Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the secretary of war to prescribe military zones “from which any or all persons may be excluded.” Eventually this order was applied to one-third of the land area in the United States, mostly in the West, clearing the way for the relocation of 120,000 people of Japanese descent.


This time of fear and prejudice (the U.S. government formally apologized for the relocations in 1982 after determining they were not a military necessity) and the Arkansas Delta are the setting for Camp Nine. The novel’s narrator, Chess Morton, lives in tiny Rook, Arkansas. Her days are quiet and secluded until the appearance of a relocation center built for what was in effect the imprisonment of thousands of Japanese Americans.


Chess’s life becomes intertwined with those of two young internees, and that of an American soldier mysteriously connected to her mother’s past. As Chess watches the struggles and triumphs of these strangers and sees her mother seek justice for these people who came briefly and involuntarily to call the Arkansas Delta their home, she discovers surprising and disturbing truths about her family’s painful past.

I always feel a little bit awkward saying it, but I really do enjoy reading books set against the background of war. I am not sure where this love came from but it was very early on as one of the few books I remember reading in school was Summer of My German Soldier by Betty Greene. In a way, I suppose it is not surprising that I think of that book as I write up my thoughts for this one, given that both are about prisoner of war camps located near small towns and the impact that has on two young girls. This subject of the camps is one that doesn't come up all that often in WWII fiction though. The only other book I have read in the last few years that touches on this setting was Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Despite this commonality, the three books I have mentioned are all very different books.

Life for young Chess Morton is changed dramatically one summer when suddenly some land near her house is cleared, and a camp is built. Camp Nine has been built specifically to house Japanese internees most of whom have come from California. Families who may have lived in America for many years are routinely rounded up and sent to these camps for the duration of the war based only on their Japanese heritage. Whilst she hasn't had everything easy in life, particularly with the death of her father at a very young age, Chess has lived a pretty sheltered and comfortable life. She lives with her feisty mother who spends most of the time butting heads with her ultra conservative grandparents, especially over Chess's inheritance which her grandfather has control over.

The coming of the camp changes many things for Chess. Carrie, Chess's mother, volunteers to help out at the camp by teaching art to the school aged children. As a result, she befriends many of the families in the camp, including the Matsui family. When Chess starts to accompany her mother, she too is introduced to Henry and David Matsui, both slightly older than her and both very different in temperament. Henry is several years older than Chess. He is studious, polite and determined to be honourable at all cost, and then there is David who is rebellious, daring and a passionate musician for whom playing the blues on the guitar is like finding heaven.

For the Matsuis, life changes when they are asked two questions by the government officials. Their answers will change all of their lives in different ways - firstly, are they willing to fight for the US armed forces, and secondly will they forsake all loyalties to Japan. Answer no to either of these questions and your family could be torn apart but many of the prisoners could not in all honour say yes to both of those questions. For those young men who said yes to both they could find themselves on the next train out to training camps, and then on their way to the theatres of war, often under-appreciated for their service.

For a relatively short book there are numerous layers and nuances running through the narrative. The denseness of the delta is palpable, as is the tension in the small town of Rook between those who are for and against the presence of the camp near their town. In addition, there is a subtle examination of the relationship between Carrie and her former flame Tom who is now the commander of the camp.

Whilst the book is mostly about the Japanese camp experience, there is also discussion about the relationship between the well-off whites, the poor whites, the blacks and the Japanese.

Although I wouldn't have been able to articulate it at the time, there was another problem, one much larger than the vague promise of Ruby Jean's wrath. It was possible for the white people of Rook to interact with the black people, and for the white people of Rook to interact with the Japanese. In each case, it was acceptable only if initiated by a white person. But contact between the blacks and the Japanese? How could I explain to David that it simply wasn't done? I didn't even understand it myself.

Vivienne Schiffer

It is a much older Chess who looks back at her youth and tells the story of her experience of Camp Nine and her friendship with the Matsuis. This sense of distance provides her with a perspective that would have been missing as a twelve year old but even then she needs the added wisdom of a person who is now virtually a stranger to fill in the gaps, to tell her exactly what was happening in the lives of the people around her back then.

There were some lovely passages in the book. This one in particular captured my attention and I have read it several times since. It is a very interesting representation of the concept of white privilege.

"See? Lived your whole life in the Arkansas Delta, and you can't name me one blues man. And you know why? Because you're a cultured, white woman. But I'm not white, Chess. I always thought I was, growing up. But I didn't really know what white was until the United States government carved us out of the white race, set us on a plate, and served us up into a dark corner of Arkansas. That's when I learned what white really is. It's separate. It's sheltered. It's a race apart."

