Hi. How is everyone doing? March is going by quickly. It’s officially spring now, Yay! Over the weekend we went to a large restored wetland area called Frank Lake, which is a protected habitat in southwestern Alberta to hundreds of species of birds (mostly waterfowl) about a half hour from our house. Most of the lake is covered over with snow right now and the area is flat for miles out on the prairie.
I should have taken a picture (next time!), but there was not much to see at this point except a large flat area covered with snow. Most of the birds will arrive and nest in the next couple of months. So we will be back to see the trumpeter swans among other birds and the wide variety of ducks. A path runs adjacent to the lake for a mile or so out to a viewing blind, where I saw this waterfowl chart. Before April 1, you’re allowed to walk your dog on the path so our two Labs enjoyed the fresh air with us. I mention all this since I know a few of you are more serious birders and might appreciate Frank Lake.
And now I’ll leave you with reviews of a couple novels I finished lately.
Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls / Scribner / 368 pages / March 28, 2023
I was expecting a lot after loving the author’s 2005 memoir The Glass Castle and I liked the main character Sally Kincaid quite a bit — along with the the plot’s historical bootlegging aspects, though the storyline got a bit over-the-top for me in places.
Synopsis: Sally grows up in a powerful and well-to-do family at the turn of the century with her father, the Duke, who’s running the Emporium store and the town in rural Claiborne County, Virginia. Her mother has died and her stepmother doesn’t like her and thinks she’s too adventurous and dangerous for their young son Eddie. So young Sally is cast out early on to live with an aunt in the mountains for nine years. When she finally returns, Sally goes through a tumultuous period with various family deaths and those power-hungry in charge running the town into the ground.
Then her pious half-sister Mary and brother-in-law try to rid the town of its whiskey-making in adherence to Prohibition, but that only makes matters worse. Violence breaks out and people and the town hit hard times. Finally through happenstance, Sally becomes in charge of the family empire and starts to lead the town back through bootlegging. She becomes “the Queen of the Rumrunners” with a posse by her side, but she must battle the rival Bond Brothers who are at odds with her family over long-ago lost land.
My Thoughts: I liked how in the Acknowledgments author Jeannette Walls mentions that the novel was inspired by a female bootlegger in Virginia who piloted liquor caravans down from the mountains. It’s a fascinating, fractious era, which the novel bears out and evokes in good measure. And Sally Kincaid is a strong, independent likable character in the novel — who tries to right wrongs within her family and the town and find romantic love with the good-looking Lieutenant Rawley, but all her family relations almost derail her. Her father’s marriages include four wives and secret liaisons and kids. And it seems there’s enough cheating, inbreeding, and secrets to go around in the family to last a lifetime. It’s a bit of a soap opera that would make J.R. Ewing of the show Dallas proud. This plot distills whiskey and a whole lot more.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster Canada for giving me an advance copy to read and review.
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow / Dial Press / 272 pages / 2022
I was taken with the storytelling of this novel set in Memphis about multiple generations of a Black family. The perseverance of the women in this family after each suffers trauma and tragedy is quite moving and alluring. There’s grandma Hazel’s story (in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s) and her husband Myron’s building of their home in Memphis; and later their daughters August, who lives in their home in the 1990s with her son Derek, and Miriam, who flees her violent husband and comes to live with August and Derek with her two young daughters Joan and Mya.
But there’s something disturbing that once happened between August’s son Derek and Miriam’s daughter Joan that is revealed early on. Much more about each of their lives becomes revealed as the narrative goes back and forth in time over decades among Hazel, Miriam, August, and young Joan. I found Joan’s narrative to be particularly enticing as she begins to find her way out of what happened through her portrait paintings, which show promise of taking her to a notable art school.
Sometimes it gets a bit confusing listening to the audiobook switching often between the different time periods and narrators, though they are clearly labeled at the start of each chapter. And while the plot lines might have a hole or two, the storytelling I found as enticing as the butter pecan ice cream they enjoy eating. The story entails some violence in the city of Memphis over the years, but it also sings the city’s Southern beauty and praises. This is a notable debut novel and I will look for whatever Tara Stringfellow puts out next.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read these and what did you think?
I grew up near Memphis and have always loved the city, warts and all, so I’m adding Stringfellow’s book to my TBR list.
