Enemies of the People

Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America
by
Kati Marton
nonfiction audiobook.
9 hours unabridged.

I wasn't certain if I would find this topic intriguing enough to listen to all nine hours, but I was pleased that it kept my interest over the course of a month of driving. Kati grew up in communist Hungary during the Cold War. Her parents were both Hungarian journalists working for the international press. Being the voice of truth in a country controlled by a totalitarian government has serious risks involved, however. They lived with a constant fear that they would be taken away at any time for being too friendly with Westerners, including Americans. Not surprisingly, they were, indeed, interrogated and imprisoned. What is it like to be a little girl and have your parents taken away? It is most people's worst nightmare.
The author worked with boxes and boxes of observations from the Hungarian equivalent of the KGB. They are now available to the next of kin of those observed. Her parents were under constant surveillance for years, so this is an unusual treasure trove of facts small and large about their everyday life. Kati's life proves that truth is weirder than fiction.

Wikipedia reports that this book is slated to be made into a movie. I hope it is a blockbuster.
P. S. She was married to Peter Jennings (reporter) and is now married to Richard Holbrooke (politician), so reporting and politics run in the family.

Postmistress

Postmistress: A Novel
by
Sarah Blake
adult historical fiction

I was a bit reluctant to pick up yet another romance/chick lit book set during WWII or the Civil War. I think these stories are overdone and I would rather explore a different time period. How about the Korean War? Crimean War? Spanish Civil War? War of 1812? Texas Independence? Give me something original!
That being said, this was a perfectly fine novel that follows three ladies - a gung ho American reporter that goes to London to cover the news, a doctor's wife who is left wondering about her husband working in London, and the postmistress at home in Massachusetts. They are all looking for order and sense in this seemingly senseless war. The reporter is trying to figure out what the Nazis plans for the Jews are.
I recommend this for the wide audience of 18-100 year old lady readers, but I wish she had chosen a less-explored time period. Maybe her next book will be more original.
Kudos to the author for letting her postmistress be a postmistress instead of dumbing down our language to make all females exactly the same as males. I think postmistress and aviatrix and executrix and actress are perfectly fine words that do not need to be abandoned.
- A word from the Library MISTRESS