July 2020 Theme: On the Shore

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On the Shore: Life Defined by its Body of Water.

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This challenge is to read a book based on true events (specific floods, hurricanes, etc.) or set within the framework of a historical context of time (times of whaling, depression era logging, early fisheries, etc.).

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As examples, here are some books which I’ve enjoyed that fit this theme:

* The Birth House, Ami McKay - Bay of Fundy, 1910s, midwifery, early medicalizing of birth, historical fiction
* Blizzard of Glass : the Halifax explosion of 1917, Sally M. Walker - the Narrows strait, Nova Scotia, 1917 Halifax Explosion, NF
* Burial Rites, Hannah Kent – Iceland Sea, Iceland, 1820s,1830s, murder, based on a true story, his.fiction
* Consumption, Kevin Patterson - Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Arctic Canada, 1950s, Inuit coming off the tundra, gathering for jobs, disease, his.fiction
* The Day the Falls Stood Still, Cathy Marie Buchanan – Niagara Falls, 1910s, Falls being harnessed for hydro-electricity, his.fiction
* Dr. Siri Paiboun, Colin Cotterill, Mekong River, Laos, 1970s medicine under communism, historical fantasy mystery series
* February, Lisa Moore – Grand Banks, North Atlantic Ocean, Newfoundland, 1980s oil well drilling, based on actual disaster, his.fiction
* Follow the River, James Alexander Thom - Ohio River, 1750s Indian Captivity, based on a true story, his.fiction
* The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter, Hazel Gaynor - 1830s North Sea, Ireland, and 1930s Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, biographical fiction
* The Lighthouse Road, Peter Geye - Lake Superior, 1890s, 1920s, Minnesota, lumber camps, historical fiction
* Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones – South Pacific, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, 1990s civil war, historical fiction
* Moloka'I, Alan Brennert – Pacific Ocean, Hawaiian island, 19th century leprosy colony, historical fiction
* Mother Earth, Father Sky , Sue Harrison – Bering Sea, prehistory, living from the sea, his.fiction
* Of Dikes and Windmills, Peter Spier – North Sea, across the ages (until 1969) – making & using of windmills, NF
* Random Passage, Bernice Morgan – North Atlantic, Labrador Sea, 19th century, Newfoundland fisheries, his.fiction
* The Poldark saga, Winston Graham – Celtic Sea, coast of Cornwall, 18th c, tin mining, smuggling, his.fiction
* Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier – Lyme Bay, Lyme Regis, English coast, 1810s, 1820s young paleontology, biographical fiction
* The Sea Captain’s Wife, Beth Powning – Bay of Fundy, 1860s maritime merchants, pirates, his.fiction
* Serena, Ron Rash – various rivers in North Carolina, depression era, logging, his.fiction
* Shadows on the Koyukuk : an Alaskan native's life along the river, Sidney Huntington –Yukon and Koyukuk Rivers, 1910s to 1980s, changes to the way of life of indigenous peoples, NF
* Skeletons on the Zahara : a true story of survival, Dean King – Atlantic Ocean, North African coast, 1815, shipwreck, NF
* Southern Cross the Dog, Bill Cheng – Mississippi River flood, 1927, racism, his.fiction
* The Tide in the Attic, Aleid van Rhijn – North Sea Flood, 1953 Netherlands polders, his.fiction
* The Tilted World, Tom Franklin – Mississippi River flood, 1927, bootleggers, orphans, his.fiction
* Water, Stone, Heart, Will North – River Valency, Cornwall, 2004 Boscastle flood, his. fiction
* A Weekend in September, John Edward Weems – Galveston Bay, 1900 Galveston hurricane, NF
* The Winter Sea, Susannah Kearsley – North Sea, 18th c Scotland, Jacobites, dual timeline, historical fantasy
* The Woman in the Photo, Mary Hogan - Little Conemaugh River , 1880s Johnstown Flood, his.fiction

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If a book doesn’t fit the historical context – if the story could have happened at any time, without a tie to a specific time in history or event – it does not work for this challenge.
For instance, from my own reading list again, these great books with shore settings – the Cork O’Connor mystery series set in the North Woods of Minnesota on various lakes, and The Blackhouse by Peter May, a mystery set on the Isle of Lewis – would not work.

What a great theme, Cindy! I'm going to have fun going through my books for this theme. I know I have Burial Rites, Serena and Moloka'i on my shelves but I want to see what else I have as well.

I absolutely loved Skeletons on the Zahara, Follow the River and Mister Pip when I read those.

Oh, this is going to be fun!