Great Dorothy, I didn’t realize you grew up there. I think you would probably like the novel. I found the storytelling quite compelling and the city plays a bit of a role. Have a great week.
Frank Lake sounds like a wonderful area. I look forward to seeing photos from there in the future, if you go there again.
Good to hear you enjoyed Memphis. Not sure, whether to pick it up. I agree it can be confusing listening to the audiobook, when you jump around between narrators and time periods.
I just started Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Not sure what to make of it just yet, but I can definitely sense Dickens’ storytelling behind the novel, even if I haven’t read David Copperfield.
Hi Stargazer, I’m glad to hear you are reading the Kingsolver novel — as my book club picked it for our May discussion and I need to start it sometime. You can tell me if it’s any good. I’m not sure whether to read the print version or to combo it with the audio. Since it’s long, it’ll take me forever.
The Memphis novel jumps around a bit in time & character so you have to be on your toes a bit. And I kick myself for not taking a photo of the Frank Lake area, though you’ll be able to see more once the snow melts. We’ll be back.
Have a great week.
Oooh, I’d love to see the trumpeter swans! We are planning an RV road trip with another couple and will be traveling through Alberta in June. We’re still working on reservations (tomorrow we log on to the parks’ reservation system at 7 am, attempting to get sites in Banff and Silverhorn Creek – along with thousands of other campers!), but it should be a fun trip.
I’m not sure Hang the Moon is for me, but Memphis sounds interesting. I’ll make a note to look for it in print rather than audio.
Hi Lesley, June is a very pretty time to be in the Canadian Rockies around Banff and Lake Louise and before the crowds of July and August. I hope you get through the parks reservation system. We have spent time in Banff for a couple years around our June 12 anniversary and it’s always been gorgeous. With the new house, we will likely be working on that this time. Your trip sounds great! Lots to see & do in the mountains.
The Memphis novel is still pretty good on audio despite the back & forth time frame, the woman who reads it seems to have a convincing voice for it.
ps. the trumpeter swans are really neat to see. Can’t wait for them to return.
Frank’s Lake sounds like a great birding place. Here in Utah I like to go to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge every spring and see the avocets and stilts and ibises and other migrating birds. They usually start coming sometime in April. 😀
Hi Lark, that’s great. It’s interesting to hear about these refuges and the various birds. I can’t wait to go back in April and see how many birds are at Frank Lake. Keep us posted if you go this year to the refuge there.
Wow. Both of these novels sound really good!
Yeah Helen – they’re worth thinking about. Happy spring reading!
Frank Lake sounds amazing. I would love to visit some day! I’m not a big birder but I do love watching them without knowing anything about them. I look forward to future pics!
I also loved Glass Castle but didn’t like her follow-up quite as much but reading her fiction sounds intriguing. I’ll have to check it out. Memphis has been on my list for awhile. Sometimes too many voices on an audiobook can be really confusing. I’m reading one like that right now.
Hi Heather, nice hearing from you. I’m not a big birder either, but I’m getting a little more into seeing the various birds and I will need to go back to Frank Lake. The Glass Castle blew me away, but her fiction seems a bit less, though still worthwhile. Just not GC level. And Memphis is worth checking out too — a family of women perseveres type of novel. Nice storytelling.
Hope you are well — has your snow gone yet? We are starting to melt here but still a lot left. Happy spring.
Spring means birds for us, too. We are eagerly watching for the birds arriving from Central and South America in spring. The birds fly over the Gulf of Mexico in one long trip and they often stop in Galveston and Quintana Beach near us to refuel.
I have been very curious about both of these books, Memphis and Hang the Moon. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about them, Susan. I may give them both a try.
Hi Deb, it’s neat how many birds you get there stopping to refuel. You seem to get a wide variety. We will see more later about which birds will be at Frank Lake. Mostly ducks I think … but the swans are always cool to see.
I was glad to read both of these, both checked off my list now. Have a happy weekend!
Frank Lake will be getting very busy as the birds arrive. Would love to see photos, especially of the trumpeter swans. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the increasing number of shorebirds we’re seeing … there weren’t many around after the hurricane.
I’d been wondering about Hang the Moon, but am not in a huge hurry to get to it. Tara Stringfellow’s writing and storytelling really impressed me when I read it last summer. Gave it 4 stars at the time, but it still stands out in my mind so probably deserves 4.5. It was a read/listen combo and I remember being happy to have the print copy to double check on the time period and narrator. I hope she’s working on another novel!
