Greetings, Deplorables!
I am back to reviewing fine historical fiction. I rarely post about a book that I give anything less than 4 stars, but I wanted to share my review of The Magdalen Girls, in light of recent debates about "women's rights" and how "American women don't know how good they have it". This book tells you more about the sad state of medium-size publishing and what kind of books publishers like Kensington are willing to produce. The trend for headless women on the covers persists, as does the usage of word "girl/s" in the title.
Synopsis
Dublin, 1962. Within the gated grounds of the convent of The
Sisters of the Holy Redemption lies one of the city’s Magdalen
Laundries. Once places of refuge, the laundries have evolved into grim
workhouses. Some inmates are “fallen” women—unwed mothers, prostitutes,
or petty criminals. Most are ordinary girls whose only sin lies in being
too pretty, too independent, or tempting the wrong man. Among them is
sixteen-year-old Teagan Tiernan, sent by her family when her beauty
provokes a lustful revelation from a young priest.
Teagan soon
befriends Nora Craven, a new arrival who thought nothing could be worse
than living in a squalid tenement flat. Stripped of their freedom and
dignity, the girls are given new names and denied contact with the
outside world. The Mother Superior, Sister Anne, who has secrets of her
own, inflicts cruel, dehumanizing punishments—but always in the name of
love. Finally, Nora and Teagan find an ally in the reclusive Lea, who
helps them endure—and plot an escape. But as they will discover, the
outside world has dangers too, especially for young women with soiled
reputations.
Told with candor, compassion, and vivid historical detail, The Magdalen Girls
is a masterfully written novel of life within the era’s notorious
institutions—and an inspiring story of friendship, hope, and unyielding
courage.
My thoughts
In 1960s, as the rest of the Western world was in the throes of sexual revolution, Ireland was in a weird place. A recently liberated country, still working to define its statehood, it was slipping into theocracy. "The Magdalen Girls" doesn't get any points for originality. This is the kind of vanilla Blarney that a skittish, play-it-safe publisher like Kensington would churn out. Totally predictable and unimaginative, capitalizing on the proven cliches, "The Magdalen Girls" is a deja-vue from start to finish. Maeve Binchy died and left a void in that needed to be filled with more white bread. The stereotypical portrayal of the Irish father as a heartless, misogynistic drunk will make pseudo-feminists very happy. And of course, making the Catholic church look like a bunch of hypocritical predators will make secular humanists have that nice and fuzzy feeling. There are some parts that are just butt-clenchingly bad, like a 17-year old girl saying out loud: "I want to do more than just cook and clean." Really, sweetie? Never heard that before. That being said, I'm not going to knock the book too much. It is what it is. If you don't want to take chances and read serious books with the right balance of drama and grim humor, this is a book for you.
Greetings,
commies!
My original
resolution was to keep personal posts to a minimum, but another installment of
refugee memoirs just bubbled up inside me, and I felt compelled to share. I
want to reach out to my fellow commies all over the world who are new to the US
or contemplating coming here permanently. I want to teach them how to speak
Americanese, the code language of misleading messages. Nobody is going to deny
that all of us say pleasant things that are not to be taken literally, but in
America this trend is taken to the extreme. One can argue that there is no such
thing as "typical white bread American", and yet many people do
describe themselves as such. So here is my little translator. When talking
about your heritage to people who were born in the US, you can expect to hear
some of these comments.
"America is a country of immigrants ..."
Yeah, but some ethnic groups hold more influence than others. Not pointing
fingers at any particular group and certainly not demonizing the infamous
'white Protestant heterosexual male'. Just accept that not all ethnic groups
are equal in this country. I don't see how having a Slovene first lady is going
to change much for the immigrants of Eastern European stock.
"My great-grandfather came from ...."
This is why he changed Berkowitz to Berkley and Milosewicz to Miles and
Petrauskas to Peterson. Your Jewish/Serbian/Lithuanian ancestor wanted to look
WASP.
"Welcome to our country!"
As long as you stay in your immigrant-dominated community and work jobs in the
service industry. Commies, listen to me. They don't want you to compete
for their jobs and their sexual partners. As a high-school student, I was
always told to "sit with my own kind" during lunch. We had a separate
table for students of Hispanic heritage, and a small table for Polish and
Russian students. "Go sit with your own kind ..." Talking about being
shown your proper place in life!
"This
is a land of opportunity, you know."
Yes, I know.
My mother, who is a music professor in her home country, had to work as a
teacher's assistant at a local daycare for $6 an hour back in the 1990s before
she opened her own music school. I know that people who make minimal wage in
the US still have more material comforts than professors and engineers in some
countries.
"Are
you seeing anyone? Because there is a nice Ukrainian/Greek/Vietnamese boy in my
algebra class."
Wow, very sweet
of you to worry about my sex life. Even sweeter of you to assume that I
pick my sexual partners based on ethnic similarities. That nice boy could be a
total jerk, yet you think that I should still give him a chance because he
speaks my language.
"Wow, you are such an asset to our community! You bring so much diversity."
