BOOK REVIEW: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

An ambitious multigenerational family saga evocative of Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth, Lee's second novel Pachinko is engaging, complex, and highly relevant to the modern immigration experience.

 
The main protagonist is Sunja, daughter of a poor Korean tenant farmer born just after the turn of the century. At first the novel strikes us as economical of description; but the bleakness of Korean life before World War II is masterfully conveyed in Lee's spare style.

After the death of her father-the untimely demise of good men being a major theme-Sunja's mother takes in boarders to make ends meet during the worsening pre-war economy. At 15, Sunja's world is turned suddenly and forever upside down by the love of a fascinating older man who is rich, powerful, and the harbinger of secrets. The child she bears him, and her prideful refusal to become his mistress are decisions that will determine not only Sunja's own fate, but that of her family for generations to come.

Lee's stoic style continues to suit her subject matter, as life in Japanese occupied Korea becomes more difficult and Sonya moves to Japan with her new husband, a frail young Christian minister who married her to save her honor. But life for a Korean immigrant in Osaka proves no easier.
Despite its starkness there is a chaotic intimacy to the story which makes it seem more personal testament, somewhat robbing it of the universal message the reader buys in for. The novel's unabashed ethnic pride also plays a role-Koreans as unfailingly steadfast in their cultural morality despite universal victimization by the Japanese. Perhaps this may be forgiven Lee given the novel's realism, but the hurried tone of the final chapters of the saga, and the bleak conclusion, leave the reader with few other takeaways. A gripping read overall.

Review first published in The Historical Novel Review

BOOK REVIEW: Heirlooms by Rachel Hall - BONUS RECIPE: Raclette Omelet with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinich

 

This volume is a treasure box of interconnected short stories tracking a saga of a Jewish family’s survival, starting in Holocaust-era France.

Beginning in 1939 St. Malo, we meet young Lise, devoted to the raising and protection of the baby of her dead sister-in-law.  She makes her way across and out of France’s occupied zone, facing the horrors and fear of wartime Europe.

Hall’s writing style is minimalist perfection, each chapter a self-contained jewel. She manages to project intense sympathy without a hint of sentimentalism, and her multi-perspective sense of pathos is rare for the genre. Even Nazi officers and abusive French police are given multiple dimensions and some level of human frailty, which only makes the facts of wartime life more starkly real. As the settings progress to Israel and America, the story resonates deeply with the modern refugee experience and seems all the more fresh and timely. Definitely a welcome and beautiful voice in wartime historical fiction. Enthusiastically recommended.

Review first published in The Historical Novel Review 


BONUS RECIPE:
Raclette Omelet with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients:
Three large farm fresh eggs, room temperature
1/4 pound of good Raclette cheese, frozen, grated, and brought back to room temperature.
1/4 pound of raw spinach leaves, picked and well cleaned
One very ripe medium tomato, in 1/8" slices
Brushings of extra virgin olive oil
Pat of good unsalted Normandy or Irish butter
1/4 tsp of good Dijon mustard
Pinch of brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
One ripe mango or papaya for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place tomato slices and spinach on a large cookie sheet lines with parchment paper, brush or spray with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lightly sprinkle just to tomatoes with the sugar. Bake for 15-20 mins (use convection if available) or until tomatoes are just caramelized but not disintegrating, and spinach is wilted.

Brush a well-seasoned omelet pan with olive oil and heat not quite to smoking over medium heat. Control your heat well, if its smoking, turn down to medium-low. Beat eggs together very well with Dijon mustard (just eggs, no milk, water etc.). Swirl pan with butter (again watch for burning or smoking of butter - this will discolor your omelet. Add eggs to pan, and as the omelet films, push toward the center of the pan with a curved wooden spoon or metal spatula, tilting the pan to run the liquid eggs over the exposed bottom at least once. Add cheese, salt and pepper to taste (be conservative, you can season again after plating). Layer spinach and tomatoes (or serve on the side, at your option). Put heat on low and cover pan for just a minute or until middle is melted and only slightly runny. Shake to loosen from pan, fold in thirds and plate.  Garnish plate with sliced mangoes/papaya for a sweet contrast. 

