The Wives of Henry Oades: A Novel by Johanna Moran

The Wives of Henry Oades: A Novel

Based on a true story, Henry Oades was living in Australia when his wife and children were kidnapped by Maoris. Henry did all he could to find them and then gave up and moved to California. Many years later his wife and children travel to California, but discover Henry has remarried. He welcomes his first wife into his home, while not rejecting his second wife. The resulting dilemma is the topic of this book. 

Henry is charged with bigamy by the people living near him, and you'll have to read the book to find out what happend next. This is the only book that has led to a discussion of bigamy in our book club, a rare and interesting dilemma, and one which our Henry didn't have an easy solution. 

Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck

Travels with Charley in Search of America

I love Steinbeck. After reading popular fiction I love to go back to reading a Steinbeck just for the quality of the writing, people don't seem to write that well any more.

This book is not typical Steinbeck. It was written in 1962 after he had received the Pulitzer Prize for literature. He felt he didn't really know his own country and so drove from New York to Washington, through California, Texas and Louisiana and back home to Long Island. The book is a collection of his feelings about the United States as well as descriptions of people he met.

I listened to it on CD while traveling. It seemed particularly fitting to listen to Steinbeck's road trip while I was on one of my own. The link to the CD is below.




Travels with Charley in Search of America

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Sarah's Key

The Second World War produced a lot of great literature. This book is based on the 1942 round up of the French Jews (which I didn't even know had happened before I read the book), known as the Vel d'Hiv round up. Sarah thinks she is protecting her little brother by locking him in a closet when the French police collect them, intending to come back for him later.

The story is intertwined with the story of a journalist with a failing marriage writing about the Vel d'Hiv round up 60 years later. She discovers the story of Sarah and decides to try and find her.

There is also a movie made from the book, which is very true to the story of the book.



Sarah's Key