Requiem by Bill Kitson, Writing as William Gordon

The year was 1878. The place was Byland Crescent, located in a town called Scarborough, on the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire, England.  

The story is about the Cowgill family that grew up in poverty. Albert was the son determined to free the family from impoverishment.  He decided to learn the wool business early on and as a result he managed to become a respected, wealthy, business partner of a global wool merchant business. He was only twenty-three years old.

Albert did extremely well, being promoted often. The business grew and prospered because of his innovative ideas. The three partners were living well; married, children, maids, butlers, servants for their every need. Albert brought in family members to his firm to share the wealth.

Meetings were held involving deals and decisions were made for the thriving wool merchant business. There was honesty, integrity, and loyalty, however, the intrigue in Requiem was the conspiracies, manipulations, and deceptions. This perfect mixture is what made Requiem such an impressive book.

Partners came and went, employees were promoted and demoted, family members were disowned, and people were murdered. The author left nothing out of his remarkably chronicled family saga.

All this drama took place before the start of WWI. Then in the midst of the war, family life changed dramatically.  Hence to say, maids, butlers, and servants for their every need were not part of daily life anymore. Everyone had to pitch in to help with the war. Tragedy affected every family. Some members came home wounded; others never made it home.

The family problems in Requiem were not just business and war related.  Health issues of the early 1900’s took many lives. Family problems concerned children who were disowned for being gay and others who married beneath parent’s expectations.

I thought Requiem was a literary masterpiece which possessed each trait determined for a master work. For example, there were many characters and places yet there was never a time I was lost or confused. The author had an effective, subtle way in his style of writing to add a reminder just when it was needed.

This was my first book read by Bill Kitson, Writing as William Gordon, and it was a pleasure to start with Requiem. This was Book One of the Byland Crescent series. At the end of Requiem it states Book Two, is coming soon.

I recommend Requiem for readers of all ages as it’s also an enjoyable way to learn history. I’m anticipating another great read when Book Two is released.

The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap by Paulette Mahurin

 

We are left to evaluate our own beliefs

The year is 1895; the place is a small town in Nevada. Mildred Dunlap is a lesbian and she lives with her partner, Edra.

Mahurin introduces her story using Oscar Wilde as the example as he was persecuted for being a homosexual in 1895. It is Wilde’s conviction that gets this small town to vocalize their ignorance. We get to experience the townspeople’s intolerance; prejudice, hatred, and bigotry. Mildred must endure this hell whenever she goes into town.

Mahurin is a genius developing her characters.  Mildred should be a bitter, hateful woman but she is the opposite. She is a compassionate, tolerant, and loving human being. Even with her community hating her for her physical looks and her wealth, she still helps out the needy including the ones who hate her most.

Her partner, Edra, is a perfect companion and lover for Mildred. It makes the reader cringe to see how they had to live in this town full of hate.

The townspeople characters consist of nosy, stuck-up, ignorant, busy bodies that make up stories and gossip about Mildred’s life. The husbands don’t condone their behavior, they just ignore it.

Mildred does make a friend, a male friend, and Edra finally embraces the friendship. The story ends well enough, but the town has a long way to go, as do many towns today. I think this may have been the reason for writing the book.

As readers of The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, we are left to evaluate our own beliefs. We need to think about changing the opinions of 1895 and be more tolerant in 2012.

I recommend this beautifully written book for readers of all ages.

Let the Willows Weep by Sherry Parnell

A story of family drama

Let the Willows Weep is about a dysfunctional family, the Harlin family. The mother carries with her a secret from a previous life which is supposed to explain her abusive behavior toward her family, especially her daughter. This is revealed in the last pages of the book. Depending on the reader, we can feel sympathetic or angry towards the mother. Did this secret justify putting her family through hell?

The father worked hard and always spoke highly of his wife to be respectful and a good role model. He made excuses for her behavior. Again, was this an admirable trait, or was he a coward?

The children, two boys and a girl had completely different relationships with each parent. There was favoritism and a lack of or too much discipline.

Let the Willows Weep tells the story of how each of these characters handles the dysfunction of their family. How does one child handle the love of one parent, but the neglect of the other? How does one child handle being the favorite? Lastly, how does one child handle being completely overlooked?

The story covers the usual dysfunctional family occurrences from day to day, such as abuse, neglect, jealousy, and anger. Major, even tragic events, take place, such as, love/hate relationships, prejudices, devastation, and death. We get to see how each character deals with these problems in their individual ways.

Sherry Parnell makes the story enjoyable with her beautiful writing style and being unpredictable. We get to know the characters well enough to predict their choices, but are surprised with a twist we never see coming. I think the best stories are unpredictable.