Reading this book made me wonder about the Australian treatment of German, Italian and Japanese nationals who had made Australia their home in the years leading up to World War II. I knew that there had been camps, but other than that.I didn't know much at all! It turns out that we had our own Camp Nine which was near a town called Loveday in the Riverland in South Australia. The location was chosen because it was hundreds of kilometres from the sea, it had good river and transport access. Our Camp Nine held both internees and prisoners of war and it seems they were keen to work and be useful in the same ways that many of the characters in this book were. The most famous camp in Australia was at a place called Cowra, and it most famous because there was a break out by the prisoners. These events were turned into a mini-series some years ago which certainly helped maintain the infamy of that particular camp.

Thanks to TLC Booktours for the opportunity to read this fascinating book! Too see what other bloggers thought of the book, check out the other stops on the tour listed below.

Rating 4.5/5

Camp Nine tour stops

Monday, October 31st: Broken Teepee
Tuesday, November 1st: Picky Girl
Wednesday, November 2nd: Literature and a Lens
Thursday, November 3rd: Wordsmithonia
Friday, November 4th: Melody & Words
Monday, November 7th: Booksie’s Blog
Tuesday, November 8th: Lit and Life
Wednesday, November 9th: Write Meg
Thursday, November 10th: Juggling Life
Monday, November 14th: BookNAround
Tuesday, November 15th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Wednesday, November 16th: Books Like Breathing
Thursday, November 17th: A Bookish Affair
Monday, November 21st: For the love of books
Tuesday, November 22nd: Buried in Print
Wednesday, November 23rd: The Lost Entwife
Monday, November 28th: In the Next Room
Tuesday, November 29th: Diary of an Eccentric
Thursday, December 1st: The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader

Gilded Walnuts (from Emily by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles)

In honour of this year's Virtual Advent tour (which kicked off today) I have been collecting quotes about Christmas all through the year. I am sharing them at the Virtual Advent site, but I am also going to post them here as well.

If you might be interested in joining in the tour, it's not too late. Head on over and sign up and join in the fun. We are only on the first day, but already I have teared up reading one of the posts, and I am now desperately wanting a Star Wars Advent calendar, and wishing it was cool enough here to need a Christmas quilt!


Gilding walnuts – page 156-157 Emily by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

One evening, after Yenchik and Zansha were in bed, Mamka brought a basket of walnuts and a bowl of milk into the drawing room and put them down on the table.

‘These are the best, barina,” she said to Natasha. “I’ve sorted them out myself. All the shells are nice and clean and smooth.”

“Ah, good. Stay and help us, Mamka – you have the best touch. Yenya, Emilia, come and sit at the table.”

Yenya brought a lighted candle, a stick of sealing wax, and some green wool cut into lengths, and Natasha fetched from her bureau some little paper booklets about two inches square.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked, taking her place beside Tolya.

“We’re going to gild the nuts,” he answered, surprised. “Haven’t you ever done it before? I’ll show you, then.”

Each booklet contained twenty thin leaves of pure gold with cigarette paper between them, each leaf so delicate it made the cigarette paper look thick and coarse by comparison.

“To get it out you have to blow on it, like this. Look,” Tolya said. He blew gently, and the almost weightless leaf lifted free of the paper with a faint rustling sound. “Your hands have to be clean, and dry, or the gold comes off on your fingers.”

“Like the bloom on a butterfly’s wings,” Emily said, trying it for herself.

Each nut had to be dipped in the milk, then carefully wrapped in the gold leaf. When they were dry, the two ends of a strand of wool were placed on top of the nut and sealed down with a drop of molten wax to make a loop.

“They’re so beautiful,” Emily said. Gold paint would have been nothing to it, a dull meagre imitation. These nuts shone with all the lustre of pure gold, like little suns, like tiny church cupolas. “What are they for?”

“For hanging on the Christmas tree,” Tolya said, all amazement at her ignorance. You must have seen a Christmas tree before.”

And then from page 160

Before her was the first Christmas tree she had ever seen, stretching right up to the ceiling, ablaze with light, a beautiful, glorious thing against the darkness of the room. It was decorated with the gilded nuts she had helped to make, which shone with the soft brilliance of true gold; with small, polished bell-shaped Christmas apples; with little nets of sweets wrapped in shining foil; with crystal icicles and snowflakes, and silver bells. On the top was a fairy dressed in silver tinsel with a diamond crown: and everything seemed to shimmer in the light from the candles which trembled on the ends of the branches, making a cascade of light, layer upon layer of quivering flames, each surround with its own golden halo.

