think about how the environments we’re raised in can affect our actions. 

Sara Hand answered: My first thought was that she acted older than her age because I assumed she may have been held hostage by Floyd without her realization. He did not allow her to go outside often, and she had no friends her age. Floyd is smart, but also pompous, so it is not surprising that Poppy acted like him. By the end of the novel, she started acting more like a child because she was being exposed to more childlike activities.

Amber Owrey answered: I always felt bad for Poppy. She is somewhat pretentious for a child, but I think it really is indicative of her upbringing. Her dad is an academic and treats her like an adult, so she tends to act like one. However, she is still a child with childlike emotions and truly childlike understanding of the world. I think she becomes more childlike and maybe acts her age more as she spends more time with Laurel.

Did you think Lisa Jewell’s portrayal of Laurel and her journey was realistic? Could you relate to the way she dealt with her grief, or did you find it alienating? 

Sarah Blevins answered: Grief is a difficult thing. While I didn’t really relate to her grieving process, I’m sure others could. It made me sad that she drifted apart from her older children during her grief, so I really wish we were able to see Laurel rebuild relationships with her kids as part of her healing journey. It’s all implied, but I especially wanted to see a scene of reconciliation between Laurel and her older daughter, Hanna.

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: Grief is something that no two people will experience in the exact same way. I think in a situation like this, where so many questions were left unanswered, it made sense why her grief consumed her as much as it did. I think it was helpful to see how much grief can continue to affect a person’s life even years after a death occurs. 

Sara Hand answered: While I hope I am never in a situation like the one in the novel, I assume that most people would probably traverse grief in the same way Laurel did. If I were Laurel, I probably would have been more aggressive in finding out more about Poppy and why she looked like my daughter, but at that point she was probably tired of trying to find answers and meeting a dead end every time. She was trying to put the past behind her and find what little happiness she could under the circumstances.

Amber Owrey answered: I don’t know if I relate to how she dealt with her grief, but I did find it realistic. I think losing a child in the way she did would cause many different reactions. It is unfortunate for her children that she was so lost in her grief and stuck on Ellie being the golden child she lost. However, I do think this could happen to many parents and may even be the way Noelle’s parents reacted to the death of their child. Her behavior did alienate her from her family and friends, but I also think it was because maybe her grief wasn’t dealt with and that there was never closure for her. She became obsessed with figuring out what happened to the detriment of her other children and her marriage.

You can find Then She Was Gone in the Recreational Reading section of our library.

Library Staff Book Club: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

The library staff book club recently met to discuss two books. The ladies read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, while the men read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. This blog will focus on Project Hail Mary. If you want to read about Where the Crawdads Sing, you can read the blog here.

Project Hail Mary is a science fiction novel written by the same author who wrote The Martian. When Ryland Grace wakes up in a spaceship in the middle of outer space with two dead crewmates for company, he can’t remember who he is or what his mission is supposed to be. He soon discovers that he is responsible for saving the Earth and humanity from an extinction-level threat, and presumably he must do it alone.

Read what Micah and Darius thought about Project Hail Mary below.

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Did you read The Martian? How did Project Hail Mary compare to it? Which one did you enjoy more?

Darius Mullin, Evening Circulation Supervisor, answered: I have not read The Martian—yet. I have seen the movie though, which is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book from what I understand. Project Hail Mary employed a lot of the strengths of The Martian while having a plot that is very different. Although both main characters are attempting to survive alone in a scary situation, the main character of Project Hail Mary has a very different personality and background from The Martian’s Mark Watney. Micah might mention this too, but another difference is in The Martian, Watney is in a dire situation while the rest of humanity is safe. In Project Hail Mary, the main character is relatively safe while humanity as a whole is in eminent danger.