Yeah I agree JoAnn. Stringfellow’s writing was well done. I look forward to her next one. Hang the Moon was good as a whole but just a tad too much family mixing.
I’m glad you’re seeing shorebirds come back. I heard an owl last night at our farm place and now I hope to see it sometime. I like owls! I will try to get pics of the trumpeter swans when they return. Enjoy your weekend.
I’ll be waiting for the pictures of the lake and surrounding bird refuge area. Lucky you! Both books sound good. I’m glad you liked them, though I can see how switching eras and narrators can be confusing on audio; that’s one of the reasons I’ve never decided to go ahead with audiobooks. I finished Trust by Hernan Diaz this week. I gave it 4.5*. Now I’m reading Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley, which was shortlisted for the Booker last year; I have tried to read it before without success, hopefully this time is the charm.
Thanks for the update Carmen. Your reading is going well. I think I tried the Trust novel a year or so ago then put it down but I need to try again. The structure of it sounds neat. I’ll be interested to hear what you think of Nightcrawling. Pretty tough story I hear. Much to read but I got a light one right now Susanna Hoffs debut This Bird Has Flown. It just seems fun so far.
Hopefully I’ll get more bird pics later. Have a nice weekend there. We still have much snow on the ground but spring is coming. Cheers.
Trust is not a novel to read like brain candy, it pays off to pay close attention to it. Unfortunately so many reviews have given out key spoilers. I’m glad that I read it without reading those, because I made the findings and connections on my own, and it felt very rewarding. 🙂 I recommend you do the same. I think you would like it.
Good to know Carmen. Yeah I haven’t read the spoilers so I’m open to it. All I know is that it’s told from different perspectives that move the story along. You’ve made me interested to get back to it. thanks!
Frank Lake sounds beautiful and I wish you a great birding experience when you return later in the spring. Memphis sounds like a novel I would like to check out It ‘s well written, interesting characters and with generational novels you get to see ehow history unfolds and how it impacts the characters.
Hi Kathy, thanks, I feel fortunate that Frank Lake is not far from here. Much to see soon with all the arriving birds. And yes I think you would like Memphis. I was impressed by the writing and I think the author was a poet first, which makes sense to me. The generational tale with the women characters makes it quite interesting. I guess it is on the long list for the Women’s Prize for fiction and I hope it makes the short list. Have a great weekend.
We’re seeing a few birds now that spring is near. We also live near Lake Erie and go birdwatching for warblers migrating near Mother’s Day in the swampy areas of the lake.
Sounds great Harvee. Your area must be full of good birdwatching come May. We enjoyed driving around Lake Erie years ago. Wonderful.
Can’t wait to see photos next time! I love hearing the birds in the springtime and I keep thinking how great it would be to get to know more about them. One day maybe I’ll get into birding! Really curious about the Memphis novel. I think I’d really enjoy it with all the family dynamics. Hope you are doing well!
Hi Iliana, thanks. All is well here. We can’t wait for spring. Still having snowflakes here today. I hope you are getting lots of birds there and spring flowers. I think you would like the novel Memphis. A good generational story well told. Enjoy your week.
I’m looking forward to your bird photos! Bird enthusiasts are pretty intense. The lake where I work has 300 different bird species, and last summer, there were traffic jams because of people looking at rare pelicans. People drove for hours to sit in traffic while looking at pelicans.
Hi AJ, wow who would’ve guessed rare pelicans in Colorado. Interesting too about how many bird species you get at the lake, Wow. Birders can be pretty intense. I’m not a birder yet – LoL but I like to see birds, especially the trumpeter swans and owls. I’m a bit of an owl freak but they are elusive to see. I sometimes hear them in the middle of the night. Have a great week.
I love that poster! I’m going birding tomorrow to Barr Lake in CO–would love to visit Alberta and Frank Lake.
Memphis appeals to me–may give it a shot. I like multigenerational stories and the South is always interesting to read about.
Hi Jane, it’s awesome that you’re headed out birding. I hope you report on what you see at Barr Lake. We’re still waiting for more birds to return here. Still snow on the ground but in a couple weeks I think it we’ll see more flying. May is a good time to visit southern Alberta.
I think Memphis impressed me … and you might like it. Have a great week.