Title: The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party
Author: Daniel James Brown
Published: 2015
Genre: Nonfiction (historical)
Summary: An exhaustive retelling of the infamous Donner Party from the Graves' family start in Illinois to the last survivor's death.
More Under the Cut
I have a morbid fascination (as I think many people do) with the Donner party, but not because of the cannibalism. I'm just drawn somehow to manmade disasters. The Jenga tower of compounding factors is something I love digging my teeth into.
Plus, growing up in Nebraska, we learned about the Oregon Trail endlessly in grade school and briefly touched on the Donner party. My grandmother doesn't live far from Chimney Rock or Scottsbluff Monument. A lot of the forts are places I visited on family trips as a child. I have an understanding of what it's like to walk through sharp prairie grass, stumble on loose sandy soil, wade in the Platte river, and the feeling of the climate. Prairie summers are dry and hot and suddenly it'll squall for a brief time, which floods the flat plains. The air gets so dry that harmless lightning storms are a nightly event. The nights cool sharply as soon as the sun sets. Sometimes in the winters, the snow will fall deeply and quickly enough to block the door to your house. Sometimes it snows as late as June.
I think my primary issue with The Indifferent Stars is that I already knew basically everything touched on in the book. I learned some new gee whiz information about the time period and more about the California Republic, but that's really it. I think I've just dug into the Donner Party enough that this book and I had both come full circle and had the same facts. So if you know very little about the Donner Party, or if your only understanding of it is cannibalism, I think it could be intriguing.
However, I did not care for Brown's writing style. I found it dry and dull, spare on imagery but also not giving real weight to the facts of the matter. It was less documentary and more instructional video. I also found his syntax confusing at times, which meant I had to reread entire paragraphs more than I cared to in order to clarify his sentence structure. I wish he'd provided diagrams or maps of the camp arrangements and a map of their path as well as the rescue parties. The only part of the book that I think was very passionately written was the epilogue, which I gave up on after two pages because it was so purple and self-grandiose. It was obnoxious.
I'm giving it three stars because it does contain all the information one could ever find on the Donner Party, and it's accessible enough for reading even if it's a slog to get through. I think a better alternative to this book would be the slightly inaccurate episode of Stuff You Should Know, How the Donner Party Worked, which does a good job distilling all the same information into an entertaining 30-minute podcast. Here's its companion article, 10 Things You Should Know about the Donner Party.
I rowed in college, and I’m excited to see The Boys in the Boat movie adaptation! It’s a fantastic narrative nonfiction and sports story, plus it’s a great depiction of the sport of crew!
Another productive month. Which I know would rub some readers the wrong way, and sometimes that mindset isn't great for me either, but as a girlie who likes her lists? I'm happy getting to check off stuff.
The biggest accomplishment this month was FINALLY finishing The Disorderly Knights. It took me so long that by the end of the story, I'd already forgotten what happened at the beginning. But it's done, and I have the next book on my shelf. For next year. Maybe.
Total books: 10 | New reads: 9 | 2024 TBR completed: 2 (1 DNF) / 29/36 total | 2024 Reading Goal: 63/100
August | October
potential reading list from September 1st
#1 - The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown - 5/5 stars
After hearing people rave about the movie and then the book, I snagged a cheap copy from my local used bookstore and decided to check it out.
It was so so worth it. Absolutely breathtaking. All of the assorted narratives--the different characters, the historical background, the technical details--came together so perfectly and resulted in a captivating story. I love every bit of it. I cried.
#2 - In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip - 5/5 stars ('24 TBR)
This is exactly the sort of story I was craving. Absolutely spellbinding.
More like this: I had the sense this story reminded me of something else I've read, but I'm blanking on it just now. If I remember, I'll come back here. It might have been a fairy tale kind of story. It's a bit like the first Earthsea book. Perhaps Robin McKinley, Patricia C. Wrede, Madeleine L'Engel, Shannon Hale.... Diana Wynne Jones. It feels like a Ghibli movie.
#3 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 2 by Beth Brower - 4/5 stars
A fun installment! I am quickly losing track of the cast, but I can totally see the author's vision of this being a delightful period drama.
#4 - The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett - 4/5 stars
Note to anyone I've recommended this series to: I unfortunately have to retract that hearty recommendation and replace it with...several caveats.
I finished! Honestly, I don't know why it took so long, because once I made myself sit still and read it was easy-ish going; I just had trouble sitting still.