Micah Rhodes, Cataloging Associate, answered: I have read The Martian, but I actually watched the film first, which is quite good. To my surprise and delight, reading the book second did not alter or tarnish my appreciation for the film, which unfortunately is so often the case in the tricky world of page-to-screen adaptations. In fact, each medium served to enhance my experience of the other! Project Hail Mary does not (yet) have a screenplay, so reading the book without the corresponding visuals was a different experience from reading The Martian. It was a longer read with different plot tensions and structure, and I found that I enjoyed the narrative premise and the character relationships of Project Hail Mary more than in The Martian. To me, it seems as if Andy Weir built on the strong sci-fi genre foundations he developed in The Martian and managed to write a story with even higher stakes, cooler science, and deeper heart.

Would you recommend this book to people who do not typically read science fiction? Why or why not?

Darius Mullin answered: Yes! This feels like a very accessible science fiction plot, and there are lots of fascinating worldbuilding, mystery, and interpersonal aspects to the story as well. As far as the science itself goes—it is a very realistic sci-fi world, yet I never felt like the author was talking over my head, even with subjects like radiation shielding or quantum physics. At the same time, I have a biology degree, but never felt like the author was “talking down” to me either. I was really impressed with the way Andy Weir was able to strike that balance.

Micah Rhodes answered: Yes. The biggest hurdle to most sci-fi—the “sci”—is handled extremely well. Weir weaves real scientific concepts into the plot in a manner that is both accessible but intelligent. He doesn’t water anything down, but neither does he leave readers swamped in scientific jargon that has no discernible meaning. Concepts important to understanding the plot and stakes are established and explained well in advance and are relevant throughout the story. Tangential, flavorful, and complicated ideas and theories are referenced, but never require full comprehension to understand the plot and consequently never distract the reader from the important action. Ultimately, I think readers with a high school education will follow most of the science and have many, “oh, yeah, I remember learning something about that” moments like I did.

Another reason I recommend this book to anyone is the quality of the relationship between the two main characters. Their meeting, interactions, and respective character growths are so wholesome and relatable and the best surprise of this book. Weir’s expert use of science makes his fictional world believable, but the relationships between his characters made me care about it.

There are so many novels and movies about space. What is it about space that fascinates people around the world? 

Darius Mullin answered: What a big question! I’d imagine it’s different from person to person, but some combination of mystery, awe, challenge, beauty, wonder, and a God-given desire to explore and know Creation.  

Micah Rhodes answered: I think the reason space has been particularly intriguing to humankind in the past century is that we have made our own world small. The revolution of transportation and communication that began with industrialization in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries makes it seem like humanity has largely won control over our planet. We can travel to nearly anywhere on its surface within 24 hours, speak with people on the other side of the world almost instantaneously, and have nearly any material good we desire delivered to our homes with guaranteed 2-day shipping. Now, if we take a step back and really consider our place on Earth, we can realize how big the world still is and how little control we truly have over it. But that’s not our instinctual, daily posture anymore.

Without unpacking all the baggage that statement brings, I’d say one of the things we’ve lost is our sense of adventure, of exploring the unknown. With space, we have yet to create any sort of illusion of control. We cannot survive in the vacuum. We don’t have any means of the self-propulsion required to move in zero gravity. There’s nothing for us to eat or drink there. We don’t truly know what lies beyond our own atmosphere. We as a species used to have similar problems with travel, resources, and facing the unknown on Earth until we thought up ways to solve those problems, and now many of us don’t worry about them at all anymore. It’s both bold and frightening to think about facing those problems again. That’s why I think space and science fiction are attractive to so many people these days. Especially now that we’ve demonstrated the first set of solutions to those problems all within the last century.

You can find Project Hail Mary in the Recreational Reading section of the library.

Library Staff Book Club: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The library staff book club recently read two books. The ladies read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, while the men read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. In this blog, we will focus on Where the Crawdads Sing, a novel about Kya, better known as “The Marsh Girl.” Abandoned at a young age by her entire family, Kya has grown up as an outcast in the marshes of a North Carolina town. The story delves into her journey as she comes of age and falls in love, despite her lonely circumstances. When the golden boy of the small town, Chase Andrews, is found dead at the bottom of the fire tower, seemingly murdered, Kya becomes the number one suspect. Alternating between the present and the past, the novel includes romance, mystery, and many scientific facts about the ecological value of marshes and the wildlife within it.

