Cavendish Library Blog

The Bridge at Andau by James A. Michener

Random House, 1957  270 pages.  Call Number: 943.91 Mic

Like most girls, I had a close relationship with my father, Simon Boros, who died of complications from diabetes in 1995 when I was 26 years old. All girls think their father is special, I knew he was.  I’m not saying he was perfect, far from it.  He was born in Hungary in 1928, and was deeply involved in the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and had to flee for his life.  The Soviets punished his family due to his involvement.  He never really talked about it, but we knew he was sad on Holidays.

When I was little, he was interviewed by our local paper “The Burlington Free Press” on the Fourth of July, bicentennial edition about his escape, but that was all I knew about it for quite a while.  In 1993, once the Berlin Wall fell, and he was able to go back to Hungary to see his family for the first time in decades, I went with him and he finally told me about what happened to him.  I also found out that he had been interviewed by James Michener for his book on the revolution “The Bridge at Andau”.

Fast forward fifteen years and I was working at my current job as the Library Director for the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library and chatting with a patron over the circulation desk.  The patron was Austrian and we were talking about the 1956 revolution and my father’s part in it and I mentioned the book.  I thought no more of it.

Just two days ago, this same patron came to the library and presented me with a copy of  “The Bridge at Andau” and asked that it be put in the library in the name of my father and those who fought in that failed revolution.

Well, I took the book home last night and reread it. I know the parts that my father was in, and those that he wasn’t and was again struck by a few things: the 1956 revolution was not a total failure.  It was the beginning of the end of the USSR.  It showed the Soviets to the world for what they were, and it allowed some people, like my father, to come to a country where things were better.  It also reminds me how lucky we are.  Yes, we are in an economic downturn.  Things are a little tough, but we still have freedom to draw on. And, if we work hard, things will get better.

“The Bridge at Andau” is available for check out at the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library.

Book Review: Last Dinner on the Titanic

By Rich Archbold and Dana McCauley

Hyperion Press, 1997

I fell in love with the RMS Titanic when I was about ten years old.  I remember my librarian recommending Walter Lord’s Book A Night to Remember when I was in fifth grade.  I have never looked back.  During those years I remember being excited when Robert Ballard found the wreck in 1985 and have read everything I could get my hands on about her no matter how bizarre, from books on people who sailed on her to books on the dogs that were on her. 

I stumbled across this book, and while it is not a definitive book on Titanic, and not one I would recommend for someone who wants to know the forensic facts of the sinking, it is an interesting read.

Last Dinner on the Titanic includes menus and recipes of foods that were served on the doomed liner arranged by class and by restaurant. (Like the liners of her day, not only did Titanic have a first, second and third class dining room, it had a Ritz restaurant run as a branch of the Ritz-Carlton restaurants in England and France as well as several places on the ship where one could get snacks and drinks throughout the day).

The food is stunning in its excess and variety.  First class diners in 1912 would think nothing of eating a twelve course dinner including such foods as Filet Mignon, lobster, truffles and foie gras with each course paired with a wine.  Second class diners had food more like Thanksgiving Dinner.  Third class food was simpler still.

Interwoven through these menus and recipes are vignettes about Edwardian Society, what the restaurants on Titanic were like and lovely period photos and reproductions of menus, as well as tips for hosting a Titanic dinner party.

I confess I have tried my hand at cooking some of these dishes (not foie gras!) and have enjoyed the results.

If you like to cook good food and feel adventurous, I recommend you check out this book, but beware! Don’t read it when you are hungry.

After seeing the hype about the movie, I finally decided to sit down and read Alan Moore’s graphic novel Watchmen.  I am no stranger to either graphic novels (kind of big comic books) or Alan Moore, having enjoyed his work in such titles as V for Vendetta  and Saga of the Swamp Thing.

The story of Watchmen is compelling. It is 1985 and an alternate reality.  The cold war is going strong and it looks as though World War III could happen any moment and Richard Nixon is in his third or fourth term as President.  Someone is killing or trying to get rid of a group of retired superheroes. The surviving members are coming together to try and find out who is doing it and why.  The book shows their story in flashbacks and what looks like supplemental material while the mystery is unraveling.

Originally published in the 1980’s, the story has aged rather well, helped by the fact that it is a period piece. Though the story is not as revolutionary and shocking as it is when it was first published, the heroes are portrayed warts and all, or in this case, with some nudity.  There is an abundance of blood and death.  Probably the coolest thing about this story is a subplot and the way it intertwines with the main story.  In a continuing subplot, a supporting character is reading a horror comic book, reminiscent of a 1950’s EC comic book.  Various frames are shown from the story, and the narration and dialogue of the piece is shown over the action in the main story.

Overall, the story is well written, well paced and engaging.  It is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read.  If I have one complaint, it is that the art is good, but doesn’t live up to the quality of the writing.  I highly recommend reading this book.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, 528 Pages  St. Martins Press 2009

Get out your hankie’s folks, this one’s a real chick flick, eye wiping, girl book.  Firefly Lane is the story of two best friends, who meet as teenagers in the 1970’s in Seattle.  Tully is poor, with a drug addict mother, but living with her grandmother.  Kate is a middle class girl living with her family in the suburbs.  They meet and become friends, bonding over a horrible incident. They are separated and live apart, until Tully’s grandmother dies and she eventually lives with Kate’s family.  Kate and Tully are very different.  Tully is destined for the spotlight and Kate is smaller ambitions, including a home and family.   Like I said, it’s a lot like Beaches.

Tully becomes successful in broadcast media.  Kate starts a family and becomes a stay at home mother.  The two fight, fume make up and stay friends, until disaster strikes.

I enjoyed this book.  The characters of Tully and Kate were well done, and even though some elements of this book were predictable, Hannah more than makes up for it with her gift of writing friendships.  When I finished the book, after I blew my nose, the first thing I did was pick up the phone and call MY best friend and tell her she has to read it.

If I recommend it to her, you can bet I recommend it to you, and your best friend.