Despite its length, this novel held my attention. The nuanced main character Julia made prefect sense to me; her ups and downs, her confusions, her amDespite its length, this novel held my attention. The nuanced main character Julia made prefect sense to me; her ups and downs, her confusions, her ambiguities: all contributed to the realism of the novel. Her encounter with an older woman, Helen, gives her the assurance that people who understand her exist. Her relationships with the children, filled with love and worry, reminded me of those with my own kids, and the dysfunctional family into which she was born helped me to appreciate my own family. Lombardo gives us a message for the season: forgiveness....more
You will not be disabused of your belief that English boarding schools are barbaric places where terror reigns as you read this book. To the contrary,You will not be disabused of your belief that English boarding schools are barbaric places where terror reigns as you read this book. To the contrary, you'll look back on your own high school education as nearly heavenly, even if it was filled with demanding, nasty teachers and mean girls. There are few characters here to admire: I choose the plus one, wife of the bride's best friend from childhood. Hew character is well-developed, and I found myself cheering her on as she observed her husband's attempts to ingratiate himself with the snobby 'old boys.' Even the Irish island, selected by the bride for her wedding to honor her Irish heritage and filled with life-snatching bogs, leaves little to admire. On the other hand, Foley's well contrived plot held my attention throughout. I knew from the back cover that someone would die, but even that basic plot element was saved for the very end of the book. A fun summer read....more
I loved Hamnet. This latest contribution from O'Farrell is even better. She somehow magically takes me back to Italy in the 16th century, and for the I loved Hamnet. This latest contribution from O'Farrell is even better. She somehow magically takes me back to Italy in the 16th century, and for the five days I was enjoying/dreading her novel, her fictional world became as real to me as my own existence here in the 21st. Her Alfonso is crafted so skillfully that I feared for Lucretia every time he entered the room she was occupying. Lucretia's stubborn insistence on maintaining her small control in her very controlled world amazed, impressed, inspired me. You may find yourself considering your own friends and neighbors with narrowed eyes after inhabiting Lucretia's world for the duration of your stay there. Read this one....more
I don't play video games, never have. However, Zevin held my interest by developing her characters so well that I had to keep reading to see how the mI don't play video games, never have. However, Zevin held my interest by developing her characters so well that I had to keep reading to see how the main protagonists worked our their differences. From her descriptions of games, I began to understand their appeal. Oh, and yes, I had to memorize the Shakespeare "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech when I was in high school, so I was pleased to see how Zevin made her title integral to the plot....more
My Lutheran church is in the middle of the difficult process of finding a new pastor, so I was sure I'd find insights here. I did, and I found myself My Lutheran church is in the middle of the difficult process of finding a new pastor, so I was sure I'd find insights here. I did, and I found myself looking forward to my reading time with Huneven's very well written memoir.
What I learned from Huneven's experience filled me with trepidation for our search. All these well intentioned people, each with a slightly different personal agenda, pretty much created a disaster. (Oops, sorry, spoiler alert.) Huneven's memoir brought the members of her committee alive so that I knew which ones I'd avoid sitting by at the meetings. Her ability to evoke personality through dialogue is pretty amazing. Revealing personality through menu choices is another gift, perhaps not surprising, given that Huneven is a former restaurant reviewer.
I gained great insight into the openmindedness and variety of UU congregations. The histories of people who self-select themselves as leaders and members of this spiritual community are fascinating. Huneven presents UU adherents as generously gifted and fully flawed human beings who could fit in well (or not so well) in any congregation.
I loved the inclusion of recipes, but I disliked the character Jennie so much that I refuse to copy the recipes of her contributions to the committee gatherings.