The ladies of the library staff book club share their thoughts and opinions about the Where the Crawdads Sing below.

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What did you think of the writing style and dialect used throughout the novel? Did you enjoy the long, descriptive passages, or would you have preferred less of them? 

Sarah Blevins, Circulation Associate, answered: Personally, I’m not really a fan of dialect in writing. I overall managed to look past it, although I did have to read some parts of dialogue twice. Some descriptive passages felt more like nature texts than fiction in my opinion. Given the author’s background as a wildlife scientist, it made sense, but it did take me out of the story a little bit. 

Rachel Bloomingburg, Circulation Manager, answered: I was fine with the dialect used. I felt like it fit the setting and time period the characters were in. While they could be a little long, I liked the descriptive passages. It helped me better visualize the area and see the beauty in it. 

Sara Hand, Circulation Associate and Administrative Secretary, answered: At times the dialect used by the characters felt unnecessary to me. I don’t think most people who live in the south have such heavy dialects. However, I could overlook it for the most part. I have never been a fan of long, descriptive passages, so I mostly skimmed the parts describing all the scenery. Honestly, if we weren’t reading this novel for book club, I probably would not have taken the time to read it because of all the scenery descriptions.

Melissa Moore, Library Director, answered: I really liked this book. I found it very readable, and the descriptions were necessary for me to visualize the North Carolina marshes, as I didn’t have any life experience that was similar and they were so important to Kya—almost an extension of her or an outwardly visible part of her personality.

Amber Wessies, Instruction Librarian, answered: I didn’t mind the writing style or dialect. Although some of the nature passages were a bit long, I do think they helped me imagine where Kya was living and how she experienced the world. I think both the dialect and nature passages fit with Kya’s character and the novel overall.

Were you able to emotionally connect with the characters and believe in the relationship dynamics? Why or why not?

Sarah Blevins answered: I did. I was pretty invested in Kya’s story. I felt sorry for her, given all she goes through over the course of the book. I was invested to see what happens.

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: Maybe not all of them, but there were some like Jumpin’ and Mabel that added a lot to the story for me. Kya had been left alone and if she hadn’t had their care, I don’t know how well she would have survived.  They, along with Tate, helped me think about the importance of quality over quantity when it comes to relationships. 

Sara Hand answered: The romantic relationships never felt authentic to me. The dialogue between Kya and her two love interests (Tate and Chase) seemed awkward at times. But I did think Kya’s relationship dynamics with her family members, as well as Mabel and Jumpin’, felt well written and believable. I watched the movie version of Where the Crawdads Sing about six months ago, and I thought the characters in the movie were more fleshed out than in the book.

Melissa Moore answered: Yes. My heart grieved for Kya and her loneliness, her lack of family. I was disappointed in Tate too – that he waited years to come back, knowing what she had been through with her family, especially her mom and brother. I don’t know that he would have gotten the same reception from me if I were in her shoes!

Amber Wessies answered: I would say I connected with Kya but maybe not as much Chase and Tate. I wouldn’t necessarily say the romantic relationships were realistic, but I do think they reflect Kya’s character. I think she would have easily fallen in love with a man who always took care of her and showed an interest in her interests. And I think she could have easily been taken advantage of by a man who treated her well on the surface but was really just using her. Kya’s lack of interaction with other people throughout her life made it seem possible for both relationships to happen.

In an ideal world, what would have been the best intervention for Kya? If you were in the shoes of the social workers, how would you take care of her? 

Sarah Blevins answered: Honestly, it surprised me that the social workers tried once or twice and then gave up. I felt like they should have taken more action to place her in school or, at the least, make sure she was okay. Ideally, I think they should have tried harder to connect with her–she had been through a lot because of her family and deserved to grow up in an actual home.