Pairs well with brunch cocktails, consider a good tequila.

BOOK REVIEW: HMS Prometheus by Alaric Bond. BONUS RECIPE:Samlor Kary - Cambodian Green Curry

 

Bond delivers another fast-paced, high-impact piece of Napoleonic-era naval fiction with HMS Prometheus, eighth in his Fighting Sails series.

In the western Mediterranean in 1803, Captain Sir Richard Banks races to bring his crippled ship of the line back into fighting trim in time to support Horatio Nelson’s blockade of the French. Bond paints a broader perspective than most other masters of the genre, such as Patrick O’Brian. The narrative not only unfolds through the strategic view of the commissioned officers but also draws us into the quotidian drama of midshipmen, foremast hands, and smugglers, as well as the women who were routinely present on English naval vessels of the period, but less commonly discussed. These are more than sub-plots or contextual ambiance: the shipboard sufferings of the young former prostitute, Poppy, the moral shortcomings of foremast jacks such as Bleeden, the various inner means by which each seaman and officer cope with the terrors of naval combat. Bond shows us how each humble hobnail spirals upward to determine the fortunes of war and the outcome of great sea battles.

The senior staff is not neglected, however, and one of Bond’s most masterful touches is his close portrayal of Nelson, presenting the famous admiral from his strategic genius down to the smallest details of his generous and inspiring personality.

Like all good serial fiction, the author makes it relatively easy to pick up the story and break into the book on its own merits. That said, the ending leaves the reader yearning for the next installment.

Well researched, finely written. A must-read for lovers of sea stories.

Review first published in The Historical Novel Review

BONUS RECIPE
Samlor Kary - Cambodian Green Curry

3 TBS Kroeung paste (see link below)
Two chicken breasts cut in 1 inch cubes
1 cup eggplant in 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup sweet potato in 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup cauliflower in small florets
1 medium onion cut in wedges
2 TBS fresh chopped basil for garnish
2 cups coconut milk
1 TBS sugar
1TBS fish sauce
1 tsp salt
1 cup chicken stock
2 TBS peanut oil
2 TBS crushed roasted peanuts

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add kreoung and saute until fragrant. Add onion, eggplant and sweet potato and saute 5 mins. Add cauliflower and chicken and sauté additional 5 mins. Add coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, sugar and salt.  Simmer partially covered for 20-30 mins. Garnish with crushed peanuts and basil and serve with jasmine rice.

Kroeung:
http://grantourismotravels.com/2014/11/25/khmer-yellow-kroeung-kroeung-samlor-machou-recipe/

BOOK REVIEW: Shadowboxing by Anne Barwell - BONUS RECIPE: Thai Mango Sweet Rice with Pomegranate Sauce

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This World War II novel appears to be the first in what will be a series of books based upon the struggle of brilliant scientist Kristopher Lehrer to stay alive, and, with the help of a closely knit group of Resistance members, reach Allied forces.  A chance meeting with a former lover, David Reuben, inadvertently discloses that his scientific research is intended to be used by the Nazis as a weapon for mass destruction.  Kristopher, ethical and moral, is torn between the beliefs of his Nazi father and the need to protect human life, represented in his sister, a physician.

Kristopher inadvertently kills his mentor, Dr. Kluge, during a confrontation about the research.  His only choice is to reach Allied forces before he is captured by the Nazis and forced to provide the final pieces preventing completion of the weapon.

Various relationships are highlighted between the members of the resistance, including the burgeoning love between Kristopher and the man in charge of keeping him alive. The characters lack empathetic dimension, and the book ends a bit abruptly. Overall, not a bad read for lovers of historical LGBT fiction.

