Dana Sachs

human-rights, humanity, social-injustice, activism, nonfiction, immigrants, emmigrants, hardship, organizational-failures, volunteers, memories, Greece, Greek-heritage, green-politics, grief, grieving, emotional-support, refugees, refugee-camps*****

Back in 2000, Andrea Camilleri and other fiction writers wrote of the desperate problems of those who came by leaky boats to the island of Sicily. Today's news continues in this vein, but in 2015 it was Greece that was overcome with the same problems. But the various Red Cross agencies and the UN were oblivious. Not-so-ordinary individuals, however came to Greece to do what they could and then some. Skills learned in other venues were put to the use of saving lives and more in superhuman ways by foreigners and locals alike. This is their story, and all of it is true. Read it if you dare.… (meer)

What a fascinating and wonderful book Sachs has written about ....volunteers and the subject of volunteering. Those of us who have NOT done any volunteering certainly have a glowing idea of these wonderful people who literally jump into situations that are literally and figuratively absolutely overwhelming....and yet, as Sachs clearly shows....over time...thank goodness for the efforts because, in her expansive writing about the situation in Greece in 2015 and beyond, the numbers of migrants and refugees grew beyond anyone's comprehension....and perhaps especially by the typical organizations one might think would be "in charge" to help solve such complete misery. Everyone just expected someone to be...in charge....but it just didn't happen. This book is beautifully written because Sachs follows just a few families and individuals through their arrival and surrender of everything in their lives while they waited, and waited, and suffered....with only their hope that eventually things would change and they would finally be re-established as human beings who could go on with their lives rather than living in truly inhumane conditions for month after month....lacking the most basic supplies for any kind of safety, comfort, warmth, clothing and on and on. So many needs for so many people. Sachs makes you know some of the people who were volunteers as well as some of the individuals and families they were working with. It's really amazing what Sachs was able to pull together and write about in such a compelling and very readable book that represents, sadly, what is constantly happening in so many places in this world. We're all a part of the problem as well as the possible solution.… (meer)

Eye-opening and very readable account of the refugee crisis in Greece and how volunteers from all over the world stepped in, rolled up their sleeves, and helped alleviate suffering while Greece, the rest of the EU and the big NGOs were slow or sluggish to help. The title said it all. The author followed two Syrian families, several grassroots volunteers, and several migrants themselves from their flight from their home countries and the horrific conditions they endured in Greece. The author even went to Greece, helped, and met some of the people whose stories she told in her book. Some DPs were successful in reaching Europe in spite of both border closings and a cruel Turkish/Greek agreement restricting the inflow of migrants to Greece. I assume the crisis is still with us although not "newsworthy" anymore. I consider this book a "must-read."… (meer)

“‘Well, hello,’ Goldie said. The words sounded friendly enough, but Anna saw the range of emotions flash across her grandmother’s face – joy followed by a recollection of the chill between them, followed by wariness. She assessed Anna, then opened the door wider.”

Anna, a comic book artist in Memphis, has been summoned by her grandmother, Goldie, to New York. She wants Anna to drive her (in her Rolls-Royce no less) to San Francisco to return some exquisite Japanese art to an old friend. Before this, Anna and Goldie hadn’t spoken for five years, mostly because she disapproved of Anna’s husband Ford who had died of leukemia a few years ago. And the problem is that Goldie kind of was right – Ford and Anna were too different, and they might not have worked out.

“No, it wasn’t only Ford’s death that continued to torment her; it was all the ugliness that they’d endured before he died as well. Even when was still healthy, their relationship had troubled them. Weekends, when should have been fun, had devolved into drawn-out disagreements over how best to allocate their precious time. Should they go out and listen to jazz (Ford’s inclination) or stay home and eat popcorn while watching DVDs (Anna’s)? Whatever they decided led to a clash between one person’s guilt and the other’s resentment. Even if your marriage didn’t receive a catastrophic diagnosis, was that a way to spend your life? And then, if it did, things got worse.”

Anna knows that she needs to move on. But she can’t. She still wears Ford’s wedding ring, but not her own. She’s concerned about the complications that come with romance – in her case, the fear of losing someone she loves again. So she’s stuck. And she needs a change, and that comes with the roadtrip.

“She needed a change. The thought of seeing Goldie again raised her anxiety in every way, but at the same time she suddenly felt an enormous sense of relief and possibility.”

Of course one of the first things that Goldie says to her is: “You didn’t get fat.” Ouch.

So anyway, this art of Goldie’s, which Anna and her sister Sadie used to call ‘The Nightingale Palace’, is a wood-bound book of pictures, presented to a man who had been on Admiral Perry’s expedition that forced open trade routes to Japan. The prints include Hiroshige landscapes, often with glimpses of Mt Fuji and Kunisada prints of domestic scenes of men and women. Anna remembers gazing at the pictures as a child, and this early exposure to the art might have inspired her love of storytelling and illustration.

The art is also linked to Goldie’s mysterious past, and more is revealed in flashbacks as the two women make their way across the country. Goldie moves to San Francisco from Memphis in 1940. She finds a job as a salesgirl at the Feld’s department store, quickly becoming an excellent seller:

“Goldie wasn’t a beauty in the way that film stars of the day were beautiful, with their fair complexions, angelic smiles, and easy grace. Goldie had olive skin, thick brown hair, and dark circles around her deep-set eyes that gave her the haunted look of a waif in a silent movie. Her body, though, was elegant and curvy, her eyes bright, her expression quick, her mouth full of sultry charm. The thing about Goldie that most impressed her customers at Feld’s, however, was the fact that she had an almost magical way with clothes. No matter what she put on, it looked like something out of Harper’s Bazaar. The simplest shirt or the slimmest, plainest skirt had the look of Paris couture as soon as she slid them onto her body. The wealthy San Francisco matrons who shopped in the store recognized that quality in Goldie and wanted it for themselves. During her first week, posted in millinery, she sold seventeen hats.”

She eventually becomes good friends with Mayumi Nakamura, who does window displays at Feld’s and whose father Hiroshi is creating the iconic Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. She also meets Henry, Mayumi’s older brother, who imports artwork from around the world.

Essentially, The Secret of the Nightingale Palace is a story of tough love, of family relationships, a road trip tale. It took me a while to warm up to the characters, as it starts out on a bit of a melancholic note (young widow), and with some awkward head butting (stubborn grandmother, equally stubborn granddaughter). But the flashbacks of Goldie’s time in San Francisco, her friendship with Mayumi, her beginning to understand what it’s like to be Japanese in the US after Pearl Harbor, and most of all, her relationship with her granddaughter, all this grows on you, and the story just blossoms. All the way until that somewhat unexpected ending. Luckily it was the kind of ending that puts a smile on a reader’s face.

The Secret of the Nightingale Palace isn’t typically the kind of book that would attract me, but I’m glad I read this lovely book.

A great read.… (meer)