Jacqueline Winspear

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear

Located right below my full shelf of Louise Penney books and right above the Willa Cather and Virginia Woolf collections, live the Maisie Dobbs books, plus the two stand-alone novels written by Winspear–The White Lady (2023) and The Care and Management of Lies (2014). I have read all of the Maisie Dobbs books, but don’t own them all. However, I anticipate correcting that situation, for I know at some point, perhaps this winter, I will decide to read them all again. (I have re-read all of Louise Penny’s books, one after another, and I imagine reading them a 3rd time.)

The Comfort of Ghosts is set in London, 1945, which means we have known Maisie Dobbs since the end of WWI when she was a nurse. Maisie, contrary to acceptable behavior, becomes a private investigator, owning her own business. We follow her through the years, including two marriages, being a widow, adopting a child, and being a good and loyal friend to many. It seems appropriate that this book is set in the reality of the UK attempting to move on after WWII, for in this book we feel Maisie moving into a new future, too. The challenges around her are many, and Maisie becomes involved with a group of four homeless children who were trained as resistant workers, young as they are. Many around her, including her dear friend Priscilla and her former mother-in-law, Lady Rowan are in the midst of change, but once again Maisie exhibits resilience and warmth and intelligence. In a conversation with one of the orphaned children she responds to what is said about keeping thoughts to oneself, “But I was once told by a very wise man to do pretty much the same because keeping the thought close gives you an opportunity to consider a bit more, like looking at all the difference facets of a diamond. When you’ve done that, turned the stone around a few times, you have more to offer by way of an observation.” p. 165

A poignant and bittersweet book.

Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin

Fresh Water for Flowers (2018) by French writer Valerie Perrin is one of my all-time favorite books, and I have read it twice. Yes, there will be a third time at some point. I enjoyed her most recent book as well, Three (2020), and think it is worth re-reading, also. That’s a good track record, and I was thrilled to discover that Perrin’s first novel was finally being published in the US– Forgotten on Sunday (2015), but at the same time I was nervous about reading her debut. Would it measure up or would I be disappointed?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, too. For those of you who prefer to read a book in which the narrative moves chronologically from beginning to end, this book is not for you. There are several threads over a range of time periods, but Perrin is so good at developing characters that we can’t help but fall in love with them, and we readers want them to find the love they seek. Is it because she is French, but oh, she writes so tenderly, so wisely about love. It is not a romance book, but it is in many ways a romantic book.

Justine is the narrator. She and her cousin Jules were orphaned when their parents were killed in a car accident. They were raised by their fathers’ parents. Justine, now an adult, is a nursing assistant in a nursing home and more than anything she loves hearing her patients’ stories. One of her patients is Helene, the other main character in the book. The entwining of their lives and all they discover along the way–secrets revealed–is sensitively told, as is Perrin’s style. The title refers to residents of the nursing home who are rarely visited by friends and family.

My one quarrel with the book is the cover, which distorts the profile of the woman on the beach. This black and white photograph seems an odd choice for the cover and unlike what Europa Editions generally chooses. Oh well.

This was a 12 book month–maybe because March was more like a lion than a lamb. Reading was definitely the cozy thing to do on snowy and cold days.

Fiction: Seven Books

My favorite this month was A Town Called Solace (2021) by Mary Lawson. One of my favorite books of 2021 was her first book Crow Lake, and this month I have already read another in her backlist. In my book journal notes I wrote, “If I wrote fiction, I would like to write a book like this.” The characters in her books, which are set in northern Canada, are real, flawed, vulnerable, and likable, sometimes lovable. Clara is eight years old and worried about her older sister who has run away. She is also worried about her neighbor Mrs Orchard who is in the hospital. At least that is what she is told. Clara takes care of Moses, her neighbor’s cat, but how to do that when she realizes someone else is living in the house?
I also loved The Floor of the Sky (2006) by Pamela Carter Joern. Lila, age 16, is pregnant and comes to live on her grandmother Toby’s ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska. Toby is in danger of losing the ranch to back taxes –her backstory is revealed slowly, gently, and lovingly. Like the characters in the Lawson book, these characters entered my heart.
Another one of my favorite books in 2021 was This Is Happiness by Niall Williams, and now I am exploring his backlist. This past month I read Four Letters of Love (1997). Also set in Ireland, this is a story of two families. The father in one wants to devote his life to painting and the father in the other writes poetry and as a prize in a writing contest is given a painting by the other man. This is the story, as many novels are, of love and loss and discernment, but also miracles. Here is an example of one beautifully written passage (p.209):

