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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2011 PAGE 5F
BOOKS ◆ BEST SELLERS
Capturing White House Christmas By TISH WELLS McClatchy Newspapers
“Christmas With the First Ladies: The White House Decorating Tradition from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michelle Obama” by Coleen Christian Burke; Insight Books, San Rafael, Calif. (160 pages, $29.95)
By JOHN BRUMFIELD The Philadelphia Inquirer “On Canaan’s Side” by Sebastian Barry; Viking (256 pages $25.95)
L
illy Bere has decided to end her life after the violent death of her Army veteran grandson, recently returned from the first Gulf War. At 89, after a life whose leitmotif has been unremitting loss, she reasons, “It is only one last bit of life that I undo. Lord, it is nothing, absolutely nothing. A year or two.” • But before doing so, she decides on a final bit of stock-taking — what she refers to as her “strange confession” — that takes the form of 17 daily journal entries of richly detailed, often cinematic, reminiscence that jump cuts with the present and her dwindling number of friends. Stick around, though. This is no self-indulgent apologia, and Irish writer Sebastian Barry makes the fine distinction between sentiment and sentimentality with a deft hand. A reluctant Irish immigrant, Lilly arrives in the United States with her fiance in the 1920s. They’re on the lam from the Irish Republican Army, which has issued a death sentence on her man for being part of the hated Black and Tans, whose royal mandate was to suppress Irish revolution. Finding no kin in New York, they play out their days and nights living vigilantly in Chicago, where both the real and imagined shadows of IRA sympathizers loom constantly. A friendship with the not-yet-famous Armenian immigrant painter Arshile Gorky leads dramatically to one of the first of Lilly’s many losses — one that will chime chillingly with another toward the end of this fine novel. And it means Lilly must be on the move again. The kindness of strangers leads to better luck than that of distant relatives as Lilly’s peregrinations take her eastward to Cleveland, where she marries, is abandoned by her husband, and has a
child. She then moves to Washington, D.C., and finally to Long Island, where she finds her niche and her nest cooking meals for a wealthy Irish American family. She would remain there for the duration of her long life and form a bond with her loving but no-nonsense employer that allowed her the security so elusive in her earlier immigrant years. While the theme of loss is ever present, the overall tone of the book is far from morose. The sheer liveliness of Barry’s writing, his sure handling of the wide variety of characters and their dialogue, and the resilient Lilly herself all ensure that the novel doesn’t bog down in her sorrows. With all the quiet interiority and the equanimity with which events are recalled here, it’s easy to overlook how exciting those events were. The “plot” is full of surprises — many shocking. War, single parenthood, betrayal, unexpected acts of compassion, death too early — or in at least one case, too late — and race relations are all threads in the tapestry of Lilly’s life. Accommodations must be made at every turn and Lilly makes them, all the while maintaining her own moral poise.
“Christmas With the First Ladies” is an attractive addition to the plethora of books on White House history. Drawingonthematerialsfrompresidential libraries, Coleen Christian Burke has delved into history to put a human face on presidential Christmases as presented by our presidents and their wives. It starts in1961with the first administrationofJohnF.Kennedy,whenJacqueline Kennedy — better known to most as Jackie — put together her first Christmas in the White House. She was known for her sophistication and international experience, which was reflected in her Christmas gifts. As earlyasSeptember,“alettertotheU.S. embassy in Paris indicates beautiful Chanelchiffonscarveswerefoundand purchased for Mrs. Kennedy to give as presents.” Oneofthegreatdelightsincludedin the book are personal pictures gathered from presidential archives. Here at the private family Christmas in Florida, Jackie is not the glamorous first lady but a harassed young mother, dressed in a deep pink pajamas — and pearls — dealing with two lively children on Christmas morning. Each first lady brings her own human touches to the White House. In the hard times of 1975, Betty Ford’s “Patchwork Christmas” trees were adorned with handmade decorations, done to be thrifty. Unfortunately, at the end they were more “expensive thantheChristmasdecorations”ofthe first ladies who preceded it. In contrast,11years later, Nancy Reagan showed the country trees dripping with silver tinsel, fake snow and white lights during the “Christmas Special at the White House.” In 1983, she sat on the lap of gold-chain-festooned “The A-Team” star Mr. T — dressed as Santa Claus — who distributed gifts. Another touch in “Christmas With the First Ladies” is a page dedicated to each first lady, with a favorite recipe or decoration. Lady Bird Johnson gave us a Christmas cranberry salad mold, to be used “whenever you serve chicken or turkey.” Rosalynn Carter made inexpensiveornamentsoutofsmallconebirthday hats. After stuffing them with peanuts, gum drops and candy canes, she hung them on lace ribbons amid hundreds of white crocheted stars. “Christmas” covers everything from the history of the White House crèche to the gingerbread house, which every family gives its own touch. The result is a book rich with holiday spirit that brings the White House to life.
