Despite a series of strange and unfortunate events, Chloe (and we) learn a great deal about the Belgian immigrants (especially one Seraphine Lejeune) who settled outside of Green Bay in the 1800s, the hardship of trying to clear the land of old-growth forest, and the horror of the Great Fire which burned the same day as the Peshtigo Fire and which consumed over 2 billion trees and an unknown number (but into the thousands) of Wisconsin residents.
As usual, Chloe ends up in the middle of the nefarious plans of not one, but two baddies, but in the end, all is resolved. Boyfriend Roelke shows up in Brown County just in time to save the day (the first time), but ends up getting clocked in the head (the second time). There were some wonderful scenes toward the end of the novel, in both Chloe and Seraphine's lives, that got me a bit choked up. Great installment in this fun series!
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Once in office, we have a front-row seat as Buttigieg's team tackles South Bend's revitalization with initiatives like erasing the eyesore of 1,000 vacant houses in 1,000 days, teaming with Notre Dame students in the Smart Sewer project, or installing the River Lights artistic lighting feature at the Jefferson Boulevard Bridge. One of my favorite parts of the book was Pete's morning run, where we get a guided tour of South Bend's past and present.
More importantly, this is a book about what could be the future of politics in this country--thoughtful, unifying, fact-based, forward-thinking, inclusive. Opening this book at the end of the day was a welcome reprieve from the constant barrage of vitriol coming out of Washington. I look forward to following Mr. Buttigieg's political career which I'm predicting, sadly for South Bend, will involve a move East one day. At least we can hope that the political pendulum will swing back in this direction again!
The story begins with Patroclus' childhood--his simple-minded mother, his father's insistence on putting him forward as a suitor for Helen at the age of 9, his accidental killing of a bully. It's this latter event that has him exiled from his home and being accepted as a foster son in the palace of Achilles' father.
The two boys grow up together and are trained as warriors by the centaur Chiron. Achilles' goddess-mother Thetis interferes in his life frequently, especially in her loathing of Achilles' chosen companion, but that doesn't stop the young men from falling in love. It's no secret that Achilles and Patroclus end up in Troy, embroiled in the war to win Helen back. Achilles was literally made for war--he's unbeatable. Unfortunately, this doesn't endear him to the kings of Greece, and when a battle of honor ensues between Achilles and Agamemnon, it ends with putting Patroclus in harm's way, with devastating consequences. I was curious to see how Miller would handle the death of her narrator before the end of the book, but the narration continues almost seamlessly. In the end, both Achilles and Patroclus are at peace, but that peace is provided from a most unexpected quarter. All in all, an entirely engaging visit back to the Trojan War and a touching look at the love of two heroes. |
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