A Dangerous Business

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley 224 pages 

I'm a big fan of Pulitzer-Prize winning author Jane Smiley; I'm not sure how I missed this 2022 publication. But if perusing the perusing the reviews on Amazon is any indication, well, it was not a huge commercial success. I didn't hate this novel, but I didn't love it either. It was okay. 

Set in the 1850s in Monterrey, California, this book had a lot of layers. When readers join Eliza, she has gone to work in a brothel after her abusive husband is killed in a barroom fight. Readers are never sure if the man who shot her husband was punished or not. This is the most freedom that Eliza has ever experienced.  And thanks to the wages she earns at Mrs. Parks and the tips the men leave, she has achieved what the majority of women in this era cannot: financial security.  

Eliza becomes best friends with Jean, another prostitute whose brothel services women. This astounded me. I've never heard of brothels for women, but why not?  Smiley did not go into as much detail here, but Jean's customers mostly came in the daytime whereas most of Eliza's customers were at night.

I was also surprised that the majority of women in this novel were educated and could read and write and do math. Eliza and Jean share a love of reading Edgar Allen Poe's short stories, and when the dead bodies of young women begin to be found, the two amateur sleuths use Poe's Detective Dupin's investigative techniques to get involved with the quest to find the killer. That part of the story lacked tension.

The story is rather plodding, educating the reader on the lives of the prostitutes, the brothel and the men who frequented them, the gorgeous locale, and sometimes more graphic descriptions of the deceased women. 

A Dangerous Business receives 3 out of 5 starts in Julie's world.

 

A Sparrow Alone

A Sparrow Alone by Mim Eichmann  311 pages

When the story opens, thirteen-year-old Hannah Owens sits quietly staring at her mother’s face with her two younger siblings. Their dead mother’s face. I was never sure exactly what killed Mother, but it seemed a sort of wasting disease; I’m thinking cancer of some type. Their father is a psalm-singer (very strict Puritan), constantly spewing psalms and working on occasion. He also seemed insane to me.

Author Eichmann sets readers down in 1890s Colorado, where the Owens family lives in horrible, horrible poverty. The family hasn’t eaten much in several days. The doctor’s wife, Mrs. Hughes, arrives, demanding to know what has happened. She rolls up her sleeves and takes charge, making sure Mother is promptly buried.

Mrs. Hughes convinces Pa that he cannot take care of the three children. She takes Hannah with the intention of training her as a house maid. While that seems like a generous thing to do, Mrs. Hughes isn’t the person she appears to be. Soon, she is whipping Hannah, leaving scars that resemble slaves’ backs after beatings.

When Dr. Hughes decides to abandon his wife, Mrs. Hughes throws Hannah and Zuma, the cook, out. The women follow Dr. Hughes to Cripple Creek, Colorado. The doctor is investing heavily in his mistress’s new venture, one that becomes the most famous brothel in Cripple Creek.

Hannah’s life is one of such hardship that it seems that the young woman would not be able to overcome. But Hannah is a fighter, always picking herself up and going on. That is until multi-millionaire Winfield Scott takes a shine to her.

The story is well-researched and gives a truly extraordinary look into just how difficult life was in those days. Much of the story is written in dialect, which always threw me out of the story. One or two times are all a story needs of dialect, and most readers associate that with the character through the rest of the book.

The biggest issue for me, however, is the last chapter. It seemed to come out of left field. It seemed, to me, that Eichmann was tired of writing and wrapped it up neatly. But that can’t be the case because there is a sequel that I want to read. Surely poor Hannah’s life has to get better.

For the two reasons above, “A Sparrow Alone” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

Traffick

Traffick by Ellen Hopkins, 505 pages

“Five teens victimized by sex trafficking try to find their way to a new life in this riveting companion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Tricks from Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank.  In her bestselling novel, Tricks , Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling enormous questions: Eden, the preacher's daughter who turns tricks in Las Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life.  And now, in Traffick , these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out? How these five teenagers face the aftermath of their decisions and experiences is the soul of this story that exposes the dark, ferocious underbelly of the child trafficking trade. Heart wrenching and hopeful, Traffick takes us on five separate but intertwined journeys through the painful challenges of recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal to forgiveness and love.” This is gritty subject matter, as always with Hopkins’s books, but handled almost gently.  While some of the stories may shock some teens, this is a subject that should be addressed, as many teens have the potential to become victims or to know someone who is or has been a victim.  I would recommend this for teens who like realistic fiction, especially in poetry form.

