Hi
Everyone,
Winter has just about reached its peak, and how do we women
of infinite wisdom survive the cold, dark emptiness of the season? We snuggle
up with a cozy hot beverage and a book. I so enjoyed escaping the dreary month
of January with our most recent read, The
Glassblower’s Daughters by Petra Durst-Benning. For me, it was a perfect
pick with the historical setting of Germany and the references to the art of
glass blowing. I felt like I had journeyed on a European holiday to the land of
my ancestors. Barb Direnzo, Cheryl, Lori, Mandy, and Sharon joined me at
Natilie’s Pizzeria in Butler to discuss Benning’s tale. It was a nice surprise
to see Barb again who always offers great insight on the books we read and
poses thoughtful questions!
Growing up in a large family with so many sisters – Jackie,
Ginnie, me, Theresa, and Lori - it was natural for me to immediately connect to
The Glassblower’s Daughters, the
Steinmann girls. Benning successfully describes the relationships between each
sister - Marie, Ruth, and Johanna - so that the reader can sense the typical
tensions present in a dwelling of females. We all know that women learning to
live with each other’s moods can be very difficult and in the Steinmann house,
it is no different! Johanna Steinmann is the level headed nurturer, the mother
figure in the family. Marie and Ruth look up to her (of course, Johanna is our
Lori). No one wants to disappoint Johanna! Ruth is the middle sister who has
only one thing on her mind, love, until life doesn’t turn out to be the fairy
tale that she had imagined. She later realizes that her mistakes are her own
doing and with a child to care for, she must make the right choices to secure
her future. Ruth is the stereotypical middle child, yearning for love. (I see
myself in Ruth, learning from her mistakes, and I see Ginnie in Ruth’s complete
devotion to her child). Marie is the youngest of the Steinmann girls and the
most ingenious. Her mind is always creating. She is the mastermind behind the
glassblowing. She yearns for the privacy and seclusion necessary from her
sisters to allow her creative juices to flow (Marie reminds me of my sisters’ Jackie
and Theresa, reserved like them both, and artistic like Jackie).
In our discussion, many of us experienced the essence of
traveling back in time. Benning’s book has the Downton Abbey effect. We were whisked away to a culture with
defined rules. The society of Lauscha, Germany, is where generations of
glassblowers live and work. Each glassblower specializes in their particular
glass product and sells it in the nearby village of Sonneberg. Men do all the
glassblowing and women perform the finishing touches, decorating and packaging
the glass. Year after year, generation after generation, life is the same in
Lauscha until Joost Steinmann dies, and his three daughters, strong and
determined like their father, go against their culture’s traditions to survive.
The girls work hard, but like most women, they dreamed of a better life.
Johanna is first to be enticed by a job in the city where she learns the skills
of a retail clerk until her boss, the perverted and psychotic Strobel, rapes
her. Next, Ruth has hopes that marriage into the Heimer family, a prosperous
family of glassblowers, will be the answer to her dreams but soon discovers
that her husband Thomas Heimer is an abusive drunk. Ultimately, Marie dreams of
creating her art. Her visions of glass Christmas ornaments skillfully painted
in shimmering winter scenes draws her to her father’s glass blower’s torch. In
secret, Marie learns the craft, once attainable only by men, and becomes the
first female glass blower. Her artistic talent and drive to create soon sparks an
idea that ignites the fires of Johanna’s business mind. She leads the family to
embark on an entrepreneurial adventure; the three sisters start a business with
Marie’s designs.
Like Downton Abbey,
Benning spices up the story by introducing famous historical characters like
Frank Woolworth, the five and dime store retail tycoon who purchases the
business’s first order for Marie’s “baubles.” Also adding intrigue and romance, Benning
leaves the reader wondering about the mysterious “B,” the recipient of Strobel’s
letters, and feeling anxious about the hot and heavy relationship between Ruth
and Woolworth’s assistant, Steven. Not to mention, the exasperation we have for
Johanna and her lifetime of shunning Peter’s advances. Will she ever see that
love is right in front of her? Marie is another matter altogether. Her odd affiliation
with Mangus, who only recently returned to Lauscha after many years of
wandering, receives Marie’s exclusive support. Well, he did escort Johanna home
after her rape, but little else is known about him! He quickly begins to win
Marie’s approval by saying the things she wants to hear, clearly a player. Benning
leaves us hooked and yearning for answers to many questions when the novel
ends. Who is “B”? What will happen to Ruth and Steven in America? Will Peter
and Johanna marry? What are Mangus’s intentions? As with Downtown Abbey where we are lured to watch the next episode to
learn more, we must read Benning’s next book to discover the evolving story of
the Steinmann sisters.
Moving on, I’m very excited about February’s title, The All Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion.
It will be my first novel by the author/actress/comedian Fannie Flagg. Most
people know Flagg for her popular novel Fried Green Tomatoes and the Whistle Stop Café which she adapted into a screenplay
and earned an Academy Award nomination in 1991. True to Flagg’s quirky,
heartwarming characters, the characters in The
All Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion promise to be equally as hilarious
and fun. It’s been some time since we have read a book from the comic mystery genre,
possibly Jan Evanovich’s One for the
Money, which we read in July of 2005. We are due for some laughs. Flagg’s
novel will also engage us with its historical background on the WASP’s, the
Women Air Force Service Pilots of WWII. I always love the added possibility of
learning something new in every book I read!
Meet at 6 PM on Tuesday, February 17, at Natilie’s Pizzeria
on Butler’s Main Street to discuss Flagg’s novel. If you plan to eat dinner,
the Pizzeria will also take orders from Natilie North’s menu. This option adds
many more selections to choose from other than pizza and salad, and the bonus, they
have awesome desserts!
Hope to see you all on the 17th,
Tammy :)
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