Shaken to the Core by Jae

Shaken to the Core
by Jae
Pages: Unknown
Date: June 15th 2016
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Series: A side character is related the people in 'The Oregon Series', while the book itself is connected to the 'The Hollywood Series' in that a character in that series writes a book (or a script?) that is made into a movie in that series.

Review
Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0
Read: May 31 2016 to June 2 2016

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for an honest review.

This is, I believe, the 17th or 18th ‘thing’ that I’ve read by Jae. There’s a mix of short stories, slightly longer than short stories, and full length novel in the total number.

This specific book is an historical fiction novel set back in 1906 San Francisco and involves a young woman named Giuliana Russo (of Sicily) and Kate Winthrop (of . . um . . San Francisco?).

Setting and History
To help people immerse themselves in this world, a few moments are taken to note a few things: Women of 1906 are, to a large extent, something along the lines of second class citizens. Women did not gain the right to vote in the USA until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 (14 years after this book). Though some individual states had state level voting before then. But hey, at least there was legal voting by 1920, eh? Women didn’t have the right to vote in Saudi Arabia until 2015.

LGBT. I’m not going to give a history lesson, just note that, while throughout history there have been people involved in same sex relationships, it was not a concept necessarily widely known by everybody in 1906; and, in practice, took a US Supreme court ruling in 2003 to basically decriminalize homosexuality in the USA (Lawrence v. Texas). And Radclyffe Hall’s “The Well of Loneliness” did not get published until 1928 (which I mention as a ‘famous’ lesbian book published 22 years after the time of this book’s setting – one that was judged obscene in Britain (for allowing the possibility that two women might have spent a little time together based on the words “and that night, they were not divided”).

1906 earthquake
An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.8 hit struck at 5:12 a.m. on April 18 1906. It was not the ‘strongest’ earthquake to occur in modern times on US soil (the earthquake that occurred on March 27 1964 in Alaska had a magnitude of 9.2), nor the largest in this specific fault zone (‘largest recorded earthquake in California was the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 7.9’), but the earthquake, and aftereffects, destroyed 80% of San Francisco and ‘the death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California’s history.’ The exact point, the epicenter of the quake, is still not known, and the exact death total is also still uncertain today. The amount of damage, in terms of dollars is estimated to be roughly the equivalent to $6.19 billion in 2015 dollars.



Characters
There are two main characters and two points of views in this book.

Main Characters
Kate Winthrop is from a wealthy San Francisco family, is youngish (early 20s?), and expected to find a husband so that he can continue the family shipping business (Kate’s brother died, and obviously you can’t leave your business to a woman; they don’t even have the right to vote! Just not done to leave your business to a woman). Kate, though, doesn’t particularly want anything to do with men, or finding a husband, but would rather have a career. That’s one of her many ‘radical’ notions. Another sign of her radical rebellious nature is those occasions when she wears, as Giulana put it ‘a shockingly short skirt’. So short, so scandalous, that it is ‘barely able to cover a pair of slender ankles’ (note, her ankles are covered – her feet are in shoes, there’s not actual skin on display). Scandalous! That’s her ‘driving outfit’ – the outfit that she wears when she drives around in the Packard (another scandalous thing, that – driving around in a car, a Model N Packard to be exact).



Scandalous 'shockingly short skirt' driving outfit:


Right, so, career. The beginning stages of the book are filled, when in Kate’s point of view, with attempts to become a professional photographer with the local newspaper. One of the three local ones. This being the time when newspapers were so important and financially successful that they flung up massive skyscrapers. The paper she attempts to find work with is the one that’s for the women getting the vote. And there is at least one famous woman photographer out there with her pictures in newspapers (though not specifically a San Francisco paper), so it’s not completely unheard of. The editor wouldn’t even look at her sample photos.

A book about a woman who wishes to be a professional photographer should have a few photos, eh? Kate's family lived on Nob Hill. Here are two pictures of that location. The large classical building in both pictures is the Fairmont Hotel. The one from 1905 is, if I'm understanding the information in the book correctly, actually looking up the street that Giulana uses to go to work at the Winthrop mansion.