Review first published in The Historical Novel Review
 

BONUS RECIPE
Thai Mango Sweet Rice with Pomegranate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups uncooked short-grain white rice
• 2 cups sweet coconut milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
• 3 mangos, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame
  1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Pomegranate Sauce (see below)Combine the rice, tapioca, sugar and coconut milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until liquid is absorbed, 20 - 25 mins. Take off heat and keep covered until cool
  Pomegranate Sauce 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Combine 1 cup pomegranate juice and 1 cup sugar in saucepan.  Reduce, whisking over medium heat to syrupy ribbon stage. Cool immediately. 

1. Place the sticky rice on a serving dish. Arrange the mangos on top of the rice. Pour the sauce over the mangos and rice. Sprinkle with fresh mint and sesame seeds.
   
   

BOOK REVIEW: Our Family Dreams by Daniel Blake Smith - BONUS RECIPE: Holiday Mince Tartlettes

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This is a multigenerational saga beginning in the Revolutionary era, and extending to the late 19th century. The book is not as much an immigration story – the family patriarch Jesse is already 6^th-generation American when the story opens on his struggling farm in Vermont – but a migration story. We watch the very different experiences of his children as they take difficult journeys to start lives in various areas of the burgeoning United States.

New England farming was a notoriously difficult lifestyle. Notable among the experiences of Jesse’s children is that of Elijah, who moves to Virginia and marries into a genteel Southern plantation family, in contrast to his brother Calvin, who chooses a career as a lawyer and banker in Indiana.

Many facets of the story resonate with modern experiences: Elijah’s struggle to raise Southern sons who are lazy and entitled, spoiled by slave servitude; the speculative land bubble created by easy bank credit in 1837. Most notable is the saga of granddaughter Indiana Fletcher, who bequeaths her home to found Sweet Briar College in Virginia.

The book can be hard-going for the casual reader, structured as an academic study of contemporary letters, but the important themes ring out: the melancholic quality of life in the early United States despite almost limitless opportunity; education as a socioeconomic brass ring. Most surprising perhaps is the deep well of insecurity behind much of the upward-reaching behavior we normally attribute to American “exceptionalism.” A compelling read for students of the era.

First published in the Historical Novel Review

BONUS RECIPE: Holiday Mince Tarts

1¼ lb mincemeat (add 1cup dried apricots, 1/2 cup candied pineapple, zest of one orange, 1/2 tsp peppermint and 1/2 tsp almond extract all finely processed)

12 oz plain flour

3 oz lard

3 oz butter

pinch of salt

Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Make up the pastry by sifting the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and rubbing the fats into it until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Then add just enough cold water to mix to a dough that leaves the bowl clean.

Leave the pastry to rest in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, then roll half of it out as thinly as possible and cut it into two dozen 3 inch rounds, gathering up the scraps and re-rolling.

Then do the same with the other half of the pastry, this time using the 2½ inch cutter.

Grease 24 small muffin tins lightly and line them with the larger rounds. Fill these with mincemeat to the level of the edges of the pastry. Dampen the edges of the smaller rounds of pastry with water and press them lightly into position to form lids, sealing the edges.

Brush each one with milk and make three snips in the tops with a pair of scissors. Bake near the top of the oven for 25-30 minutes until light golden brown.

Cool on a wire tray and sprinkle with icing sugar.

When cool, store in an airtight container

BOOK REVIEW: The Sky Over Lima by Juan Gomez Barcena - BONUS RECIPE: Pesto Cencioni with Roast Peppers and Kale

BY ANDREA ROSENBERG (TRANS.), JUAN GÓMEZ BÁRCENA

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An amusing true story of catfishing before its time, The Sky over Lima takes place in 1914 Peru, where we meet two young law students, Jose Galvez and Carlos Rodriguez, sons of very different but equally wealthy families. Erstwhile starving poets and Bohemian free spirits, the pair is frustrated by the boredom of family prestige and obligation, as well as admittedly mediocre poetic abilities.

