Sunday Books & Culture
Reviews for this week include “The Blue Hour” a new thriller by Paula Hawkins and “Songs of America” an exploration of American music by Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw.
Vanessa Sekinger
BOOKS & CULTURE EDITOR
THE BLUE HOUR
by Paula Hawkins
Published by Mariner Books (October 29, 2024)
Hardcover $27.00
Audiobook $22.04
Reviewed by Drew Gallagher
The blue hour is that time between day and night. Before the world turns from light to darkness, white to black. The time when the world lives in semi truths and the time that author Paula Hawkins mines to fascinating effect in the suspenseful The Blue Hour.
The book begins tranquilly enough with James Becker, the director of Fairburn Estate’s art collection, sent off to the remote Scottish home of artist Vanessa Chapman to clear up some issues regarding her last will and testament and also clear up the provenance of a sculpture that is in Fairburn’s extensive collection of Chapman’s art. The sculpture in question may contain a piece of human bone and Becker, one of the world’s foremost experts on Chapman, is the perfect messenger to send to Chapman’s home where her dear friend Grace still resides. Not many people know much about Grace, and Becker is excited to meet her and see Eris, the tiny island where Chapman created much of her art.
Becker is convinced that the bone is not human, but Chapman’s estranged husband mysteriously died a few decades ago after a visit to see his wife on Eris and the owner of Fairburn wants to make certain that any scandal regarding the sculpture is addressed early on so they can be ready for any media blitz that follows which might also drum up interest in their collection of Chapman art. Becker knows he will not be welcomed with open arms by Grace though because she was a long-time friend of the artist and was with her when she died of cancer. All that was left to her was the tiny island home that they sometimes shared. All the art, all the journals, all the letters—just about everything of possible value were bequeathed to Fairburn.
Grace is initially cold toward Becker, but, as she gets to know him, she recognizes a kindred spirit who loved Chapman and would do anything to protect her legacy. Becker feels sorry for Grace who never received any recognition in interviews for her part in Chapman’s life and appears to be living a sad and lonely life on a remote island that is only accessible when the tide is low. (Spoiler alert: remote Scottish islands that are only accessible during low tide make for perfect settings for books that open with sculptures made of possible human bone.)
Hawkins’ writing is illustrative but never detracts from a propulsive narrative that starts to unspool at breakneck speed as Becker gets closer to Grace and to knowing the truth about the sculpture and what happened all those years ago on Eris. To delve much further into the plot would be a disservice to readers of this finely crafted mystery. The Blue Hour is a haunting tale of art and the love that it can inspire. Love that can sometimes lead to ends and actions that make this a perfect read for cold and windy nights as the seasons bleed into the blue hour of winter.
Drew Gallagher is a freelance writer residing in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is the second-most-prolific book reviewer and first video book reviewer in the 137-year history of the Free Lance-Star Newspaper. He aspires to be the second-most-prolific book reviewer in the history of FXBG Advance and is also a founding member of Dads for Puppies.
SONGS OF AMERICA: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music that Made a Nation
by Jon Meacham & Tim McGraw
Published by Random House (June 11, 2019)
Hardcover $11.74
Audiobook $14.99
Reviewed by Penny A Parrish
For those who are exhausted by the current political situation, I have a red, white, and blue book to recommend that will highlight how music helped to form our country.
Meachan is a well-known writer (American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White house) and anyone who follows country music knows the legendary Tim McGraw. Together they look at songs from the beginning of America to today. They begin with our fight for independence, with musicians often leading troops into battle with fife and drum. We read about “Yankee Doodle” being played as a taunt by British forces at Lexington and Concord.
The history behind our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” is covered by Meacham who describes Francis Scott Key watching the battle for Fort McHenry in Baltimore in 1812. Key’s lyrics were written from a ship when he saw the American flag intact. McGraw talks about the music. The words were put to a well known melody called “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The song is tough to sing, covering one and a half octaves (as many of us have witnessed before the opening of baseball games). But the combination of notes and lyrics “leads us to think about how far we’ve come, where we are, and how diligent we must be to continue moving forward,” according to McGraw.
We learn about songs from both World Wars, songs from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years by Woody Guthrie, the power of “We Shall Overcome," and the famous concert by Marion Anderson. Since she was black, she was not allowed to sing in Washington DC’s Constitution Hall. She ended up singing before a crowd of 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.
While some music unites us, other music has torn us apart. Many of Bob Dylan’s songs were considered almost sacrilegious by those in power. “The Age of Aquarius” was seen by many parents as a warning to keep their kids safe from drugs and the hippie movement. What was a protest song to others, McGraw sees as music of change, of one generation passing to another. Parents today probably face the same dilemma.
I love both history and music, so I learned a lot from this book. It’s not new, but it’s timely. Where did I find it, you ask? At the CRRL (Central Rappahannock Regional Library) “Friends” book store. It is a hardback, and I paid only $5. The store is at 125 Olde Greenwich Drive, Suite 150 off of Lafayette, open Monday-Friday 10-2. If you’ve not been there before, check it out. Hundreds of treasures to take home, like this one.
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