1905 Nob Hill


1906 Nob Hill

Giuliana ‘Julie’ Russo is a young woman, potentially somewhere in her early 20s, who came over to, as she puts it ‘Merica’, with her brother Turi. Times are tough in their native Sicily, and with pops dead, and a large family to support, Turi comes up with the idea of going to America for a year to make some money as a fisherman. He could have remained and worked as a fisherman in Sicily, but people are having less and less money to pay for fish in Sicily.

That was the plan. One year in America. But the book opens five years after their arrival, with no sign that they will be returning home any time soon. Then Turi drops dead. Giuliana now has to find some means of supporting herself in America and some way to continue supporting her extended family back in Sicily. One option is to return to Sicily, but woman just don’t do that in Sicily – support family’s though working. So, Giuliana goes to work as a maid at the massively large Winthrop mansion. And, at the same time, gets the name Julie as Mrs. Winthrop seems to either have heard her name as Julie, or be unable to either say, or accept the name Giuliana. Giuliana does not like being called Julie. But she wishes to keep her job and so . . . accepts being called that.

Side Characters
There are many characters; I include a few of the more important side characters.

Dr. Lucy Sharp is a doctor in the hospital in city hall. Is a woman, shockening to everyone who runs into her, and a lesbian.

Obedience ‘Biddy’ NoKnownLastName is a bitter jealous woman who is Mrs. Winthrope’s maid. While seemingly doing as little work as she can get away with (maybe maybe not, that’s the vague feeling left), she is also jealous of others, especially if she thinks they might be after her job.

Mrs. Winthrope is a rich woman, the mother of Kate, and wife of . . . whatever Mr. Winthrope’s first name might be. She’s a bigot and full of class responsibilities (as in, no mingling with the lower orders, and always looking proper). She comes across as the type who, in later films (later than 1906), would be the kind who would get a pie in the face.

Mr. Winthrope is Kate’s father, wealthy shipping magnate, and – at times – somewhat willing to allow his daughter certain freedoms. Within limits.

Overall
I rather enjoyed the book. Every aspect was, to a certain extent, handled a lot more realistically than expected. From the interactions between the two lead women, to the interactions between Kate and her family, to the interactions between Kate and attempting to find work - interactions with news people, and to the giant enormous rats.

A thoroughly enjoyable book on every level. For those who have read a Jae book before, you know what to expect re: graphic depictions of sex. For those who have not - the full length books tend to be somewhat less enthusiastic towards displaying graphic details, while at the same time Jae does not shy away from such things - she just puts them in short story sequels (or was that just the once? I've a vague feeling that happened more than once). Well, regardless, there are no graphic displays of a sexual nature beyond kissing. And occasional touching.

I rather enjoyed seeing through the eyes of someone from Sicily, an immigrant to the USA. Hmm. Immigrant is not the right word, since Giuliana hadn't come to the US to live permanently. Migrant worker? Expatriate? Well, a convincing portrayal regardless of whichever word should be used here to describe Giuliana.

One last thought - I did not know until after the book was over, until I read a note after the end of the book, a certain issue. It's one of those things that might enhance or detract depending on how a person normally reads books, so I'll put it behind spoilers.

As mentioned, I enjoyed the book. A full 5 star novel.

The newspaper put out by the San Francsico papers after the earthquake.


'Death and destruction have been the fate of San Francisco. Shaken by a temblor at 5;13 O'clock yesterday morning, the shock lasting 48 seconds, and scourged by flames that raged diametrically in all directions, the city is a mass of smouldering ruins. At six o'clock last evening the flames seemingly playing with increased vigor, threatened to destroy such sections as their fury had sapred during the earlier portion of the day. Building their path in a trianguar circuit from the start in the early morning, they jockeyed as the day waned, left the business section, which they had entirely devasted, and skipped in a dozen directions to the residence portions. As night fell they had made their way over into the north beach section and springing anew to the south they reached out along the shipping section down the bay shore, over the hills and across toward third and townsend streets. Warehouses, wholesale houses and manufacturing concerns fell in their path. This completed the destruction of the entire district known as the "South of Market Street." How far they are reaching to the south across the channel cannot be told as this part of the city is shut off from San Francisco papers."

June 2 2016