I came up with quite a list but I have narrowed my choices down to Moloka'i by Alan Brennert and The Island by Victoria Hislop. Strangely both these books deal with actual Leper Colonies, one in Hawaii, and one in Crete. I will finalize my choice (if I don't decide to read both) closer to July.

Great fun! I know I have one on Moloka'i and all the Poldark books, having read only the first two, but will search my books and see what I come up with!

Great theme. I have wanted to read Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain for a long time, and now is the time!

I like this theme too. I think one of the books on my non-fiction TBR will work and I've been trying to get to it for the longest, Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island. The title refers to Carol Ruckdeschel, self-taught in biology and ecology, whose life work was saving the island and its wildlife. She was heavily involved in the creation and preservation of Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Wondering if this one fits the theme. Unruly Waters: How Rains, Rivers, Coasts, and Seas Have Shaped Asia's History

From a MacArthur "Genius," a bold new perspective on the history of Asia, highlighting the long quest to tame its waters

Asia's history has been shaped by her waters. In Unruly Waters, historian Sunil Amrith reimagines Asia's history through the stories of its rains, rivers, coasts, and seas--and of the weather-watchers and engineers, mapmakers and farmers who have sought to control them. Looking out from India, he shows how dreams and fears of water shaped visions of political independence and economic development, provoked efforts to reshape nature through dams and pumps, and unleashed powerful tensions within and between nations.

Today, Asian nations are racing to construct hundreds of dams in the Himalayas, with dire environmental impacts; hundreds of millions crowd into coastal cities threatened by cyclones and storm surges. In an age of climate change, Unruly Waters is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Asia's past and its future.

(Amazon description)

Does historical fiction qualify simply by virtue of being set on an island? I ask this, Cindy, because I see you've included Brennert's Moloka'i. I've been thinking of tackling Michener's Hawaii. I've also got Albert Wendt's Leaves of the Banyan Tree, which seems to be a multi-generational Samoan counterpart to Michener's novel (though considerably shorter).

Another interesting read might be Amitav Ghosh's "Ibis trilogy," starting with Sea of Poppies.

>9 CurrerBell: : and >10 CurrerBell: :
From your descriptions, it seems those would all qualify. The only one I've read is Hawaii, and that was many years ago. But if memory serves, especially the early parts were very shore-centric.

I'm contemplating The Moon and Sixpence which is the story of Gaugin in Tahiti; although different characters. The time period/setting are correct. Would this work?

Oh yes!!!!! Actuallly thats one of the firs Maugham books I read and have since read all os his work

>13 cindydavid4: Thanks!

I'm just finally looking at this now (I don't plan very far ahead!).

I like the idea of Michener's Hawaii, mentioned by >10 CurrerBell:. (I recently finished Alaska.) But, I'm not sure I want to tackle such a large one so soon. I'll check my tbr to see what I've got.

I may read Two Years Before the Mast by R.H. Dana, for this theme as well as the Mark Twain. I read it so many years ago that all I remember is I enjoyed it.

I found Lincoln's Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America on the shelf. Would that work?

>17 Familyhistorian: : As far as I can tell from the title, I'd say yes.

>18 countrylife: It seems so to me too, so I'll go with it!

I've decided on Untamed, The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan.

>20 clue: I've always wanted to read that book. I'm going to see if my library has it on audio or ebook!

Looks like I'll probably read The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon.

I've decided to read Herman Melville's Typee. It is supposedly based on Melville's own experiences in the Marquesas, although most agree much is fictionalized.

I have completed my read of The Island by Victoria Hislop. This was a good fit with the theme as it was set both on the Island of Crete and on the tiny island called Spinalonga, that was a leper colony from 1903 to 1957. While the book had some flaws, this debut novel held my attention and I learned a lot about this misunderstood disease.

August is up
https://www.librarything.com/topic/322281

I've completed Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan.

I finished Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life by Herman Melville (1846). This was Melville's first successful book, and his most popular during his lifetime. Written as a memoir, it describes his life after jumping ship with a mate on a small island in the Marquesas in the South Seas, where they are taken captive by a supposedly cannibalistic tribe and their eventual escape. Twentieth century research has shown that the events may have been partly based on Melville's experiences, but that much of the book was lifted from other travel books and some just pure invention by Melville. The beginning and endings of the book were exciting, but I found the middle sections with descriptions of the life of the natives lagged for me. I was expecting it to be more racist and paternalistic, but Melville surprised me with his mostly objective descriptions of the natives.

