submitted by Kit Darling and the members of the Bay Area Book Club
Our October meeting is after the print deadline for The Breezes, but here are some recommended reads available from the Hamilton Public Library. To borrow one or place a reserve, go to https://hpl.bibliocommons.com .
Blaze Island by Catherine Bush. The Hamilton Reads 2021 title and a most timely read, this is a novel described by the author as “literary realism”, exploring our current climate crisis and the crisis of human denial together in a way that echoes Shakespeare’s Tempest. Milan Wells, a climate scientist and recently widowed, is under attack from climate deniers who are attempting to professionally discredit him and pressure the university to let him go. He flees Princeton with his 10-year-old daughter, Miranda to a small island off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. (Think Fogo Island.) There, over the years, he creates a self-sustaining life, with solar and wind power, gardens and green house as well as chickens. The residents of the small town nearby think it odd that neither he nor Miranda leave the island. Years pass, Miranda is a young woman when a Category 5 hurricane sweeps up the east coast of North America, inundating cities and causing havoc as it brushes past Blaze Island. A young man stumbles up to their door, having escaped his car after being swept into a storm surged creek. While the narrative is at times difficult to follow as it swings from past to present and view point to view point, this is an engaging and worthwhile read. Kit Darling
Run Hide Repeat by Pauline Dakin. This is a memoir of the author’s unusual childhood. I found “unusual” to be a gross understatement. So much so that I kept reading reviews on the internet to verify that it was indeed a memoir because it read like a twisted thriller. Pauline Dakin was 7 years old when her parents, who lived in Vancouver, separated. Thereafter, Pauline and her 5-year-old brother, Ted, spent their childhood on the run with their mother from their father and the Mafia. Their very lives were in danger. At least that was what the children were told as they were uprooted from relatives, friends, and school and moved across Canada several times. The story became even more bizarre when it included a whole host of invisible criminals and crime fighters and spies and informants and government safe houses. But it was not the truth and it sent Pauline into therapy. A captivating read that proves truth is stranger than fiction. Paige Turner
Note: The bookmobile is at Bennetto Recreation Centre, Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:00. There is no access to the bookmobile to browse, but staff are on hand for contactless returns and holds pickup.
Have you read any of our recommendations? Liked any of the same books we talked about or disagreed totally? Let us know at bayareabookclub@bell.net .
