Monday, September 17, 2012

Dough, a Memoir by Mort Zachter

This is a delightful memoir of Zachter as he details his life as what he thought was a lower middle class Jewish child. It concerns his uncles and his family .
The title can be seen on two levels. Dough as in the bakery he grew up in or dough being the money he discovered his Uncle Harry had in stocks and bonds. Over a million dollars was invested But when  Mort finds out about the money Uncle Harry is suffering from Alzheimer’s and there is no way to ask why he was never told.
Then there was Uncle Joe who ran the bakery . By the time Mort learns of the money  Uncle Joe is dead.
          Mort grew up thinking he had to be careful with each penny he received. His life centered around the family bakery and all he knew growing up was hard work and  long hours, struggling to make it in America.. There never seemed time to do anything outside the shop.
          It was a good childhood. He wanted for nothing. He didn’t starve. Money was doled out for special occasions. It was a tight knit family. It was a hard life. One time the bakery was robbed but the robber was forgiven and charges never pressed. 
          This was the family he grew up in. All life centered around the bakery. The uncles never ventured out. They lived and breathed the bakery. Deliveries were made on time to customers regardless of the weather. Snow never stopped the delivery.
          It is a story of forgiveness and acceptance of the family you are born in. And of secrets that are kept. In the end there was nothing that could be done but accept the fact that what matters most is family.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

The Reason By William Sirls

In this fiction book of about 400 pages we are presented  with a story of faith and belief. A stranger comes to town, a carpenter, and where ever he is things start to happen. The question to ask is it believable?
 I got to thinking about the title of this book. Each author likes to title their books for a reason ( no pun intended.). What was the author trying to tell us by naming it thusly?. What is the purpose or reason for this book?
 The story concerns a group of people in a small town. A stranger shows up and things miraculous start to happen. The phrase “only Believe” is thrown  around.
 Are the characters believable? I mean, are they real or  merely stick figures?. I found the characters  to be subordinate to a message. The question thus is what is the message of this book?
 As I read it the feeling I got is that I can’t share this with my non-Christian friend.  The area of suspension of unbelief necessary in a work of fiction is handled well, but for a  person who is seeking answers, this is not that book they need.
 The message seems to be miracles happen when God is present.. The plot driven story is just too difficult to believe as possible.
The book as a whole was interesting.
This book was sent to me free from the publisher as part of the book review bloggers program of BookSneeze.com . I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.