30 Red Dresses

30 Red Dresses by Johan Twiss   152 pages

Today is Veata’s eighth birthday. She hopes that her uncle remembers. Instead he sells her.

Across town, American author James Moore is on a book tour in Cambodia. He’s wildly famous there and has just finished a five-hour book signing appearance. After the event, he just wants to go to bed. Instead of taking him back to his hotel, his translator, Munny, takes him on an insider’s tour of Phnom Penh. A sudden downpour drenches him and Munny.

As hail begins to pummel the two men, who are on foot, they try to open any door along the alley they are in. When they finally find one that opens, they are some rather dangerous looking dudes inside. They want money for the two men to enter.

While they are making their way through the building, a loud roar begins to shake the walls and the floor. It’s not an earthquake. Then James realizes what it is; the new dam has burst and a wall of water is heading their way.

The water soon starts to rise rapidly. They head up the stairs, trying to race the rapidly rising waters, while trying to stay out of the way of the snake and rats that are also desperate to escape.

Saving others trapped in the building, the two men finally make it to the roof, where they find thirty women in identical red dresses, cowering near the ledge. Veata is one of those irls and one of the youngest.

James knows he must save them---from the flood and from the life they have been forced to live.

The first five chapters are harrowing. After that, the pacing slows down and the plot becomes stale and expected. Still, I was interested in what fate would be allotted to the girls, James, and Munny.

The story ends on a happy note, which was rather disappointing. I was hoping for a more realistic ending. After the end of the story, there is a short story that takes place eight years later when Venata turns sixteen. I found that confusing and awkward. Why not call it an Epilogue?

30 Red Dresses gets 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Up For Sale: Human Trafficking And Modern Slavery

Up For Sale: Human Trafficking And Modern Slavery by Alison Marie Behnke, 72 pages

This was a short but introduction for younger readers about the modern day slave trade that is still happening in the world, even in the United States.  It is easy pretty easy for older elementary readers to understand and doesn’t hold back on the real difficulties that people, especially women and children, in many countries face.  It talks about people being forced to work for little wages and having to pay off huge debts, but also talks about the fact that these people may be beaten or raped if they don’t do enough work or earn enough money and also talks about the people forced into prostitution.  It’s definitely not for very young readers but older kids who are looking for some information will definitely find this a good start.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands  by Chris Bohjalian     266 pages

 I fell in love with Chris Bohjalian’s writings about a year after Oprah picked his novel Midwives as her Book Club Pick. I’ve read almost everything he’s written since then. Some I’ve loved; other not as much. But let me tell you, Bohjalian’s seventeenth novel Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is probably his best yet.

His last three novels have been historical novels, but here he returns to contemporary times. Sixteen-year-old Emily Shepard has a rather normal life. She fights with her parents, hates her life, and could do better in school if she applied herself.
Emily’s dad is the chief engineer at a nuclear power plant in what is called the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont; her mother is the plant’s communications director. After the Prologue, Emily begins to tell what happened on the day there was a meltdown at the plant. It’s painfully obvious to Emily that her parents, who were both working that day, are dead. Her school has been evacuated to another town. Sure she will be held the scapegoat for what happened, Emily runs away. Unable to cope with the loss of her parents, she refuses to search the Internet as to avoid a possible truth: that her parents are really dead and that her father was drunk.

Determined to get home, she sets off to find her beloved dog, Maggie, or at least bury what may be left of her. Along the way, she prostitutes herself, does drugs, and becomes the adult in nine-year-old Cameron’s life. She even divides her life into two sections: B. C. (before Cameron) and A.C. (afterCameron)

Emily is fascinated with poet Emily Dickinson, who plays a key part of the story.  She even makes some interesting connections between Dickinson’s poetry and a classic 1960s sit-com.

Bohjalian does a perfect job of finding the voice of a sixteen year old; it’s amazing really.