There are other characters in Let the Willows Weep that Sherry Parnell introduces who share in the Harlin family drama. They are as vivid as the Harlin family characters themselves.

Does the family survive the dysfunctional drama? Do any of the Harlin family members learn from the choices they made in their life? 

I recommend the book; Let the Willows Weep for readers who enjoy stories about family hardships.

Tan – A story of exile, betrayal and revenge by David Lawlor

Experience the essence of revenge

Tan is referred to the “Black and Tans” in Ireland. They consisted of soldiers who previously served and were brought into Ireland in 1919 by London’s government. Their job was to assist the RIC, the Royal Irish Constabulary.

The first Black and Tan soldiers arrived in Ireland in March 1920. They accepted the job offered because they were unemployed and unskilled (except to fight in a war). So the main reason was pure and simple; money. They severely lacked discipline and found pleasure in terrorizing local communities during Ireland’s War of Independence.

The story of exile:

The year is 1914; the place is Balbriggan, Ireland. A young man named Liam Mannion is accused of rape. He is beaten just shy of death by the ruthless RIC District Inspector Webber. In order to save his life, Liam’s father helps him escape and he ends up in England. He enlists and fights in the war for five hellish years. Today we call it PTSD; in 1919 Liam deals silently with the memories of trench warfare.

Liam needs to find work, so he takes a job in a cotton mill in Manchester. Not only is the job hell physically, mostly because of the five years spent at war ruining his lungs, but the Brits don’t like the Irish, so the prejudices were hell to put up with on a daily basis.

Since poor Liam could hardly breathe working in the mill, he quit. With no job and no food, he once again enlists, this time in the “Black and Tans.” Ironically, he is assigned a post in Balbriggan, Ireland, his home town which he fled in 1914.

The story of betrayal:

Liam is now a Black and Tan, and his hometown friends fight for the republican cause and his own brother for the British Armed Forces. Again, poor Liam has to deal with fighting on the unscrupulous Tan side while he wrestles with his feelings of loyalty to friends and family.

The story of revenge:

Remember the beating he took from Inspector Webber? Well, you must read Tan – A story of exile, betrayal and revenge, to experience the essence of revenge.

David Lawlor’s descriptions of violent combat battles are exceptionally compelling. However, he didn’t lose sight of the fact his book was a historical fiction.  Lawlor brilliantly introduces the family; Liam’s brother Eoin, who is jealous of Liam, and his father, Dan, who he loves and respects.

Other characters including friends and women are perfectly woven into the story. It’s a beautifully written novel in which to entertain and learn about this period of Irish history.

The Coach House by Florence Osmund

Things aren’t always what they seem.

Tall, dark, and handsome describe the two men in Marie Marcheti’s young life. Besides being from different ethnic groups, they are worlds apart in character, moral, and ethical strength.

Marie lost her mother when she was a young girl and never knew her father. The only information her mother shared was that her father was tall, dark, and handsome. Marie had no idea until she was in her late twenties that ‘dark’ meant Negro.  Realizing she was a Mulatto in the 1940’s left Marie with mixed feelings of confusion and fear.

Richard was her tall, dark, and handsome husband. In her gut she felt there was a secretive side to him, but she married him anyway, doubts and all. They were in love and enjoyed each other’s company, but things aren’t always what they seem. It didn’t take long for Marie to decide to leave Richard.

Not taking this well, Richard stalks Marie. She desperately tries to find a place to live where he will never find her. But Richard’s secret life involved corruption and it was easy for him to keep tabs on her every move.

Marie ends up in Atchison, Kansas renting a coach house apartment. It’s located behind a beautiful Victorian home where her landlord’s family lives.

Marie is an interior designer and left a good job in Chicago when she left Richard. When she ended up in Kansas, after working a menial job for a year, she was able to thrive once again as an interior designer. She made friends easily and Karen, her new best friend, helped Marie endure her life on the run from Richard in Kansas.

The settings in The Coach House are described beautifully by Florence Osmund. Chicago and its music venues, New York City, and San Francisco, we get to travel and enjoy these cities with Marie.

The character development is Osmund’s strength in The Coach House. Each character becomes alive in chapter after chapter. It’s hard to put down the book because we get so absorbed with each character - whether it’s Marie, Richard, and Karen, or Richard’s cohort doing his dirty work.

The Coach House is a superbly written book, in my opinion. It will leave the reader thinking about relationships, adversity, independence and growth, and prejudices. It’s always nice to finish a good book with something to think about.