From several outstanding nominees, our readers have selected Cindy Dyson’s And She Was as our next online book club selection. We look forward to an engaging discussion September 28 and 29. If you haven’t participated in our online format yet, allow me this little plug: it’s a great way to engage with other readers without having to get dressed up, go out, bring snacks, or warm up with small talk. You can lurk or chat, coming and going as you please over the two-day discussion period. Several months ago we hosted some informal dialogue about Dyson’s book, especially its treatment of Aleut culture, so I’m looking forward to re-reading it with that in mind.
The publisher’s synopsis from the paperback edition of And She Was:
“Sweeping across centuries and into the Aleutian Islands of Alaska’s Bering Sea, And She Was begins with a decision and a broken taboo when three starving Aleut mothers decide to take their fate into their own hands. Two hundred and fifty years later, by the time Brandy, a floundering, trashy, Latin-spewing cocktail waitress, steps ashore in the 1980s, Unalaska Island has absorbed their dark secret—a secret that is both salvation and shame.
In a tense interplay between past and present, And She Was explores Aleut history, mummies, conquest, survival, and the seamy side of the 1980s in a fishing boomtown at the edge of the world, where a lost woman struggles to understand the gray shades between heroism and evil, and between freedom and bondage.”
And from Dyson’s bio: “The author of eight books for young adults, Cindy Dyson grew up in Alaska. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Backpacker, First for Women, Women’s World, and other publications. She now lives near Glacier Park, Montana.” We’ll hope to run an author interview prior to our discussion. In the meantime, find yourself a copy of the book and start reading.
I am so glad! A friend in NM sent me the book, so I told her about the online discussion–hope she tunes in! She was in Dutch Harbor and thought I'd like the novel–I was fascinated by the layers and look forward to the discussion!
This is a book I've always meant to read, and I'd love to find out more about the author as well. Looking forward to it!