This week, we feature a history of the Battle of Midway, Mark Twain’s tribute to a saint, and a children’s story on the serenity of a snowfall.
Fiction A World War II Love Story
‘Everyone Brave Is Forgiven’
By Chris Cleave
Cleave weaves a fascinating love story full of passion and betrayal into the backdrop of London at war with Germany. Using historical records, as well as his grandparents’ love letters, Cleave recreates a chaotic world where love and victory seem out of reach.
Simon & Schuster, 2017, 448 pages An Affirmation of America
‘October Light’
By John Gardner
Originally published during the Bicentennial, this novel takes us to Vermont, where we meet James Page, age 72, hard-headed and hard-hearted, and his stubborn sister Sally, 80, who shares his house but not his values. During their uncivil war, Sally holes up in her bedroom and reads a “trashy novel” that stands in stark contrast to real life. The many references to the American past, the hilarious battles between James and Sally, and a finale of redemption mark this as one of Gardner’s finest books….