Ok, so "easy" is not the right word. With this series, the first half of each book tends to be a slow build-up, while the end careens rapidly downhill to the conclusion and the ever-brilliant (and painful) reveal.
And, uh.... This got much darker and more intense than I was prepared for. (If I made a habit of reading more in this line, I might have seen that coming, but epics aren't my usual fare.) Narratively, it all worked very well, but it was right on the edge of what I can tolerate.
Still, with 200 pages left to go, I absolutely planned to keep reading the series, well aware that it would be...an experience. Then I saw a blurb for both Book Four and Book Five, skimmed some super vague reviews for Book Four ("Five Stars. owowowowowowowowowowww") and freaked out. And, against all my usual inclinations, hunted for spoilers. And now I'm scared. (But, weirdly, less stressed about the conclusion? Which is an odd experience.)
#5 - Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip - 3/5 stars (audio)
This confirms my suspicion that McKillip is one of those hit-or-miss authors for me. The first book of hers that I read was The Changeling Sea, six years ago, and I remember absolutely nothing about it. Then In the Forests of Serre blew me away. Od Magic? Another middling story.
Don't get me wrong; McKillip's writing is gorgeous. It immediately draws you in, connects you to living, breathing characters, and paints the most vivid pictures. But the story here just kind of...wanders along. It's a pleasant journey, but not very exciting.
Note: I didn't dive into "Od Magic" because of how much I loved "In the Forests of Serre". I needed an "O" title, and realized McKillip had a few. 😅
#6 - Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - 5/5 stars (reread, audio)
We all know I love this. 'Nuff said.
#7 - Yours From the Tower by Sally Nicholls - 4/5 stars
Another Tumblr rec! And a read that had the unfortunate pressure of me getting to it on the heels of 1) a so-so fantasy and 2) a historical fiction adventure that wrung me out. I did my best not to go into it with any expectations outside of being pleasantly charmed, and charmed I was. 90% of it was a fun, light read with just a touch of drama, but my stars, the end had me rolling. There's something so fun about epistolary novels when it comes to twists and big reveals.
#8 - Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher - 5/5 stars (audio)
A gorgeous little story.
#9 - Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher - 4/5 stars (audio)
Largely enjoyable, but the ending felt rushed.
#10 - The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke - 4/5 stars
An impulse pick from the library. I wanted something short and sweet and discovered this after finishing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. As is becoming a habit with Clarke's writing, I enjoyed this book. I loved the variety of styles and tones within the collection.
DNF*
The Element of Fire by Martha Wells - Not a bad story, but by the 15% mark I remained bored and vaguely confused and unable to pay attention, so I gave up. I like Wells's writing style (obviously), but this was evidently her debut and is a bit dull around the edges. For some reason it reminded me vaguely of The Curse of Chalion, which I love, so might be worth checking out if you enjoy Lois McMaster Bujold. Goodreads also shows that fans of T. Kingfisher might enjoy this one as well. (Note: Paladin's Grace [below] also had the same general feel as The Element of Fire and The Curse of Chalion)
The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky by Ellen Meloy ('24 TBR) - I was hoping for a more scientific exploration of color. Instead, this book is a collection of (in my and my friends' opinions) weirdly stuffy, stilted essays. I don't usually mind slow, descriptive/lyrical writing, but this is something else. If you don't mind a deeply personal and conversational writing style and a book you can sit with for several months, definitely check this one out, because it has merit; it's just not for me.
Zao's Tales by J.A. Sommer - I'm still vaguely unclear on how this book arrived on my shelf (it was a gift from my mother and she bought it to support someone?). Decidedly not for me. Also...now I don't have a "Z" title for my alphabet challenge lol.
just kidding, I found another one that was kind of on my radar and ordered it from the library, whoo
Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher - I'm learning that Kingfisher really straddles the line on what I'm willing to tolerate content-wise. This one was a "no" based on that.
The Sea at the End of Everything by Emily McCosh - The writing style was not for me. Sorry, Ruby.
*I'm starting to wonder if I should bother recording books I DNF.... They make up fully a third of the books I've picked up this year.
Currently Reading:
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks - just started
Set in the 1930s focusing on the University of Washington’s rowing team who are attempting to get to the Berlin Olympics in 1936, pushing the boundaries for the gold medal.
⭐️⭐️
Continue reading The Boys in the Boat (2023) Review
