From Vonnegut to Dr. Jekyll to a Covid housemate, this month’s reads told stories of war, both external and internal.

Book 1: The Marmalade Diaries by Ben Aitken

February started out with a gift from Gary. He’d picked up this delightful diary that was published just last year. Subtitled The True Story of an Odd Couple.

The author is a young man in London, looking for a place to live. He found an ad for room and board in a lovely home at a great price and moved in with a newly widowed 85-year-old. The agreement (and beyond-reasonable rent) included the promise to assist his landlord around the house.

Ten days later, the first Covid lockdown began.

If you’ve read Philomena, or seen the movie, you’ll feel like you already know Winnie. She and Ben may be an unlikely pair, but their story was a warm English muffin with a heaping spoonful of marmalade (or raspberry jam, if you prefer). Sweet, but with the occasional seed or pit to wedge stubbornly between your molars.

Book 2: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Here’s yet another title I’d heard of countless times. Hadn’t read it, though, or even looked into the storyline.

What a surprise to learn that Vonnegut witnessed the firebombing of Dresden firsthand toward the end of World War Two. As much as he wanted to write about the horror, Vonnegut simply didn’t remember many specifics – nor did a fellow soldier he contacted years later.

And so Vonnegut wrote this anti-war novel. It is semi-autobiographical, mixed in with science fiction and a non-linear storyline. And guess what? It’s been banned from some school libraries. Of course, that just makes me want to read it again!

Book 3: To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey

Another intriguing mystery from Scotland’s Josephine Tey.

And no, I didn’t figure out the “who done it” until Scotland Yard’s Alan Grant did.

Book 4: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Let’s start with a confession: Although I’ve seen numerous versions of this story on television (including Bugs Bunny’s Hyde & Hare), I’d never read the book. In fact, I didn’t even realize the gothic tale was written by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Trust me, I won’t forget. <shudder>

Book 5: Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers

It’s hard not to give away the plot on this one.

Suffice it to say many families suffer from dreadful behavior during the aftermath of a death, as the executor tries to dutifully perform his or her job (thankfully nothing of the like occurred with our family!). There’s a twist to this story that underscores how very difficult it can be for an executor not to become an executioner.

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That’s it for February. An experiment of sorts will commence in March, as I’ll begin to read Charles Dickens’ Bleak House in installments, just as the original readers experienced this masterpiece in 1852.

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