Enter the hoax. In an effort to access the fresh work of the famous Nobel laureate, Juan Ramón Jimenez, the boys concoct for him a fictitious pen pal named Georgina Hubner, a beautiful woman who seduces Jimenez from afar, obtaining an unpublished copy of his poetry. The joke soon takes on a life of its own. The letters become more and more intimate and passionate, as they impart Georgina with personality and living identity; and her epistolary becomes a novel of its own. In the liberating anonymity, the young men learn as much about life and literature as they do about themselves.

Gómez Bárcena’s debut novel offers a unique voice, framed in short chapters, each leveraging the tone and tension of the last. The historical and cultural touches are vibrant, making the city of Lima and its people a character in itself. We look forward to more from this author.

Review first published in the Historical Novel Review


BONUS RECIPE:

Pesto Cencioni with Roast Peppers and Sautéed Kale
 
 
For the pesto:

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves  

4 cloves garlic (preferably roasted)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese  
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil  
1/4 cup pine nuts, freshly toasted until just browned in a dry pan over low heat 
1 tsp. ground black pepper 
Juice of 2 fresh lemons

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste.
 
 
For the pasta:

1 lb. box of dried Cencioni
2 red bell peppers, roasted black over direct flame, seeded, peeled, juice preserved
1/2 pound fresh curly kale leaves, stems torn out and discarded
1/4 cup veal or chicken stock (or substitute white wine)
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil Cencioni until just done, according to instructions on package. This is a large, thick pasta and cooking times vary.
Meanwhile cut peppers into strips and sauté in olive oil with kale over medium heat until kale is just wilted. Deglaze with stock or wine and reserved pepper juice.
Toss cooked Cencioni with pesto, plate, then top with kale and pepper mixture. Adjust seasonings to taste. Red pepper flakes may be added for extra heat if desired.

Pairs well with a fruity Riesling.


 

BOOK REVIEW: Hard Red Spring by Kelly Kerney - BONUS RECIPE: Pumpkin Tortellini with Mint Gastrique

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An epic historical novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer and Ken Follett. Chronicling nearly a century of American involvement in Guatemala, Hard Red Spring erupts with authenticity. Beginning in 1902 with the disappearance of the daughter of murdered American farmers, little Evie’s story and influence play out across generations of commercial and religious missionary culture, and highlight the inevitability of Guatemalan life, belief and politics.

We are carried forward to 1954 and an era of direct American interventionism, as the wife of the U. S. Ambassador becomes pregnant by her best friend’s husband. The story then follows a Christian evangelist in the late ’80s, and the return of a young mother and her adopted war-orphan daughter near the end of the millennium. A sense of desperation pervades the book, but throughout, the common denominator is the silent witness of the native Maya: stoic, mystical, fundamentally unchanged by their absorption of the blood, tears, betrayal, and even the seed of their North American would-be overlords.

Richly styled, definitively researched, the book is everything the thoughtful reader of historical fiction could hope for. Enthusiastically recommended.

Review first published in The Historical Novel Review


BONUS RECIPE
Hand-cut Pumpkin Tortellini with Roasted Garlic and Mint Gastrique

For the Pasta:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup pumpkin pie filling
3 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
Water (a few teaspoons if needed)

Process and knead together to a non-sticky dough.
Roll out on a floured surface to 1/8th inch or thinner.
Cut into 3" to 4" squares.
Spoon up to 1Tablespoon of filling into center, if desired (consider more pumpkin filling, cinnoman ricotta, or cooked ground lamb with seasoned breadcrumbs).
Fold into triangles, pinch edges to seal, circle "arms" and press together.
Cook in large amount of boiling water for 4 minutes and drain immediately.

For the gastrique:
1 cup fresh picked mint leaves plus more chopped for garnish
2 cloves garlic (preferably roasted)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (best available)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch white pepper to taste

Blend all or mortar well. Squeeze or spoon under and over Tortellini.
Garnish with more chopped mint and grated Parmesan. Serves 3-5.