May Books: More Nonfiction

 There was more fascinating nonfiction on my book pile in May.

And Now I Spill the Family Secrets: A Memoir by Margaret Kimball (audiobook read by Eileen Stevens)

From the e-audiobook listing on the library website:

‘In 1988, when Kimball is only four years old, her mother attempts suicide on Mother’s Day—and this becomes one of many things Kimball’s family never speaks about. As she searches for answers nearly thirty years later, Kimball embarks on a thrilling visual journey into the secrets her family has kept for decades.

Using old diary entries, hospital records, home videos, and other archives, Margaret pieces together a narrative map of her childhood—her mother’s bipolar disorder, her grandmother’s institutionalization, and her brother’s increasing struggles—in an attempt to understand what no one likes to talk about: the fractures in her family.’

I think it’s important to say that while the book begins with her mother’s suicide attempt, which is described in the prologue, the author and her siblings did not know about what happened until they were adults. She says her brother calls her one day to ask if she knew. So part of the story is the confusion and lack of understanding about what was happening felt by the kids as they grew up. The confusion continues when her brother begins to act in strange ways. he once picked her up at the airport with a hoodie on and the hood pulled forward in front of his face. He started recording the journey as soon as she was in the car. When she asked him why, he explained that he was being followed and tracked. At one point, he explains that there are planes flying over his home several times a day and when she asks him if he thinks this might be because he lives near an airport, he dismisses this idea immediately, saying they are there to keep tabs on him. The author struggles with all of this and more throughout the book. The story is compelling. The reader does a wonderful job as well.

Why the Germans Do It Better: Notes from a Grown-Up Country by John Kampfner

I read about this book in The Guardian late last year and put it on hold right away. It was in transit when lockdown 3 began, so I waited a while for it. Once things were moving again, it came in quickly. I learned a lot from this book. It was well-written and the author made good use of his own experiences, interviews with others, historical material, and more.

The author is British and he is primarily comparing Germany to the UK, but the US gets a few mentions as well. Basically, his argument is that Germany, while far from perfect (and he discusses the problematic issues at length), has done remarkably well societally speaking, considering where they started after WWII and that they had to absorb an entire (poor) country, essentially, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the same time, both the US and the UK have gone backwards. He attributes much of this to the cultural stories each country tells about itself--the UK and US look backwards with nostalgia to consider their mythical 'glory days' but Germany can't do that, even if they wanted to, so they're forced to look and move forward instead of trying to recapture an imagined past, which has served them well. I agree with what he says about the US (the country I am most familiar with) and the UK and I think he makes a good case for what he says about Germany. It was in his discussions of Germany that I learned a lot. The book provided much food for thought, which is always good!

I've got some great (I hope!) nonfiction on my current book pile, which makes me very happy indeed! 

I hope it's a nice day in your neck of the woods.

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