Lager Queen of Minnesota by J Ryan Stradal *****

Excellent book about sisters Edith and Helen, and beer. I have no interest in beer.

“I’m making a pie,” Helen said, closing the refrigerator door.

“I can see that,” her mother nodded. “That’s what Edith does. You can do something else.”

“Yeah, but I think I can do it even better than Edith.”

“I know you could. But then you’ll make it into a competition, and it won’t be fun for her anymore. So, get on out of here.”

So it was. Helen succeeded at everything she attempted, while Edith made pies and tried to be useful.

Edith married a truck driver, had two children, and one grandchild. When her husband Stanley couldn’t work, she took a job in the kitchen of a senior citizen home to make ends meet. When her daughter and son-in-law died in an accident, she raised her granddaughter Diana. Edith never complained or spoke ill of anyone.

Helen loved beer, from her very first underaged taste. Why she didn’t become an alcoholic is never explained. She went to college and studied chemistry. She married Orval Blotz whose family owned a defunct brewery. In a plot twist reminiscent of Jacob and Esau, Helen took her sister Edith’s inheritance to resurrect the Blotz brewery. She is wildly successful and creates one of the most popular beers in Minnesota. After she took Edith’s inheritance, she never found an occasion to make amends or even speak to Edith. The two sisters were estranged for over fifty years.

Against a background of Minnesota and a midwestern work ethic, the story is about women: sisters, daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. It is also about beer.

My personal beer story: When I was young, I got into my head that I should learn to drink beer. I bought a six-pack and committed to drinking one every day so I could learn to like it. I didn’t finish the six-pack and never learned to like beer. I quit drinking it. This book has more details about brewing beer than I ever wanted. 

Some of the women are entrepreneurs and businesswomen. Others are minimum wage working women. A few are educated. Mostly they are good friends and hard workers. The heroes of this tale are this latter group.

Aheart-warming story of working hard and being useful. Just what’s needed in the chaotic world of 2020. #strongwomen

Normal People by Sally Rooney ****

Normal People by Sally Rooney is a coming of age novel for Millennials. It is about Marianne who “lives in the white mansion with the driveway and that Connell’s mother is a cleaner,” and Connell. They “get” each other and stay in touch through (high) school and university, never committing as a couple, but never separating. I didn’t get it, but obviously, I’m not a Millennial, and coming of age is more something for my grandchildren.

They grow up in Carricklea, a small town on the rural west coast of Ireland. In school Connell is popular and Marianne is an outcast, even though they are the two smartest students. In their final year, they become lovers, but this is never public, and he asks another girl to Debs (Prom). Marianne doesn’t attend.

She convinces him to apply to Trinity, the most prestigious college in Ireland (established 1592). They both end up at Trinity in Dublin. In Dublin, the tables turn. She becomes popular and he is an outcast. He has unsatisfying girlfriends since he is attached to Marianne. Marianne has abusive boyfriends but will not reach out to Connell.

They never find anyone better than the other, but they never get together. Circumstances beyond their control seem to conspire to keep them apart. Often these circumstances are opportunities: she spends a year in Sweden and he’s going to New York after graduation.

Their story is a battle between dependence and independence.

“How strange to feel herself so completely under the control of another person, but also how ordinary. No one can be independent of other people completely, so why not give up the attempt, she thought, go running in the other direction, depend on people for everything, allow them to depend on you, why not. She knows he loves her, she doesn’t wonder about that anymore.”

Note: This book is Irish in vocabulary and location. In Ireland, press means a kitchen cupboard. Also, the dialogue is not marked with any punctuation, no quotes.

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler *****

Four generations of Whitshanks lived in a house built by Junior. Each summer they rented the same place at the beach.  How did it start? Linnie followed Junior to Baltimore. When she called to be picked up at the train station, he almost didn’t get her, except “he couldn’t just leave her there. She’d be as helpless as a baby chick.” Later he realized: “Why had he worried for one second about abandoning her at the train station? She would have done fine without him! She would do fine anywhere.” This is a book about the rewards of long-term relationships.

Junior and Linnie had two children: Merrick and Redcliffe (Red). Merrick married her best friend’s (Pookie Vanderlin) fiancé, Trey (the Prince of Roland Park). Red marries Abby. They have four children (Amanda, (four years younger) Jeannie, (five years younger) Denny, (two years younger) Stem (born Douglas). Amanda married Hugh and had a daughter Elise. Jeannie married another Hugh and had Deb and Alexander. Denny has one daughter Susan. Stem married Nora and they had three stairstep boys and a dog.

Linnie and Nora are not Whitshanks. They are peacemakers.

QUESTIONS

What Denny’s relationship to Alison/Allie? Is she Susan’s mother? What is the TRUTH about Denny?

What is the lesson of the crying seatmate on the train? “It was this last thought that told him what to do about his seatmate: nothing. Pretend not to notice. Look past him out the rain-splattered window.”

If you’d like some encouragement to continue a relationship, read this—love stories about staying together.

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations. 

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier *****

In 1664, Griet had to take a position as a maid to support her family. She was sixteen. As a maid, everyone in the house from the grandmother to the other maid and the children controlled her destiny. If her family was to eat, she needed to navigate the conflicting demands of all these overseers, a seemingly impossible task. Through her intelligence, psychological insights, and integrity she prevails.

The household includes:

Johannes Vermeer: Historical Dutch painter. He has little to say, but his word is never disputed.

Catharina: Proud wife, who is jealous of everyone who receives attention from her husband, especially Griet.

Maria Thins: Catharina’s mother, who is more powerful than her daughter, and often takes sides against her.

Tanneke: Senior maid.

Cornelia: Evil child.

Maertge: Good child.

Van Ruijven: Vermeer’s patron, who got a previous maid pregnant.

Griet’s family: Mother. Father who was blinded in a work accident. Younger sister, Agnes, who died in a plague outbreak. Older brother, Frans, who ran away from his apprenticeship.

Butcher’s son, Pieter, who has his eye on Griet.

Griet takes pride in doing a good job as a maid. Once she is in charge of the laundry, the clothes are cleaner. She doesn’t complain when given extra work, or when Tanneke purposely spills grease on the floor for her to clean, or when Cornelia breaks a tile that was precious to her. She also does work for Vermeer, above her ordinary chores.

Griet benefits from her innate sense of color and composition. This natural talent provides her with an opportunity to prosper working for Vermeer, but her ability to understand people and tolerate her lowly position enables her success.

Girl in a Pearl Earring tells a story of a strong woman in dire circumstances overcoming powerlessness through genius and tolerance.

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.