Rachel Bloomingburg answered: It’s hard to envision leaving a child alone nowadays without care, but I don’t know how well she would have been accepted and taken care of in the time and place she was living in due to the prejudice they had towards her. The marsh was the place where she felt safe, and in the story, characters like Jumpin’ and Mabel took care of her as much as they could even though they didn’t live with her. For her situation, I think being able to stay in the marsh was the best thing for her. 

Sara Hand answered: I know Kya was quick and hard to catch, but it would have been nice if the social workers had occasionally left food or clothes on her doorstep. It seems like the least they could have done under the circumstances.

Melissa Moore answered: When she was young, she certainly needed help. I was so thankful for Jumpin’ and Mabel! I like to think that if I had been the social worker in charge of her case, I would have pursued her more diligently and tried to develop a relationship with her so she would trust me. I know nowadays that social workers have too many cases to do that sometimes, but I don’t think that was at play in the novel (set in the 1950s-1960s); I think the social workers fell for the local mentality that the Marsh Girl was loopy and to be avoided or mocked.

Amber Wessies answered: This is a difficult question; I do think Kya needed to be with adults. However, I am not convinced the adults in her town would have done right by her if she had become a ward of the state. I think in some ways the truancy officer and the store clerk cared about her but not enough to do anything drastic to help Kya. If this book had taken place in a different time period, I think Jumpin’ and his wife would have done more to take care of her. Ultimately, her life worked out fairly well and albeit more animalistic than other people’s. I don’t think it would have worked out this way in real life though.

You can find Where the Crawdads Sing in the Recreational Reading section of the library.

Library Staff Book Club: Dancing with the Enemy by Paul Glaser

Recently, the library staff book club met to discuss the biography Dancing with the Enemy by Paul Glaser. As an adult, Glaser went through a series of events that led him to discover that his family was of Jewish background, rather than Catholic like he had always been told. He was shocked to learn that his father and aunt had been one of the fortunate few Jewish citizens of the Netherlands to survive during World War II. As he learned more about his vivacious Aunt Rosie, a dance instructor who survived multiple concentration camps and even taught dance lessons to SS officers in Auschwitz, he knew he needed to write her story and share it with the world.     

Library staff members share their thoughts about Dancing with the Enemy below…

What were your thoughts and feelings about Rosie throughout the novel?

Amber Wessies, Instruction Librarian, answered: I thought Rosie was a bit selfish, but I think her behavior throughout the novel was the way she coped. Even before the war, there were many instances where I think she was doing whatever she could to survive. She didn’t always plan for the future and seemed to live in the present more. However, she did do some planning, so I think some of her more questionable behavior was a protection mechanism.

Melissa Moore, Library Director, answered: Honestly, I didn’t really like her. I just couldn’t connect with her, and that’s unusual for me in a book of this sort.

Micah Rhodes, Cataloging Associate, answered: I found Rosie to be a very engaging character to follow through the narrative of her life as a Dutch Jew before and during the second World War. Her passionate, charismatic, and impulsive approach to life was quite a different outlook from my own, and some of her decisions were so surprising I was left incredulous. For example, she regularly used various means to obscure her identity, even at one point bluffing her way into a German work camp to visit her father. I can’t imagine how she remained calm enough to willingly walk into such a camp without drawing suspicion. Her story was so captivating that I read the entire book in a single day!

Sara Hand, Circulation Associate and Administrative Secretary, answered: I was impressed by Rosie’s sheer optimism for life and the focused pursuit she displayed in getting what she wanted. I kept thinking that I would love to see her life depicted as a movie. She went through everything a Jewish person could experience during World War II and lived to tell her story. I kept thinking, “God really wanted her to live.” I was in awe of her survival.

Did you connect with the writing style? Why or why not?

Amber answered: I thought the writing style was fast paced which I enjoyed and I think fit well for Rosie’s personality. The writing was not like any other WWII novel I have read. I don’t think it downplayed the atrocities, but it was simply a different take. It didn’t seem as sad as other WWII novels.