Library Loot: November 30 to December 6

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

This is the last Library Loot for November! Where has the year gone? For this month I was trying to show a little self control and not just request books constantly as I usually do. The idea was that this would reduce the number of books that I would have out and that therefore I would get to a point where there would be a gap and I would therefore be able to make a concerted effort to read some of the books that I have sitting around my house unread. 

It was a good plan, but I don't think it has quite worked because there really has only been one week where I only picked up one book. This week, for example, lots of books that I have been waiting for for some time have all turned up, so I still picked up four items tonight in addition to other books earlier in the week.

I also noticed a sign at the library that said that if we borrow any books during December, the borrowing time has been extended from four weeks to 60 days, so those books will not be due back until February. I am not sure that this is necessarily a good thing for me in terms of getting some books read, but what can you do? Going to have to take advantage regardless!

Share your loot this week by adding your post's link to Mr Linky below:

Here's the loot that I picked up this week:

All That I Am: a novel by Anna Funder - I can't remember exactly why I added this to my TBR list, but with a WWII setting and the fact that Anna Funder is an Australian author, I am really looking forward to it. Actually, I think I might have heard a podcast about it and that was what prompted me to request it.

Changeless by Gail Carriger - the next Alexia Tarabotti book.

A Train in Winter: an extraordinary story of women, friendship, and resistance in occupied France by Caroline Moorehead - I do seem to be reading a lot of WWII books at the moment. This one has a slight variation in that it is a non-fiction book.

The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White - the latest book in the Tradd Street series. Yay! Can't wait to read more about Jack!

The Most Wicked of Sins by Kathryn Caskie - I read the first book in this series a couple of weeks ago and thought it was okay. Can't seem to help myself and still requested the second book in the series anyway!

Making Mirrors by Gotye - I love the song Somebody That I Used to Know so want to see which other songs on the album I like!

Teaser Tuesday: Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer

My teaser this week comes from a book that I am reading for an upcoming blog tour. My review of this book will be up on Thursday.

The teaser comes from page 76:

"One month," said Mrs Ochi. "Only one month to get one thousand stitches in the senninbari."

Mrs Matsui turned, her shoulders back and her face held high. "Plenty of time. I have a thousand friends to make the stitches."

I didn't actually know what a senninbari was so thought I would share this definition from Wikipedia:

A Senninbari (千人針, thousand-person-stitches^?) or Thousand stitch belt is a strip of cloth, approximately one meter in length, decorated with 1000 stitches, given as an amulet by women to soldiers on their way to war as a part of the Shinto culture of Imperial Japan.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in! 

Mailbox Monday: November Edition

Welcome to my Mailbox Monday post for November (or otherwise known as the November guilt inducing post!) November was another good month in terms of acquisitions. I have done so well at not requesting library books. I think next month I should try and reduce the amount of books I acquire! Or maybe not.


Bought

Wish: A Novella, Bedded for Diamonds, The Maverick's Greek Island Mistress, Untameable Rogue and Her Singapore Fling by Kelly Hunter - I went on a bit of a Kelly Hunter binge this month. Not only did I buy them all, I have also read them all!

30 Minute Meals and Jamie's Great Britain by Jamie Oliver - I am not 100% sure what prompted me to buy two Jamie Oliver cookbooks in the space of two or three weeks, but I don't regret it at all!

Love in a Dish and Other Pieces by MFK Fisher and  The Chef at War by Alexis Soyer - Two more books in the Penguin Great Food series.

All They Need by Sarah Mayberry - I have read a few books by Sarah Mayberry this year and really liked them, so I had to get this one too.

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter - I went to the movies the other Friday night to see Midnight in Paris. Is it any surprise that I couldn't walk past a book about walking in Paris?

Review Books

The Next Always by Nora Roberts - Was very excited when I saw that this book was up for review. I have read it, just waiting for the appropriate date to post the review here on my blog.

Love and Freedom by Sue Moorcroft - An author I like a lot recommended Sue Moorcroft so I thought I would give it a go.

Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer - For a blog tour! I am reading this one at the moment, and will be reviewing it on Thursday.

Saving June by Hannah Harrington, The Girl's Guide to Homelessness by Brianna Karp and The Iron King by Julie Kagawa - I knew I was getting a package of books, but I had no idea what was in it!

Netgalley

Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder - I first heard about this series when Maria V Snyder visited Australia earlier this year.


Pure by Juliana Baggott - Juliana Baggott also writes under the name Bridget Asher and I quite liked her voice under that pseudonym so I thought I would try this one out too.

Any Given Christmas by Candis Terry - this is the second book in this author's series.  Really liked the first one so had to request this one!

