Neshama’s Choices for November 11

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Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal

Charlotte is on a ship, heading to a very small island to do research on a species of tortoise that only exists there.  She gets dreadfully seasick and the ministrations of Dan, who’s returning to Tuga from whence he sprang to become the new physician, make her feel much better in many ways.  But when she discovers his fiancée is arriving in six months, there goes that. Charlotte has training as a vet, and when the villagers discover this, they command her to see their animals which takes her away from her primary goal but introduces her to their culture smack in the face. Boats are limited to weather patterns, so people are stuck for months until the next one arrives. Segal has created an intriguing little world with anachronistic customs and a language peppered with Ladino words. The question of what and how to preserve—tortoises, people, the earth—gets a lively workout.

A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko

Subtitled: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon. Kevin, a journalist,  and his buddy Pete, a photographer, set the intent to hike the canyon from start to finish. With a combination of hubris and ignorance, they do very little preparation, and thus when they join the small group of experienced hikers on the first leg of the trip, many things wrong fast. But with doggedness and a very good support system, they actually achieve their goal. As they get better acclimated and functional, the canyon starts to speak to them profoundly and Kevin does an excellent job of describing its wonders, big and small. He also delves into the history of the canyon’s indigenous denizens, and the ominous changes occurring as a result of severe economic privation and the tribes’ need to survive. The book goes deep like the canyon itself, but can also be quite funny. Breathtaking and eye-opening.

Practice by Rosalind Brown

Annabel has to write a paper on Shakespeare’s sonnets, and she sets herself up with a disciplined routine to help her focus.  But she keeps getting distracted by other aspects of life, like her relationship with much older Rich, and the needs of her body. Two imaginary figures, the Scholar and the Seducer, keep hijacking her attention. Literary material like nuggets of Shakespeare helps enliven the detailed attention to interior processes. At first, I found the book almost claustrophobically self-involved, but soon found the dive into the minutia of one woman’s internal experience almost hypnotic.

The Haters by Robyn Harding

Camryn, a high school counselor, has written a novel and it’s a success. Then a post on social media throws a significant wrench into the book’s ratings. A woman accuses Camryn of exploiting her students’ stories for material. Someone out there really hates her, and she has to find out who it is. The police aren’t any help, and she starts to question everyone in her circle, including family members. Her job is at risk as well. When the PI she’s hired to discover the perpetrator is found dead, the situation heats up further. A grabber