The Wife Upstairs: A Novel by Racheal Hawkins was on several recommended reading lists for 2021, described as having a twist on Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre – so that drew me in. This is also Hawkins’ first adult novel. While doing a search for this title, I found there was also a 2020 psychological thriller of the same title by Freida McFadden that also looked interesting and got excellent ratings on Amazon. So I decided why not read them both for one post. So, here are two titles about the wife upstairs.
These are three titles that I have read and enjoyed. You know, sometimes you want to be entertained and want the author to challenge your imagination, taking you to a completely different place. These three fit the bill. The first is a stand-alone graphic novel, the second is a series with more to come. The third is a novel that should have a sequel but not yet – it’s well worth the read though.
THE FIVE: The Untold Lives of The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenold
I purchased this book while viewing a True Crime forum at the virtual 2020 Brooklyn Book Festival, yes, virtual because of the pandemic. The author, Hallie Rubenold, is a social historian who researched the lives of the five victims of serial killer, Jack the Ripper, something she said hasn’t been done before because the victims were simply painted with a broad brush as prostitutes and therefore not worth discussing.
The five victims were: Mary Ann Nichols (August, 1845 – August 31, 1888); Annie Chapman (September, 1841 – September 8, 1888); Elisabeth Stride (November, 1843 – September 30, 1888); Catherine Eddowes (April, 1842 – September 30, 1888); Mary Jane Kelly (~1863 – November 9, 1888). All women were in their forties and on the street, looking for a place to sleep when they died, except for Mary Jane Kelly, who was 25 years old and killed in her room, in her bed. They were all killed within a one mile radius. But that is all people, in general, know about them – their names, when and where they died, and the brutal way their bodies were mutilated. But who were they in life?
My nephew suggested that I start a section called BG’s Picks for books that I have read in the past and would like to inform readers about. So, for this month of February, I thought it would be a good time to tap a few titles of black interest for readers. These titles I’ve read were quite interesting and worth mentioning for those who like history and reading accounts of real people’s struggles and triumphs. There are three titles below:
The Farm By Joanne Ramos is this author’s debut novel. Another winner found while listening to a WNYC interview! The author taps into her Filipino roots to tell this tale of immigrant women struggling to survive, trying to make a better life for themselves, their children and extended families and the sacrifices these mothers make by taking care of other wealthy people’s children. The author does not hide the idea that women are being used as vessels, commodities to accommodate the rich. The needs of the extremely wealthy’s are catered to, literally, as a business opportunity and industry, while the women who serve them are invisible. Although this story is fiction, it could be true now or in our near future, which is unsettling.
Ok, this novel caught my eye because it was described as elevator accidents occurring in NYC one after the other and they weren’t a coincidence. Now, I have been stuck in an elevator recently, at work. I was on my way up to the top, 6th floor, and it just stopped suddenly between the 5th and 6th floors. I pressed the floor buttons – nothing happened. I pressed the alarm – nothing happened. I pressed the phone button and got a response. I was stuck in there for about 30 minutes before they got the doors open so I could step out. So yeah, I suppose we all feel a little uneasy when riding an elevator and we hear a strange noise or feel it jerk suddenly or pause for a moment. You are completely helpless in that moment – it’s not a good feeling.
What drew me to this book? The author, Kiersten White, in an interview on WNYC, talked about publishing this retelling of Frankenstein on the 200th anniversary of the original publication. She also talked about the time period that Mary Shelley lived; being an author was basically an all-male profession as well as the protagonists in their stories. In the introduction of the original book, Shelley’s husband downplays her contribution thinking that people would prefer to read the book if it was written jointly with himself and Lord Byron – Even Mary Shelley herself shifts focus from herself, complimenting her husband encouraging her to write the story.
So Kiersten White decided to pay tribute to Mary Shelley by bringing the women to the forefront of this story. While asking the questions, “How much of who we are is shaped by those around us?” and “What happens when everything we are depends on someone else?”, White says she found the her story in Elizabeth Lavenza – a little girl gifted to a little boy, that feels this boy is the center of her life and, unwittingly, helps create a monster.