White Dawn, White Shadows, White Wind, White Shadows by Susan Edwards - I am not really sure why I requested all four books in this series. Normally I would only request one at a time.

A Clockwork Christmas Anthology - I requested this for the Jenny Schwarz story which sounds really interesting.

Holiday Kisses Anthology - I think it was the prospect of a Shannon Stacey story which made this a must have.

The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley - This sounds like exactly my kind of read!

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy - I can't remember why I thought this one sounded interesting.

Learning to Trust by Lynne Connelly - I often enjoy reading this author's blog opinion pieces but I  haven't actually read her books yet.

Mailbox Monday is on tour and for November but this month it is being hosted at the Mailbox Monday site. Head over there to share your links, or to see what everyone else has posted about this week.

Sunday Salon: 2012 Challenges

In 2011 I made a very definite decision to step back from doing too many reading challenges. There were a number of challenges that I was doing previously that weren't, well, challenging no matter how good it felt to achieve them. For example, a 100+ Challenge is fun, but I knew that I would complete it, and it meant maintaining lists and everything during the length of the challenge. That's just one example, but there were several others that were going through the motions type challenges.

Now it is time to start thinking about 2012 Challenges and I will be taking the same decision again for next year because really I didn't miss any of the challenges that I didn't participate in this year.

These are the challenges that I will be signing up for in 2012

Historical Fiction Challenge -I can only show you a sneak peak of the button for next year's challenge which is being hosted over at Historical Tapestry. The launch is coming up soon, and you will be able to see the whole button then. Let's just say that Alex has done another marvelous job with the graphic! This one is one challenge that I do complete very easily but I kind of feel like if you are a member of the group that is running a challenge then you probably need to participate in it!

What's in a Name 5 hosted by Beth Fish Reads - 2011 was the first time I participated in this challenge. The categories this year look like a lot of fun and I look forward to trying to find book from my existing reading piles to fit the challenge criteria which are"

Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley
2. A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title: Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm
4. A book with a type of house in the title: The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House
5. A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary
6. A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title: Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, Year of Magical Thinking

War Through the Generations hosted by Serena and Anna - Abject failure in this years challenge is not a stumbling block for signing up for next year's challenge! The theme for 2012 is World War I and I can't wait to read some fantastic books about this era.

Aussie Author Challenge hosted by Booklover Book Reviews- Every year one of my aims is to read more Australian authors, and I think I have done pretty well in relation to this in 2011. I have signed up for the Dinky-Di level of participation which means I am aiming to:

Read and review 12 books by at least 6 different Australian authors
‘Dinky-Di’ is Australian slang meaning ‘true or genuine’.

I will also be signing up for Carl's challenges when he announces them, which almost goes without saying, and I might still sign up for a couple more, but I am not 100 percent sure yet!

Have you started thinking about your 2012 challenges yet?

Currently reading

I am currently reading Where She Went by Gayle Forman, The Time in Between by Maria Duenos (somewhat curiously the book is going to have the title The Dressmaker here).

Reading Next

Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer

PS - Don't forget that that the Virtual Advent tour signups are still open for a few more days! It isn't long at all until the tour starts! So exciting.

Weekend Cooking: Jamie's Great Britain by Jamie Oliver

"For many years now, I've been making TV series' about the food from other countries and I've also been defending British food against its reputation overseas. We've got fantastic food here in Britain and it's time we celebrated it, especially as we’ll have the eyes of the world on us in 2012."


Jamie's Great Britain explores much that is great about British food and shows that much of what constitutes "British" food is actually a result of centuries of invasion, exploration, colonisation and immigration which has created a unique and wonderful food culture within our small island home.


Jamie's Great Britain captures the heart and soul of real British cooking - it's full of food that'll make you happy and will put a smile on your face. Over the years, Britain has embraced loads of different flavours and influences from all the people who have settled here and have made this country their home, and the result is an unique and wonderful food culture within our small island home.


Over six programmes, Jamie visits Yorkshire, the East Midlands, Essex and East London, Bristol and Somerset, South Wales and the Scottish Borders and immerses himself in the traditions and cultures which make British food so exciting.


He will be pausing along the way to cook some delicious examples of classic dishes that make this country’s cuisine great, including: Bubble and Squeak, Steak and Kidney Pie, Eccles Cakes, The crumbliest scones and Retro Arctic Roll!


"The recipes you'll see in these programmes and my book are some of my absolute favourites of all time," says Jamie. "Whenever I visited a part of Britain, I was blown away by the quality of local produce and the dishes that were created. This series really puts British food on the map and anyone who watches it will realise that our tapestry and patchwork quilt of old traditions and new arrivals makes our food some of the most exciting in the world."

