Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

Nathaniel’s Nutmeg is the incredibly true story of the spice trade, and what a story it is! In those days, people started to get the idea that nutmeg was the overall “miracle cure” for any and every ailment. The only problem was that nutmeg, and many other useful spices, could only be found in a small part of the world known as the Banda Islands. Everybody wanted control over the small collection of islands: the English, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, etc. Having control over the islands was important as it kept the spice trade as a monopoly and made sure that the merchants could make a large profit from selling their spices.

Despite the fact that almost every nation tried to gain control, this book only focused on the English and the Dutch adventures in the Banda Islands. Basically, the English had already claimed a few of the islands for themselves, setting up warehouses and keeping “factors” on the island to fill up these warehouses with spices, when the Dutch entered the “spice race.” The Dutch began to do everything they could to overthrow British control, even going as far as massacring English merchants, while the English desperately tried to hold onto their control. Wars broke out between them, with all attempts at compromises ignored. Each side also had to deal with unpredictable and shifting winds, tropical diseases, and the native population at the same time. It was an intense rivalry, where only one nation could come out on top and gain control over the Banda Islands.

This book was one of the only nonfiction books I enjoyed reading. It was not like reading a dry history textbook, so it kept my attention. The only problem I have with the book was the title. It is misleading. It was not just about Nathaniel Courthope, but about the spice trade in general, including various unsuccessful attempts at finding the North-West and the North-East Passages. Courthope himself was not even mentioned until midway through the book. Even though he put up a valiant fight against the Dutch (read book for details), he did not do much to change the course of history. The author never clearly stated his point regarding Courthope, especially since he was never even the main focus, and there were other players on both sides who were equally as important. I think this book should have been called “The Spice Wars” instead. It was still interesting, and I am glad I stumbled upon the book.

Availability: SMCM
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Must Read

When I picked out Little Dorrit from the library, I did not expect to enjoy this book at all. I wanted to read more novels by Charles Dickens, and this was the only book they had available at the time. It turns out that it was really interesting to read, though parts of the novel were dry. The only problem was that it was long, very, very long. But, if you could get past the length, you might find that you enjoyed this novel as much as I did.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Recommended with Reservations

I reread this book, just recently, after reading A Dance with Dragons. I read a great deal of fantasy when I was younger although Martin’s the last author fantasy author I still read. Time magazine called George R.R. Martin the American Tolkien; his books possess a gritty, dark tone at odds with high fantasy. Martin is also adept at portraying the way past events can take hold of people, families, and indeed entire kingdoms. A Game of Thrones is precisely that; a story of four noble families, and their retainers, fighting for a throne. Martin’s settings, Kingslanding, Storm’s End, Pyke, Winterfell etc., are also imaginative and memorable.

Although, even in the final chapters of A Game of Thrones when the fate of the seven kingdoms is on the rocks I was more concerned with the fate of Ned Stark’s tomboy daughter Arya and his bastard son Jon. Martin’s books appeal to readers of every age because they are about family. Lastly, I saw the pilot for the HBO series and it’s a mediocre adaptation of Martin’s novel; the book outshines the series. I highly recommend A Game of Thrones and its sequels.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Read Ken Benjes’ review and Jordan Gaines’ review of A Game of Thrones.

Hard Times was another required read for school that I never actually read, but decided to give it another chance. I actually enjoyed reading this book, and found it to be interesting. It is about a man named Gradgrind, who raises his family to think that FACTS are the only things important to life. Anything that does not make literal sense (such as putting wallpaper up that has horses on it because you cannot literally wallpaper a room with horses), is forbidden. The oldest of his children, Tom and Louisa, know deep down there is more to life than FACTS, but dare not to try and change anything. That is, until Sissy Jupe enters the family household. The daughter of a traveling circus performer, she is abandoned to by her father and becomes Gradgrind’s latest charity case. He believes that he could show her the importance of FACTS. Unfortunately, Gradgrind’s carefully constructed world begins to fall apart until all the characters realize there is more to live than just adhering to FACTS.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Recommended

I discovered this anthology after reading Hills like White Elephants in a 200 level Lit Course. Men Without Women contains a number of bleak, gritty short stories. “The Undefeated” is a character study of a fatalistically courageous bullfighter; an athlete who has passed his prime. Hemingway’s bullfighter, Manuel Garcia, is the polar opposite of Hemingway’s repentant coward: Francis Macomber. “In Another Country” relates an unnamed protagonist’s convalescence in an Italian hospital and the strange amalgamation of camaraderie and enmity between the American protagonist and his Italian comrades.