While reading both of these books, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created The Worlds Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump and Melania and Me by Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff, people asked if the authors were credible. I would say yes because both of these women had long relationships with the Trumps. Mary Trump, daughter of the eldest son, Fred Trump Jr., grew up in the family home where Donald Trump and the rest of the family lived. Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff knew Melania Trump for many years, before the Trump marriage and before she became First Lady. Both of these women are also trained, educated professionals who, in my opinion, didn’t need anything from the Trump family, Mary Trump being a psychologist and businesswoman and Winston-Wolkoff an event planner and fashion/entertainment executive.
One thing about sci-fi, I’m really impressed with the creativity and ingenuity of authors with the worlds and technology they create to make you believe – well, read along, this is normal. This sci-fi series fits the bill. The Murderbot Diaries is a series of books, with All Systems Red, a novella of 160 pages, being book one.
The Murderbot Diaries is set in the distant future, in a seriously corporate controlled system that spans many galaxies in space. The main corporation, Corporate Rim, owns many systems of planets and they control all traffic on these planets – colonization, surveying and mining. Traveling to these planets must be done under contract from the Corporation and you may encounter hazards from alien life forms and rival corporate entities, which is why it is mandatory to include Security Units or SecUnits in your contract to accompany your team.
These SecUnits are part robot and organic, have extensive memory capabilities and are armored and equipped with serious weaponry. They also have control of drones that they can deploy for surveillance, and gathering information of the surroundings. SecUnits also have the capability to interface with other robots and computer systems. These SecUnits are controlled by the Company and its clients by a governor module that is embedded in the SecUnit. The governor module links the SecUnit to the Corporation’s computer communication and data system. If instructions are not followed a SecUnit may be punished or shutdown and destroyed.
As for humans, all have implants that allow them to transfer data and communicate with each other and systems within their ships and most other units contracted to them, including SecUnits (no cell phones or othermobile communicators needed). Some are augmented humans and have larger memory capability to link to computer systems, but not as much as SecUnits.
All Systems Red begins with a Sec Unit that has hacked and disabled its own governor module and downloaded the entire content of the Company’s entertainment channels (TV series, movies, music, plays, everything) and named itself Murderbot – it watches this media whenever it has downtime. It is on a scientific planet survey with a crew of 8 people and continues to fulfill its duties as a SecUnit without letting anyone know it is now an independent unit; if the Company knew, it would be dismantled, destroyed. So, this SecUnit would rather go off somewhere by itself because its not comfortable interacting with humans but it can’t because the Company would know it is a rogue unit – it stays with its crew, which leads to many entries by Murderbot in his log about his feelings. Its entries is one of the things that makes these books so entertaining and interesting.
This 200-page book gives a concise history of Joe Biden’s (J.B) record in politics. Why read this if you plan to vote for him? You should know who you are voting for and understand why other people might not. If you know J.B’s record, maybe you won’t be so passive after he is in office. And, because of his record, don’t take for granted that this election is going to be a sure thing. In a nutshell, here is some of his record from Yesterday’s man.
The book’s chapter’s 1 – 6 go from his early family days to present day. J.B’s father, Joe Sr. (his mom’s father was s State Senator), was brought into brought in to business by his wealthy uncle, who had a patent for a coffin sealant and later won government contracts during WW II for armor plating US ships. This fortune was lost after the war – stolen money by business partners. Then the family fell on some hard times. (I guess these are the hard times J.B talks about)
The author noted that J.B had the ambition to become president since college. He went to law school because it was the best path to forge a way into politics. So, from early on, he was in drive-mode to climb to the presidency. He started off with a socially conservative platform to win a County Council seat in a mostly suburban Republican district in Delaware. Then he ran for US Senate against a long-time incumbent. During his campaign, J.B criticized millionaires and billionaire companies for not paying their share, criticized parties for being controlled by big money, promised to protect the environment and won endorsements from labor and environmental groups. Biden, 29 years old, had support of grassroots organizers and dominated his opponent in fundraising (sound familiar! He was once a Bernie Bro?). Biden won! 1973.