Melissa answered: I did like the writing style. Knowing it was Glaser’s own account, and how it moved between Rosie’s story and his own, was interesting to me.

Micah answered: Rosie’s unique mentality also affected the way she coped with the horrors she witnessed in concentration camps like Auschwitz. In her memoirs, she remarks that she couldn’t let herself dwell on those terrible things she experienced because she knew it would cause her to break down. Thus, her description of such events is often stark, concise, and blunt. She also is keen to point out “kindnesses” that she received from people, even Germans in authority at the camps. This can cause her voice to seem rather callous or naive throughout the novel, and several of my colleagues mentioned that made it hard for them to find her relatable as a narrator. I agree, but as I already found her quite different (and less “relatable” in that sense) from myself, I wasn’t too bothered by this and instead mainly understood her style as the result of someone who survived by blocking traumatic experiences out. Healthy or not, it seemed she knew that as a person of passion, she would fall too deep into a well of emotion if she allowed herself to fully process what happened to her. Her method of survival was to keep moving forward, even while recounting the past.

Sara answered: The writing style seemed journalistic, and at times I would have liked to feel more emotion while reading. However, I was able to infer the feeling behind the words even if it was not stated. Since it is a biography, I knew it would not flow like a regular novel.

What do you think of Paul Glaser’s decision to write the biography, despite many in his family wanting him to remain silent?

Amber answered: I wonder if Paul had some similar personality traits to Rosie in that he needed to do what he needed to do. Also, I think in some ways it wasn’t the best idea for the family to hide their past although I do understand their reasons for doing so. Writing the book was probably Paul’s way of processing everything he discovered.

Melissa answered: I am glad he did. I believe all the stories related to the Holocaust need to be told and passed on, so no one forgets what a horror it was.

Micah answered: Glaser’s gradual discovery of his family’s history was just as interesting as learning about the history itself. This book brought to my attention many things I did not know about the Netherlands, the Jewish community, and the pre- and post-war experiences of Holocaust survivors. I understand the sentiment of Glaser’s family members; they probably never thought that their Jewish heritage would be used to attack them at such a scale, just as we think that something so terrible can’t possibly happen again. But because they were attacked in such a way, a perfectly logical response is to bury that heritage so deep that it can’t ever be taken advantage of again. I understand the sentiment, but I don’t agree with it. I am glad Glaser chose to write, edit, and publish the joint biography. It’s important to learn about history so that we can do our best to avoid replicating mistakes of the past. As an example, I don’t think all the Dutch people who betrayed their Jewish neighbors to the Germans knew the extent of the fate to which they had doomed their fellow countrymen. Additionally, Rosie’s story reveals in detail how the Dutch government failed to care for its citizens affected by the Holocaust. But by virtue of the hindsight we have today, we can clearly see how these actions led to the deep hurt, alienation, and nearly complete annihilation of the Dutch Jewish population. Because Paul Glaser chose to publicly tell his family’s story, we can and should use this hindsight to avoid, identify, and stop similar movements we see today before history repeats itself.

Sara answered: At first I felt shocked that any in his family would try to stop him from telling such an important story, but then again, I never realized how much of a ripple effect the holocaust had even fifty years after it occurred. It makes sense that his family would be apprehensive about the consequences of publishing the book and it makes me wonder how many other people have published stories about the holocaust against their family’s wishes.

Are there any other thoughts about the biography you would like to share?

Amber answered: I had read Corrie Ten Boom’s autobiography, The Hiding Place, right before reading this biography and I was really struck by the ways faith affected both women so differently. Reading both novels made me more aware and grateful for my faith and the knowledge that God is sovereign.

Micah answered: I’m glad this book was our club’s choice this time! It definitely pushed me outside of my normal reading circles, and I certainly learned a lot.

Sara answered: I appreciated the very different perspective this biography offered in describing the horrors of the holocaust and the after-effects of World War II. It’s a book that I will remember for years to come.

You can find Dancing with the Enemy in the D section of our main stacks.