The priest shushed them, and waved them hopelessly back towards the gate. He was a quiet man who sought quietness, and was suddenly alarmed at what landed in his parish. Panic prickled in his lower stomach like a bag of needles. It was the kind of thing you wished on your worst enemy this: miracles. Let the bishop have them, give them to Galway, but not here. Why were they always happening in out-of-the-way rural places? God! His shaven jaw stung in the salt wind and he rued the new blades he had bought at O’Gormans.

Jacqueline Winspear’s newest in her Maisie Dobbs series was published in March, and I didn’t hesitate to get my copy of A Sunlit Weapon. Maisie Dobbs is a psychologist and private investigator in post WWI London. This latest book is set during WWII and we get fuller views of Maisie with her American husband and their adopted daughter. While I don’t anticipate re-reading these books as I have done with the Louise Penney books, each one is a good read. I recommend reading them in order. The first book in the series is Maisie Dobbs (2003).
I enjoyed both Marjorie Morningstar (1955) by Herman Wouk, which I found in a Little Free Library, and The Bastard of Istanbul (2007) by Elif Shafak. (I will probably read Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love at some point.) I did not particularly enjoy The Camomile Lawn (1984) by Mary Wesley and am not sure why I didn’t set it aside without finishing. It is set in the early years of WWII in England and focuses on a decadent and sometimes abusive family. Some nice writing, but I won’t be reading more by this author.

Nonfiction: Five Books

I have already written a review of Spirit Car, Journey to a Dakota Past (2006) by Diane Wilson https://livingonlifeslabyrinth.com/2022/03/24/book-report-spirit-car-journey-to-a-dakota-past-by-diane-wilson-2006/ and highly recommend it.
If you are in a discernment process of any kind, I also highly recommend Decision Making and Spiritual Discernment, The Sacred Art of Finding Your Way (2010) by Nancy Bieber. I have used this book more than once and am so glad it is still on my shelf and once again, it was just the help I needed.
The Making of an Old Soul, Aging as the Fulfillment of Life’s Promise (2021) by Carol Orsborn is a slim book, but packed with wisdom. She maintains the “purpose of life may be to clarify our essence,” and the book illuminates how awakening to that essence is possible to our final page. Previously, I appreciated a book she co-authored with Robert L. Weber, The Spirituality of Age, A Seeker’s Guide to Growing Older (2015).
Not as high on my recommended list are two other books read in March. The Salt Path (2018) by Raynor Winn and Soul Therapy, The Art and Craft of Caring Conversation (2021) by Thomas Moore. The Salt Path is the true story of Winn and her husband Moth who undertake a 630 mile walk in the UK. They are homeless and broke, and this is a brave, but not always wise decision, especially since husband Moth has serious health issues. The story is important, but the writing was not always strong. I have loved earlier books by Moore, including The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life and Care of the Soul, but this most recent book is not his strongest. I like the notion, however, that therapy is really care of the soul, and I like this quote:

…you are the servant and secretary, not the one who heals and saves. You are the priest and minister, but not the cause of success. Your job is to assist at the healing but not do the work first hand. Sometimes I think of my job as that of sacristan. I keep the temple clean and well-supplied.

An Invitation:

What did you read in March and what do you recommend? I would love to know.

Living on Life's Labyrinth

Spirituality in the Wisdom Years

Book Report: Two Novels by Favorite Authors