They want you to be that exotic pet that they can use for their own
entertainment. They don't want you at their country club, polluting the air
with your accent and your peculiar jokes and tales of genocide and ethnic
cleansings. No negativity allowed. We're all about "can do" attitude.
"Don't forget your roots, be proud of who you are!"
Translation: we want you to retain those cute quirks that make you an easy
laughing stock.
Conclusion. America is a great place to make money, but not a great place to
make friends. I sort of knew it coming into the country. It's no secret that
money is more important to me than friends, so I feel that I got a good deal
out of my immigration experience.
Deplorably yours,
Connecticut
Commie
Greetings, comrades!
I told you I was on a WWII binge. Today's book is The Dragontail Buttonhole by Peter Curtis.
Synopsis:
Prague, 1939. Willy and Sophie Kohut own a prosperous business
specializing in selling British fabrics for tailoring suits. When the
Nazis occupy Czechoslovakia, Willy is arrested and accused of spying for
Britain. After Sophie engineers his release, they decide to flee the
country for the sake of their toddler, Pavel. Paying a small-time
smuggler and using counterfeit Hungarian passports, they journey through
Hungary and Germany itself, on an exodus full of unexpected twists that
test their courage, and their love.
My thoughts:
The title of the novel The Dragontail Buttonhole is a bit of a mouthful. You basically have two composite words side by side. But strangely, the linguist in me is delighted. The title works well visually and phonetically, because it mimics the composition of German words and contributes to that pseudo-Germanic ambiance that the Nazis established on their occupied territories. There are so many WWII themed novels set in Poland that the occupation of Czechoslovakia seems to fall by the wayside, but I see the tide turning. Last year a magnificent movie "Anthropoid" came out, dealing with the mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect behind the Final Solution. Czechs and Slovaks were also Slavs, like Poles and Russians, which meant that the Nazis had no qualms about slaughtering them as "untermeschen".
The protagonist of The Dragontail Buttonhole is accessible and archetypal - without being stereotypical. Willy is a refined and prosperous young businessman of Jewish stock who works in textiles. His ethnicity is not an issue at the time of peace - he downplays his Jewish heritage and does not flaunt his religious beliefs, and his facial features are ethnically neutral, enabling him to pass for a Slav or a Hungarian. His house is open to prospective clients and business partners of Christian faith. He makes frequent trips to England where his parents live. All that changes when Germans march through Czechoslovakia and Willy is accused of being a British spy. His youthful wife Sophie has to muster all the courage and guile in the world to secure his release. However, Willy's release is only the first step towards salvation.
The author does a great job creating the ambiance of apprehension and dread that you would expect from a novel dealing with Nazi occupation. It's a perfectly balanced blend of adventure, hardcore history and noir. If you fond of "escape from the Nazis" fiction and memoirs, definitely add this novel to your list.
Salutations!
Connecticut Commie is here. It's time for another
editorial from Deplorably Yours. In less than a week I am going to
celebrate 25 years of living in the US. Take a moment to pause. 25
fucking years! Can you believe that? Now, I know I like to joke about
being a mail order bride and all, but the truth is, I came to this
country as a refugee. As in ... "Knock, knock, let me in! There's a big bad wolf chasing me!" Gasp. That's right. That makes my support of our
current President all the more reprehensible. It's like ... "How DARE
you deny other people entry into this country when you're a pathetic, wet, shivering puppy yourself?"
Calm down, snowflakes. As a reminder, I
personally do not deny or grant anyone entry into this country. We are all at the
mercy of the consulate. Just like my family was 26 years ago, when we
applied for political asylum. If the embassy officer deems your claim of discrimination and grave endangerment due to race, ethnicity, religion, etc. convincing - congratulations and welcome to America.
No, this system is not perfect, and it's not always fair, but then,
nothing in life is. And yes, there will be delays and setbacks. Even
when you think you have all your ducks in a row, all your paperwork
submitted, a minor change in the policy can upset your plans and throw
you back to square one. So you're basically sitting on your bags, having sold or given away all your life's possessions, and then they tell you that your departure date has to be moved indefinitely due to some glitch in the Department of State database. And you be like ... "Whaaaat? Those bastards!"
I just wanted to take a moment to remind y'all
that political asylum is not an entitlement. It's a huge undeserved
favor that a country can grant an individual. American Dream is not a
universal human right. America cannot possibly accommodate every
struggling individual who "deserves a better life". And no, not all refugees are equally benevolent. Not all are going to assimilate well. So let's drop all that hippie fluff about us "all being human beings and wanting the same thing." We are not all the same. We do not all want the same things. There are some irreconcilable ideological differences. We do not live in a world without borders, as we do not live in homes without locks or alarm systems. Not yet.
So, that being said ... If anyone calls you a racist, a Nazi, a fascist, a bigot, etc. don't take it to heart.
Those words don't mean shit anymore. They are being thrown around like
tropical Skittles. Just brush them off. Don't swallow them. Don't
pollute your system with extra sugar and artificial flavors that this
country is known for. Fake flavors. Fake news. God bless America!
Deplorably yours,
Connecticut Commie