The Great Halifax Explosion / John U. Bacon
4 stars

On Dec. 5, 1917, two ships collided in the Halifax Harbour. One of them was loaded down with explosives, meant to head to Europe for the war effort. Instead, with the collision, a good chunk of Halifax and neighbouring Richmond were wiped out in an instant, along with a couple thousand (likely a low estimate) people, and more thousands injured.

This was very well researched. It does include some discussion of the war, and a soldier from Nova Scotia who ended up helping out after the disaster, as he was back home after being severely injured. Also includes a detailed account of the ships and crew involved in the collision, as well as tidbits of time of some of the civilians on shore who were affected (lost family members, lost homes, injuries...).

Don't forget the wiki, everyone! (I only see one title there so far, and I'll be adding mine), and I see at least two listed here that aren't on the wiki! :-)

(I'd link to the wiki, except I have about 500 more places to post my own review first!)

The Moon and Sixpence This was Maugham's fictional account of the life of painter Paul Gauguin. Maugham paints (!) Gauguin as a beast, having absolutely no feelings or considerations for others in his all consuming, unapologetic quest to become a painter. In the book, Gauguin is known as Charles Strickland, an ex stockbroker who deserts his family in England and moves to Paris. In real life, Gauguin did leave his family in Denmark, though, to move to Paris and eventually Tahiti. Gauguin used people ruthlessly for whatever purpose was expedient. One of the women that he lived with committed suicide and Gauguin did not attend her funeral or visit her in the hospital as she was dying. He also did not support his wife and five children and had no remorse. I have no desire to read more about Gauguin, however, I wish I had read a book that was more of a true biography because this book, told by a first person narrator, was just too predictable. 184 pages P.S. There was little about his time in Tahiti, maybe 10 pages! But, he also spent time in Martinique.

Hmmmmmm I just picked up Moon and Sixpence, but after Tess_W's review, not so sure I want to read it after all.

>31 cfk: Oh, don't NOT read it because of me. The average rating on LT is 3.92 and I rated it a 3 (average for me). Some of the other reviews claim that the book is more about the lives in Gauguin's painting that the actual Gauguin--but hard to tell in the book! Also, I never did figure out why the title!

Two Years Before the Mast and Twenty-Four Years After
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.

In his third year as a Harvard college student, the author contracted measles, which affected his eyesight which made it impossible for him to continue his studies. On August 14, 1834, he embarked on a sea voyage as a common sailor. After nearly a year on the sea, rounding the Horn, they landed in California, not yet part of the United States, where they spent sixteen months traveling the coast from San Diego to San Francisco, “hide-droghing.” This was very hard, dirty work. The sailors transported hides to the ship, some stayed on shore tanning the hides and storing them in “hide houses” until their ship returned to pick up the hides. There is a not-too-long Wikipedia article entitled “California Hide Trade” I found really interesting.

I enjoyed his writing very much, although many terms were unfamiliar, and the descriptions of working up in the rigging got a bit tedious at times because I don’t know one sail from another and there were a lot of them on those ships, but it’s all part of the experience of getting to know every aspect of life aboard a merchantman ship and the hard lives of the sailors.

After returning home, Mr. Dana finished college and some of his work included helping to improve the lives of the ordinary seaman.

James Michener's Hawaii 2½**. Poorly written, particularly as the book meanders on (show, don't tell); and while the earlier segments on the indigenous Polynesians, the missionaries, and the Chinese were interesting, the portion on the Japanese was trite and cliched.

Next, on to Albert Wendt's The Banyan (so titled in the U.S. Doubleday edition, though seemingly better known as Leaves of the Banyan Tree), a novel about Samoa.

In case anyone wonders why Hawai'i and Samoa for me, it's got to do with a certain Democratic presidential candidate from this past primary season (born in American Samoa but moved to Hawai'i at age two).

I have finished Die Nordseefalle where poet Theodor Storm solves several connected murders. It is set in his hometown of Husum on the North Sea and we get a visit to Föhr, the North Frisian island where the Danish king spends his summers. Föhr has been a favourite holiday destination ever since and it was lovely to read about places I know. Hans Christian Andersen also has a walk-on part.

I scoured my book shelves for something that would meet the theme of “On the Shore” and came up with Lincoln’s Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America. A bridge would definitely be on the shore prior to bridging the water and, while arguments in the case of the Effie Afton which hit and damaged the Rock Island Bridge were heard in Chicago, testimony of the makers of the bridge and those who lived on the shore, overseeing its operation were also given in the trial to determine what was at fault in the accident; the steamboat or the bridge.