The other week I was at a different branch of my library where they have their cook books right before the exit. As I was walking through this book caught my eye and I picked it up! Having now read through it as if it was a novel (i.e. straight through from beginning to end without missing a page) I know that I am going to have to own it and in fact have already brought it!

When I posted about Jamie and me (grin) a couple of weeks ago, I talked a bit about the effort that he is going in terms of educating people how to cook at home. As much as I enjoy those books, I loved that this book is about the joy of cooking with British ingredients rather than teaching people something. I know that there are other books by him that do this (like the Jamie does series for example) but I haven't read those yet and so I really can only compare this book to the Ministry of Food book and the 30 Minute Meals books that I have at home.

I loved the layout of this book! It is very much about fun and celebration. There are of course all the photos of food and ingredients, but in addition there are photo essays about places and people that Jamie has obviously met in his travels across the UK for the TV series that accompanies the series. The series hasn't yet made it to our TV screens here, but I will try and watch it when it does come here, despite the fact that his series show on a channel that I watch very rarely!

Speaking of the TV series....how fun is this for a trailer for the show








I bookmarked a number of recipes from the book as ones I would like to try one day including Roasted Apple and Squash Soup (a fun twist on the soup I usually make using Butternut squash), Granny Smith's Port and Rice Salad, Epic Roast Chicken Salad, Empire Roast Chicken (roast chicken and potatoes with gravy all with an Indian flavoured twist), My Nan's St Clement's Cake (orange flavoured cake with lemon icing), Wonderful Welsh Cakes, Tasty Shredded Brussels (I can't stand brussel sprouts normally so it would be interesting to see if I could eat them like this) and Joyful Trifles (always happy to find a good trifle recipe).

I would say that for the first two thirds of the book I was constantly drooling and I knew very early on that it wasn't going to be enough to have read the book from the library!

The recipe that I am going to share from the book is Guiness Lamb Shanks. I have been making the same lamb shanks recipe for three or four years now, and I still love it when I make them, but it might be time to try a new variation and these look, well, good enough to eat!

Guinness Lamb Shanks

3 red onions, peeled
olive oil
sea salt and ground pepper
2 handfuls of raisins
3 heaped tablespoons thick-cut marmalade
1 heaped tablespoon tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, plus extra for serving
200ml Guinness or smooth dark ale
6 lamb shanks, roughly 350g each
8 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 litre organic chicken stock

To serve

a small bunch of fresh mint leaves
a few tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil
2 spring onions, trimmed
cider vinegar

People absolutely love lamb shanks. You cook them until they’re just falling apart and they develop the most amazing flavours. This recipe is all about investing in dark sticky sauce and tender meat. We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to interesting ales, and adding a good dark ale or even Guinness to the onions creates the most brilliant depth of flavour. The sauce here makes enough for ten lamb shanks, so if you want to make this recipe serve more people, just plop a few more shanks into the pan and top up with a little more stock if need be. Whatever you do, do NOT skip the mint oil or spring onions. It’s like switching on a light, and just that simple little touch makes the whole dish sing.

Finely chop the onions and put them into a really large casserole-type pan (roughly 26cm in diameter and 12cm deep), with a lug of olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a medium to high heat, stirring as you go, until the onions start to caramelize. Add the raisins and marmalade, then add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and booze. Give it all a good stir, then leave to gently simmer.

Put the lamb shanks into a large frying pan (roughly 30cm wide) on a medium to high heat with a drizzle of olive oil – you can cook them in batches if needed. Turn them every few minutes; once they have some good colour, pick in the rosemary leaves and move them around in the pan to get crispy, but don’t let them burn. Use tongs to move the shanks into the pan of onions, then pour in all their juices and the crispy rosemary. Add the stock, put the lid on, turn down the heat and leave to blip away slowly for around 3 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone easily. Try to turn the shanks halfway through so they cook evenly.

When the lamb shanks are ready, carefully move them to a platter, making sure the meat stays intact. Whiz or liquidize the gravy with a stick blender until smooth, then allow to reduce down and thicken. Quickly bash most of the mint leaves in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt and the olive or rapeseed oil, then take to the table. Finely slice up the spring onions and toss on a plate with the remaining fresh mint leaves, a drizzle of cider vinegar and a pinch of salt.

Add a little splash of cider vinegar and a few more splashes of Worcestershire sauce to the sauce, then ladle it all over the lamb shank and pour the rest into a jug for people to help themselves. Scatter the vinegary spring onions and a few fresh mint leaves all over the top, drizzle the mint oil all around the shanks, and serve with lovely potato and celeriac mash. The plate will be clean before you know it.



Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.