Author - Marian Haley Beil

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (Turkey 1965–67) Knopf May 2015 192 pages $24.00 (hardcover), $9.99 (Kindle), $25.00 (audio CD) Reviewed by Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast 2000–02, Madagascar 2002–03) • KENT HARUF DIED IN November at age 71; he achieved what most writers hope to, but nearly none will: he wrote beautiful, engaging, readable literary novels. Though he never realized the copious output or mass audience of the genre types, he was far superior a writer. In terms of the contemporary novel, very few could call him a peer; the short list might include Cormac McCarthy and Alice Munro. Among Peace Corps alumni literary writers, Haruf was arguably our best. His passing was noted widely in literary circles and the national press, and his achievements were commended by Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado, where Haruf set his books. Haruf’s short novel, Our Souls at Night, releasing posthumously in May, . . .

Mort(e) by Robert Repino (Grenada 2000-2002) Soho Press January 2015 357 pages $26.95 (hardcover) Reviewed by Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast 2000-02, Madagascar 2002-03) • IN HIS DEBUT NOVEL Mort(e) — the parenthetical in the title is clue prima facie that we are in the realm of experimental fiction — Robert Repino offers a sweeping, apocalyptic war story in which animals undergo “The Change” and rise up against their human masters. Behind the scenes and deep underground, a mutant queen ant a la James Cameron’s Aliens has produced a hormone that enters the world’s water systems; it changes animals on contact, giving them mental capacities and self-awareness equal to humans, and also morphs them physically. Just one drop and dogs and cats grow to human size, become bipedal, and their paws mutate into hands. A neutered housecat turned ragged frontline fighter, Sebastian, joins a unit of strays led by a violent . . .

Tories and Patriots: A Novel of the American Revolution by Martin R. Ganzglass (Somalia 1966-68) A Peace Corps Writers Book January 2015 354 pages $13.99 (paperback) Reviewed by Thomas E. Coyne • The “born again” patriots of this country who want to do away with Advance Placement history courses and sanitize the writing of the American story are really going to dislike this novel. Actually, it isn’t just a novel for author Martin Ganzglass is on a mission to produce accurate, readable history set in a vivid, true life atmosphere that gives the reader a “See it Now” experience. Tories and Patriots is the second in Ganzglass’s Revolutionary War series following last year’s Cannons for the Cause. The series follows Willem “Will” Stoner as he travels with General George Washington’s Continental army as a teamster and artillery man during the early days of chaotic fighting and retreating in this country’s . . .

How did it happen that David Edmonds writes a novel about Peru when he served in Chile? How did he get a PC assignment to make a movie? What was his connection with Lee Harvey Oswald? What were his skills that enabled him to set up a leather cooperative? And what about Lori Berenson? Find the answers to some of these questions — and many others in this interview with this multi-skilled RPCV. Where and when did you serve in the Peace Corps, Dave? I was a Chile IV Volunteer from 1963 to 1965 after training at Camp David in Puerto Rico. . What was your Peace Corps project assignment? Didn’t have one at first, so someone in PC/Santiago came up with the wonderful idea of making a promotional film about PC activities in Chile. I was assigned to that task along with fellow PCVs Mike Middleton, Mary Ellen Wynhausen, . . .

A Writer Writes Our un-United States: Secede, Nullify, Defy by Gerald Karey (Turkey 1965–67) In our great nation of some 300 million unruly, cussedly independent souls, someone is bound to be unhappy with government for one reason or another. In fact most are — whether it’s because of taxes, regulations, foreign policy, motorcycle helmet rules, posted speed limits or pot holes. It runs the gamut. To paraphrase a line from the Jacques Brel song, Sons Of . . . , “Who is the citizen without complaint?” But unlike other countries where complaining about the government can get you thrown into jail, in the U.S. ranting, venting and bitching about government is a national pastime. It may not change anything, you may not get any satisfaction, but, damn it, you can and will be heard. In fact, you can be heard in the White House, via a White House web site, . . .

While most authors produce fiction to provide readers with nothing but a quick thrill, David C. Edmonds (Chile 1963-65) is quickly building a reputation for intricate adventures that, as one reader put it, shouldn’t be read if one expects a good night’s sleep. His extensive travels in, and assignments to, Peru in the 1980s and 1990s exposed him to a culture in which kidnappings, assassinations, bombings, and torture were an everyday occurrence. While Edmonds won’t say how much of the narrative is true, these experiences provided the inspiration for what is now Lily of Peru in which love and terrorism collide in the international love story of a Florida university professor’s struggle to rescue the love of his life from a brutal war between the Peruvian government and a bizarre terrorist organization. “I’ve left him. It’s over. If you still want what we’ve been talking about, I’m ready. No more . . .

A Writer Writes Bam! Pow! Smack! Slam! Splat! by Gerald Karey (Turkey 1965–67) How do you know you’re getting older? Let me count the ways. Here’s one certain way — you’re slowing and everything else is speeding up: Traffic — Someone told me that traffic only seems faster because your reflexes slow with age. Maybe, but if I’m tooling along at, say,  70 mph in a 65 mph zone, I will be passed on my right and on my left by vehicles traveling, I’d say, at 80 and 85 mph, along with the obligatory tailgating. Technology — Check out your basement or attic, or visit a recycling  center. Stacks and stacks of yesterday’s must haves, waiting to be shipped off to God knows where to be stripped for reusable metals, plastic, wiring, perhaps to wind up in tomorrow’s shiny new electronic toys, where they will begin their life-cycle all over . . .

A Writer Writes Gerald Karey taught English in a middle school in a Turkish village from 1965 to 1967. After the Peace Corps, Karey worked as a general assignment reporter for two newspapers in New Jersey, and for a McGraw-Hill newsletter in Washington, D.C., where he covered energy and environmental issues. A collection of his essays entitled Unhinged, was published in October, 2014. • Look About You, There is So Much to See by Gerald Karey (Turkey 1965–67) . Ride the Staten Island Ferry across New York’s Upper Bay and look about you. It is one of the world’s most magnificent urban/sea-scapes. The Atlantic Ocean lies just beyond a suspension bridge spanning the Narrows between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island; the great hundred square mile Lower Bay protecting the Upper Bay from the Atlantic; 770 miles of waterfront; on land, towers of commerce and finance scrape the sky; . . .

To purchase any of these books from Amazon.com, click on the book cover, the bold book title, or the publishing format you would like — and Peace Corps Worldwide, an Amazon Associate, will receive a small remittance that will help support the site and the annual Peace Corps Writers awards. • The Unspoken: The Lost Novel by Christopher Conlon (Botswana 1988-90) CreateSpace January 2015 776 pages $25.95 (paperback) • Tories and Patriots: A Novel of the American Revolution (Historical Fiction) by Martin R. Ganzglass (Somalia 1966–68) A Peace Corps Writers Book January 2015 366 pages $13.99 (paperback) • Jeju Island Rambling: Self-exile in Peace Corps, 1973–1974 by David J. Nemeth (Republic of Korea 1973–74) Digital Repository, University of Toledo, Department of Geography and Planning December 2014 227 pages Free (Click to download .pdf) • Mort(e) (fiction) by Robert Repino (Grenada 2000–02) Soho Press January 2015 368 pages $26.95 (hardcover), $12.99 . . .

In November 1963, a bright Hawaiian morning is shattered by news of the assassination of the President. This marks the beginning of a journey to a remote Iranian village by a young American Peace Corps Volunteer who sets out with rebellious tenacity to do what is right, unaware of America’s loss of innocence — and his own. From a youthful determination to perpetuate Kennedy’s legacy, to coping with the reality of America’s faults and ambitions, to grappling with unfamiliar customs and languages, to discovering the friendship and love of Iranians, Tom Klobe discovers that being “Tom of Iran” is as fulfilling as being “American Tom.” A Young American in Iran is a tribute to the people of the village of Alang and Iran — to their love and to their goodness. It strives to capture the essence of life in a specific village and Iran in the mid-1960s. It is . . .

An East African Peace Corps Life Tales from A Muzungu by Nicholas Duncan (Uganda 2006–08) A Peace Corps Writers Book December 2014 156 pages $14.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Richard M. Grimsrud (India 1965–67) • Nicholas Duncan’s entertaining memoir of his experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda after 9/11 presents a fascinating picture of his host country during his service. One slight problem with the book at the outset, however, is that it is not exactly clear when during the five five-year terms of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (1986-96 and 2001-present) Duncan actually served. When I searched for a specific date in the book, I had to assume from the reference to Super Bowl XLV on pp. 75–76 that the author’s service dates were 2006-08, but it would have made the story more interesting to me (for reasons that should be evident at the end of this review) if . . .

Truth Poker: Stories by Mark Brazaitis Pittsburgh: Autumn House Press January 2015 180 pages $17.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Clifford Garstang (Korea 1976-77) • Mark Brazaitis’s sixth book of fiction, Truth Poker, is a collection of superb short stories divided into three themed sections. In one sense, the fictions are a continuation of his past work, as these stories, like those in his 2012 collection, The Incurables, are also tied to the fictional town of Sherman, Ohio, and the campus of Ohio Eastern University. And, as in his earlier writing, Brazaitis draws on his own Peace Corps experience by featuring Volunteers in several of the stories, including those set in Guatemala, his country of service. Beyond the Peace Corps connection and the nominal ties to an Ohio community, however, the stories here do, for the most part, feel like they are part of a unified project, and on that basis alone . . .

Susanne Aspley (Thailand 1989–91) published her Peace Corps novel Ladyboy and the Volunteer with Peace Corps Writers this past November.  In her responses for this “Talking with . . . ” piece she chose to eschew  incorporating my usual author-interview questions  — and it all turned out quite well! Thanks Susanne.— Marian • I served with the Peace Corps in Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Thailand, from 1989 to 1991 as a Community Development Volunteer in a small fishing village on the Gulf of Siam. I taught English classes and began several duck farms. I also discovered the cure for cancer, slayed dragons and brought peace to the Middle East but no one believes me. I have a B.A. in English with a minor in Film. My English degree was very helpful for my teaching. I feel good about accomplishing the second and third goal of the Peace Corps, but failed miserably with the . . .

In December Nick Duncan (Uganda 2010–12) published his Peace Corps memoir Tales from A Muzungu with Peace Corps Writers. Here Nick talks about his Peace Corps service and his Peace Corps memoir. • Where did you live and work in-country? I lived and worked in Iganga, Uganda, which is in eastern Uganda. It is a transport hub for travelers and truck drivers coming and going from northeastern Uganda and Kenya to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, in the south-central part of the country. To be more specific, I lived and worked in Nabirye, Iganga, which is about a 5-minute ride from Iganga Town. . What was your Peace Corp project assignment? I was an economic development Volunteer tasked with helping The Hunger Project in a variety of ways. The Hunger Project is a non-profit organization head-quartered in New York that is  committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. . . . .