Dear Bookclub,
There were doughnuts. My fingers were merrily putting one into my mouth, so no pictures of those. Irene would have been flabbergasted to serve the charcuterie Lori presented. Pictured below as the centerpiece, with our round-tabled gang, the platter astounded and got us rolling to discuss Luis Alberto Urrea's "Goodnight, Irene".
Urrea's novel was very well-liked by all. Our appreciation was much enhanced knowing the author's mother, Phyllis McLaughlin Urrea, and her best friend, Jill Knappenberger, were the inspiration for Irene and Dorothy, the main characters. But mind-blowing appreciation came to us through Julie, who shared that her parents were friends with Jill in Illinois. Knappenberger was remembered as a bright no-nonsense woman and indeed, Urea was able to visit and interview her when she was 95 years old.
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| from The News-Gazette |
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| Jill Knappernberger (1918-2020) |
This interview is from a University of Illinois Alumni Association event, quite long, but I encourage you to listen to as much as you can to hear Urrea tell more about his mother's story:
https://www.youtube.com/live/KDm-NiXG3OA
Posted by Urrea on Facebook before the event, his joy at meeting Knappenberger is apparent!
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Phyllis McLaughlin |
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| Phyllis McLaughlin, bottom right, with troops during World War II. Her friend Jill Pitts Knappenberger is the tall woman standing in the back.Credit...Family Photograph |
The above photo is from an excellent NY Times essay, Luis Alberta Urrea's "My Mother Returned from World War II a Changed Woman". Please learn more about Luis' experience as a child of this amazing woman and his revelation about the toll the war had on her:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/12/opinion/women-ww2-redcross-clubmobile.html
Luis Alberto Urrea, prolific and unique, surprised me with this novel. His other works more familiar to us... "Into the Beautiful North", "The Hummingbird's Daughter", "The House of Broken Angels"... all emphasize his insight into the bridging of his Mexican-American heritage. Exploring Urrea's website reminded me of his depth, with the list of non-fiction works and poetry pushing beyond the more well-known fiction titles. Check him out! https://luisurrea.com/about/
And be sure to investigate this one, in the spirit of curiousity-inspired bookclub dives:
https://luisurrea.com/books/wandering-time-western-notebooks/
Lori's suggestions for an upcoming read:
"The Lion Women of Tehran" Marjan Kamali *chosen
"The Names" Florence Knapp
"Endurance" Frank A. Worsley
Up next:
Happy reading,
LK
