Read the Stories
or we are bound to repeat the darkest moments of history
Dearly beloveds,
October is waning
The leaves are falling
Birds are migrating
And we are seven days away from an incredibly consequential election.
Rather than recounting the bizarre and whackadoodle stories of politicians behaving badly (I’m sure you have the internet), I offer you fiction. Fiction can help us in these strange, what-in-the-world(?) times.
For instance, Ruta Septys, one of my favorite writers. Daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY was her 2012 triumphant debut (no…not 50 Shades, though Septys has some hilarious stories about this oft mix-up).
The New York Times Book Review wrote, “Ruta Sepetys acts as champion of the interstitial people so often ignored—whole populations lost in the cracks of history.”
Septys writes young adult historical fiction (that my whole family loves) that is highly researched, featuring ordinary people exhibiting extraordinary bravery in a very specific, and oft forgotten, time in history.
Her characters are fictional, but they are you and me. Ordinary people living in extraordinary times. Fiction has taught me that this is how it’s always been and will always be: mere mortals facing dragons on the daily.
And that’s why stories are so effective. Fiction tells the stories of you and me.
When The Washington Post’s editorial opinion post was squashed due to fears of political retribution, I immediately thought of a Ruta book: I MUST BETRAY YOU.
An independent “free press” newspaper owned by a billionaire was afraid of the retributions of a possible future president?
This is when we all say, red flag, red flag, red flag.
They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and here we are, in 2024. It’s not only strange, it’s scary.
Ruta’s books can be summed up in a one word theme: FREEDOM. And this is why we must read.
Four Ruta Septys Recommendations:
Between Shades of Gray: 1941. Soviet Union. 15-year-old Lina is part of a mass deportation to Siberia by the fascist1 Soviet regime.
Salt to the Sea: Winter 1945. WWII. Four refugees. Four stories. Forgotten “undesirable and expendable” refugees on board the Wilhelm Gustloff.
The Fountains of Silence: Madrid, 1957. Political turbulence and dark secrets under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco2.
I Must Betray You: Romania, 1989 (only 34 years ago!), when Romania was somewhat independent of the Soviet Union.
The protagonist, Cristian Florescu, dreams of becoming a writer, but in communist3 Romania, Romanians are bound by rules and fear, dictated by the tyrannical rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu (a real peach).
Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer, leaving him with an agonizing choice: betray everyone he loves or find a way to creatively undermine one of Eastern Europe’s most feared dictators. At great personal risk, Cristian works to publish the truth behind the regime and expose the suffering of his people.
It is free expression versus the high cost of truth-telling under authoritarianism4.
Another theme always emerges in a Ruta Septys book: the danger of authoritarian tactics.
For instance:
"othering"
create an "us vs. them"
breed fear and distrust among neighbors, friends, and family
savior complex “you can’t trust anybody, not even the experts. I am the expert, I will save you.”
spreads disinformation on purpose create enough chaos, and no one will know what’s true.
You may not be able to read any of Ruta Septys’ books before you vote on Tuesday, but they are a cautionary tale of how democracies die - and how great the suffering becomes.
Donald Trump displays and has used all of these authoritarian tactics. He has condemned himself with his own words and actions.
You may disagree. And that’s great - because you have that right and the freedom to write a comment that says so.
Maybe this post will someday be read as hyperbole, that Amy was such an alarmist, how ridiculous to say that Donald Trump was an authoritarian who admired Hitler, Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Turkey’s Erdoğan (except I didn’t say it; he did).
Again, feel free to disagree. This newsletter is currently part of the free press.
Maybe this is the moment in American history when we reject the idea that there are actually “others.” Maybe love does win (it always wins, but how about now?)
Maybe America survives the 2024 election and aftermath because we remembered something from that great book we once read, because we embraced the idea that all are created equal, that we really tried to love one another as much as we loved ourselves. Maybe we will have learned something from all of those books and stories.
Or maybe I’ll be in jail.
Either way, fiction is true - it’s the story of us.
Love, Amy
The Last Part:
WATCHING: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. In high school I decided I needed to read a classic - I chose a romantic tragedy (of course I did). I’ve never forgotten Anna.
EATING: grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough bread with colby-jack cheese. It’s both comforting and stress-induced.
COUNTING: ballots in my little New Hampshire town on Nov 5th. VOTE!
ADORING: Thank you for the witchy October book mail! Fang Fiction and The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch.
Fascism: a far-right form of government in which most of the country's power is held by one ruler or a small group, under a single party. Fascist governments are usually totalitarian and authoritarian one-party states.
Dictatorship: a form of government characterized by the rule of one person or a small group of people who have no checks and balances on their power.
Communism: an economic ideology that advocates for a classless society in which all property and wealth are communally owned instead of being owned by individuals.
Authoritarianism: highly concentrated and centralized power maintained by political repression and the exclusion of potential challengers.
Brava! It's not easy stepping up and take a stand in such a contentious race. I stand with you in NH and support Kamala Harris. I hope we can return to a place of compromise, where we can talk about politics, at least a little bit, and listen to what our friends and neighbors are saying with grace and open minds.
Another book that mirrors where we are a little too perfectly is Philip Roth's THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, a dark, alternate history where Lindbergh wins the White House.
Current blathering (mine, that is):
My reaction to the recent incarnation of the Washington Post: Bawwwk, cluck, cluck, cluck.
The "other": My definition of spirituality is radical awareness and acceptance of the experience of the "other" - another person, another mode of being, another time or place in the universe.
Fiction is how we communicate truth, which may have happened or not.
If you go to jail I'll break in.