The best story in the collection is “Now I Lay Me.” In “Now I Lay Me” Hemingway’s protagonist is a soldier, suffering from PTSD, who believes his soul will slip from his body if he sleeps. I highly recommend Men Without Women, particularly the stories “In Another Country,” “Hills Like White Elephant,” “The Undefeated”, and “Fifty Grand.”

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Read Marissa Parlock’s review of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

The Reader is significant in so many ways: it is a parable, social commentary, and a love story. The Reader reminds me of a quote by Ali “There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance.” In Schlink’s novel, a young man named Michael Berg contracts a bad case of Hepatitis. Berg becomes sick on the way home from school and is assisted by a beautiful woman. Months later Michael recovers and falls in love with the woman, Hanna. Michael’s first relationship shapes a great deal of his life.

The Reader is a thought provoking, moving, and disquieting novel, originally published in German. As is often the case, the book outshines the film. Schlink’s novel conveys many episodes in Michael Berg’s adolescence, particularly the depth and breadth of his involvement in the Holocaust seminar. Whereas many of such details are omitted from the film; also of particular significance is the list of writers Hanna reads later in life. I highly recommend The Reader; also I highly recommend reading Schlink’s novel before seeing the film; although the film is very good too. The Reader is probably the best most moving and disquieting piece of Holocaust literature I have read, since Schindler’s Ark.

Read Jordan Gaines’ review of The Reader.

Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Yes, this is the book about the rabbits. But, it is better than it sounds, really. It is an epic tale, in which a bunch of rabbits escape certain destruction of their home and embark on an adventure to find a new one. The rabbits were living peacefully in their warren (like a collection of rabbit holes), when one of the rabbits, Fiver, gets a premonition that the entire warren is in danger. So, he goes with his brother, Hazel, to the head rabbit to warn him and organize an evacuation. Because they are both considered outcasts, as they are small and are not part of the warrior league known as the Owsla, they are not taken seriously and dismissed. Fiver insists something is going to happen, so he and Hazel make plans to leave that night. They are joined by other rabbits, mostly outcasts, but a few members of the Owsla looking for some adventure. They then set off to found their own warren, encountering dangers along the way, such as a 1984-esque warren led by the ruthless and bloodthirsty General Woundwort and countless elil (any animal they consider an enemy). But, what I really enjoyed was how the author gave the rabbits a culture, complete with their own language and belief-system. Overall, It is a great, well-written novel that I highly recommend everyone read.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Highly Recommended

Teacher Man is Frank McCourt’s final memoir, the story of a man who spent thirty years teaching English in four New York public high schools. McCourt also taught high school ESL classes and spent a year teaching community college. Teacher Man possesses a loose structure of chapters comprised of anecdotes: recollections of classes, students, and the unique problems teachers face. The structure is a bit haphazard although it works. McCourt’s voice is conversational, affable, lyrical, irreverent, and matter-of-fact. The structure and McCourt’s voice both follow the function of his memoir. What is the function? To humor and inform; in some ways Teacher Man is also a how-to guide for aspiring teachers.

McCourt arrives at Mckee Vocational and Technical High School in the fifties and discovers he’s way over his head. Thirty years later students and parents at Stuyvesant High School are literally begging for admittance to his overbooked creative writing courses. Teacher Man, McCourt’s last memoir, is somber, heartbreaking, heartwarming, sharp, and inspiring; it’s unfortunate that McCourt only wrote three memoirs.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Must Read

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, was one of those required reads in high school that I never actually read and got away with only reading the first few chapters. I decided to give it another try and actually complete it. I did not particularly care for the book, as I found it to be exceedingly dull and uneventful. There was no character development or any description of any kind, even of their surroundings. I also detested each and every character. They were all shallow, snobby, and spoiled. All they ever really did was drink until they got drunk, watched bull-fights, and talked about nothing more than their hatred for Robert Cohn or how drunk they were at the time. The one thing I commend Hemingway on is capturing the very essence of the Lost Generation, which every character was a “member” of. I would not recommend this book to anyone to read, which is a shame since it was considered to be one of Hemingway’s best novels.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Not Recommended

This is the story of Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan Pevensie and Narnia’s eternal winter. The Pevensie children are evacuated to rural England during the Blitz and Lucy Pevensie discovers a gateway to a fantastical realm, Narnia, in their caretaker’s wardrobe. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe overflows with magic and biblical allegory. C.S. Lewis describes a child’s perceptions of the world in a manner that makes adult readers recall childhood.

George R.R. Martin said “[revisiting] old stories is like [revisiting] old friends.” My sister read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to me when I was six; I read it to one of my nieces over the summer and she loved it. Lewis’s novel set a high bar for future children’s and fantasy authors. If at all possible obtain a copy with the illustrations by Pauline Baynes; her illustrations immerse young readers in Narnia.

Availability: SMCM
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended