historical fiction

Homegoing + African Yam and Peanut Soup

July 19, 2018 by Megan 1 Comment

My book club recently selected Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, a book that was selected in one of my other book clubs last year. It’s a book that’s gotten a lot of attention and praise since its release, and though it has an appealing premise, I’ve not felt compelled to read it -- until now. I didn’t read it last time, but I knew I couldn’t neglect it again. I dove right in and didn’t look back.

Gyasi’s sweeping novel is about two half-sisters separated at birth and their descendants. Effia and Esi are born in different villages in eighteenth century Ghana. They share the same mother but have different fathers and very different upbringings. Effia marries an Englishman and lives her life in a castle on the African country’s coast. Esi, however, is sold into slavery, passing through the castle’s dungeons on her way to America. Each chapter following their own focuses on an immediate descendent for generation after generation.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane + Scallion Pancakes

June 16, 2018 by Megan 3 Comments

Lisa See’s historical fiction novel The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is a family saga that begins in a remote mountain village in China in the late 1980s. Life there revolves around tradition and tea farming, until a stranger arrives, bringing a glimpse into the modern world -- and a proposal that will transform all of their lives.

Interspersed with Li-Yan’s story, as she struggles against the traditions of her village and family but fully embraces the rituals and importance of tea in their culture, is the story of a young girl growing up in Los Angeles, searching for a key to her past. The story is full of heart, and the plot full of coincidence. Some of the village’s traditions were a bit hard to stomach, but I think Li-Yan’s personal rebellion against them made her more relatable, at least to me.

The Taster + German Apple Cake

March 3, 2018 by Megan Leave a Comment

I first learned of V.S Alexander’s historical fiction novel The Taster on Facebook when my library included a picture of it as part of their “New Book Tuesday” post a few weeks ago. The title caught my eye (no surprise there), and after reading the blurb describing a woman who finds herself in service to Hitler as his food taster, I requested a copy.

In 1943, Magda Ritter is a young German woman, expected to work in support of the Reich or do her part to produce healthy German babies. Her parents send her out of Berlin to safety, where she must apply for a role in the civil service. Because of her loyal aunt and uncle’s connections, she is given a position of privilege working at Berghof, Hitler’s mountain retreat. Magda comes to learn she will be one of fifteen women who must taste his food before he is served, ensuring he won’t die of poison - though she could if she isn’t vigilant.

Snow Falling on Cedars + Salmon with Strawberry Salsa

February 24, 2018 by Megan Leave a Comment

Do you ever choose a book based on your location or season? I’m not generally one to choose a book based on the time of year, though I’ll admit it can be quite nice to read a book about Christmas in December, and sometimes it feels like a disconnect to read about snow in the heat of summer. David Guterson’s novel Snow Falling on Cedars was a recent book club pick, and it was added to the list quite honestly because it had a title that sounded like it would make for a nice winter read.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story - which was published nearly 25 years ago now - Snow Falling on Cedars revolves around a murder case on a fictional island in Puget Sound. In 1954, a Japanese American man named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with the murder of fellow salmon fisherman Carl Heine, who drowned under suspicious circumstances. The island was never exactly an inclusive paradise, but many families on the island were Japanese and were for the most part accepted - at least until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Needless to say, with the war less than a decade out, the murder case renews racial tensions on the island.

Guest Post: Jane of Lantern Hill + Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

February 22, 2018 by Megan 4 Comments

Hello! My name's Elsie, and I'm visiting from the Tea and Ink Society. The Society is where I share book lists and literary musings with a bent towards the classics. I also love to play in the kitchen, so I was excited for Megan's invitation to share a literary recipe with you all!

For this post I chose to make a classic, old-fashioned potato salad recipe to go along with L. M. Montgomery's 1937 novel Jane of Lantern Hill.

One of the things people love and remember most about the novels of L. M. Montgomery are her evocative descriptions of nature and the pastoral world of Prince Edward Island. Over the past two years I've immersed myself in this world again, going on a spree of reads and re-reads as I traverse the Island and the early decades of the 1900s with each heroine. Like many fans, I'm captivated by the Island's natural beauty, of course, but this time I'm also noticing the food.

The Secret Life of Bees + Banana Cream Pie

January 27, 2018 by Megan 2 Comments

I always appreciate a book where you can immediately fall into it and remain completely immersed to the end - part of the joy of reading, for me, is leaving your own world/viewpoint/experiences and hanging out in someone else’s for a while. The powerful storytelling in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees did that for me.

During a hot South Carolina summer in 1964, Lily Owens is about to turn 14. Propelled by a fuzzy recollection of the day her mother died and desperate to know more, she sets off on a haphazard journey from home with Rosaleen, a black woman who has become her stand-in mother. Their immediate safety may be Rosaleen’s driving force, but Lily’s search for clues about her mother’s existence brings them to Tiburon.