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HARDCOVER FICTION 1. Shock Wave. John Sandford. Putnam, $27.95 2. The Affair. Lee Child. Delacorte, $28 3. Survivors. James Wesley, Rawles. Atria, $24 4. Neverwinter Saga, Book II. R.A. Salvatore. Wizards of the Coast, $27.95 5. Lethal. Sandra Brown. Grand Central, $26.99 6. The Night Circus. Erin Morgenstern. Doubleday, $26.95 7. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane. Debbie Macomber. Mira, $16.95 8. Aleph. Paulo Coelho. Knopf, $24.95 9. A Dance with Dragons. George R.R. Martin. Bantam, $35 10. The Dovekeepers. Alice Hoffman. Scribner, $27.99 HARDCOVER NONFICTION 1. Killing Lincoln. Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard. Holt, $28 2. Boomerang. Michael Lewis. Norton, $25.95 3. I Never Thought I’d See the Day! David Jeremiah. FaithWords, $24.99 4. Seriously... I’m Kidding. Ellen DeGeneres. Grand Central, $26.99 5. Every Day a Friday. Joel Osteen. FaithWords, $24.99 6. This Is Herman Cain! Herman Cain. Threshold, $25 7. Jacqueline Kennedy. Caroline Kennedy. Hyperion, $60 8. The Ultimate Question 2.0. Fred Reichheld with Rob Markey. Harvard Business Press, $27.95 9. Unbroken. Laura Hillenbrand. Random House, $27 10. That Used to Be Us. Thomas L. Friedman & Michael Mandelbaum. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28 MASS MARKET 1. Cross Fire. James Patterson. Vision, $9.99 2. Miracle Cure. Harlan Coben. Signet, $9.99 3. In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster. Stephanie Laurens. Avon, $7.99 4. Christmas at Timberwoods. Fern Michaels. Zebra, $7.99 5. Bad Blood. John Sandford. Berkley, $9.99 6. Only His. Susan Mallery. HQN, $7.99 7. Legacy. Danielle Steel. Dell, $7.99 8. The Confession. John Grisham. Dell, $9.99 9. Western Skies. Nora Roberts. Silhouette, $7.99 10. Full Dark, No Stars. Stephen King. Pocket, $9.99 TRADE 1. The Help. Kathryn Stockett. Berkley, $16 2. Heaven Is for Real. Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. Thomas Nelson, $16.99 3. Sarah’s Key. Tatiana de Rosnay. St. Martin’s Griffin, $13.95 4. Moneyball. Michael Lewis. Norton, $15.95 5. Cutting for Stone. Abraham Verghese. Vintage, $15.95 6. Room. Emma Donoghue. LB/ Back Bay, $14.99 7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Rebecca Skloot. Broadway, $16 8. Cleopatra. Stacy Schiff. LB/ Back Bay, $16.99 9. The Fifth Witness. Michael Connelly. Grand Central, $14.99 10. The Sixth Man. David Baldacci. Grand Central, $14.99