Unless you, too, are anxious about the choice of a leader for your Sunday family, you may not find this just the book you need to read right now. I like to think I'd have found it compelling without my personal connection to the topic. Give it a try and let me know what you think. ...more
I loved the first half of this book because Otsuka captures the love of swimming so many people share. Her descriptions of the many personalities who sI loved the first half of this book because Otsuka captures the love of swimming so many people share. Her descriptions of the many personalities who swim laps for the pure joy of escaping into a solitary world aredelightful and ring true. The crack that appears in the bottom of the deep end symbolizes, I presume, the crack that appears in Alice/s ability to remember. The second half of the book reads like a memoir written by Alice's daughter during the time Alice spends in a care facility. So well written, so heartbreaking. So frightening to an elderly woman who's lost friends to dementia. I'm not sure to whom I'd recommend this book, but if you appreciate fine writing, try it. ...more
Nathan Harris gives us a slice of life during Reconstruction. All the discussion about Critical Race Theory makes this novel relevant, even more than Nathan Harris gives us a slice of life during Reconstruction. All the discussion about Critical Race Theory makes this novel relevant, even more than it might have been if people hadn't begun criticizing anyone who tells the truth about our past. Harris is gifted writer whose prose is a delight. His insight into human behavior amazed me: the Walker the marriage is unique, so subtly portrayed that I wondered about Harris' background. Where did he learn about the myriad ways people can love another and yet not understand one another? Reconstruction was a dark time: Landry's abuse by his owner continues after he becomes a freedman. The light in this darkness is the care his brother Prentiss showers on him and the love Landry has for all things beautiful. Isabelle and George Walker give us hope that just as they risked so much to help the two freedmen, we can look beyond race to see the good in others. Thank you, Nathan Harris. ...more
It's fun to see that some of the folks on my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ buddies list have read this, too. Marilyn, 5 stars! Neat. I've given it just 3 stars after discIt's fun to see that some of the folks on my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ buddies list have read this, too. Marilyn, 5 stars! Neat. I've given it just 3 stars after discussing the novel with my book club, a couple of whom loved it, a couple of whom didn't like it (one gal quit reading 1/3 of the way in), and the rest, as I did, saw the value of the language and plotting but didn't care for the melodrama. Julian Carax's books have all been discovered and destroyed, all but one, chosen by Daniel in the Cemetery of Forgotten books. Why has some evil being sought out all these books and destroyed them? Daniel attempts to solve the mystery. He encounters a memorable cast of characters, each one described in overblown detail, each given memorable characteristics. Fumero is so evil that the book club compared him to Javert in Les Mis. The background of the Spanish Civil War complicates the plot. The time setting moves from present to past to present, add infinitum. Two great loves are balanced by the relationship of Nuria and Miquel, each of whom find meaning in unrequited love. Trying all the aspects together with many other threads I don't mention is over-the-top melodrama. You can find interviews with Zafon on YouTube; watch a couple. You will find him engaging and full of self-knowledge, and you will mourn his early passing. Zafon died in 2020; sadly, we lost a creative mind unique in modern literature....more
My first non-babysitting job was detasseling corn for a seed company in Fargo. My mom's dad had been a farmer in South Dakota; the cousin who now farmMy first non-babysitting job was detasseling corn for a seed company in Fargo. My mom's dad had been a farmer in South Dakota; the cousin who now farms that land is doing pretty well. The first year I was a high school debater, we debated on the topic of farmer's receiving a certain percent parity for their crops. (I wish I remembered what I knew as a sophomore.) Most importantly, I consider myself to be "from" North Dakota, even though I lived there full time only 7 years, then returned for a couple of summers during college, then returned again to teach in Dickinson for one year while my spouse was in Viet Nam. My connection to North Dakota and farming is a strong thread in my life. Sarah Vogel inspired me with her truth-telling in this wonderful account of how she fought the Farm Home Administration as that agency, under the direction of David Stockman, attempted to curtail costs by forcing farmers off their farms by foreclosing on debts for money the agency itself had lent. I use the term truth-telling because Sarah Vogel was a naive, novice lawyer who spares no detail in allowing her reader into the whirlwind of the stumbling, fumbling career she begins in North Dakota after leaving a good job in DC. The end of her marriage, her financial difficulties, her attempt to live in a small house in in alley with no insulation: these details pale in comparison to her description of the agony her father, a respected lawyer in Grand Forks, endured while watching her performance in the trial in which she was the prosecutor and the Farm Home Administration was the defendant. Vogel gives a thorough summation of the history of farming in North Dakota; I'll admit that I skimmed a few pages. She shares the stories of the North Dakota Nine, and I found myself hating David Stockman and cheering for these brave folks. Then, the trial: spellbinding. I couldn't put the book down. An aside: my favorite part: "The phone rang with a call from my mother's older brother, Cal, in Minnesota. My mother's Monk siblings almost never called or visited. Their rare communications were by round-robin letters. One sibling would write a letter to another who would add news of his or her family and send both letters to another, who would forward again until all six were in the loop, and after the letters had circulated to all the siblings (which might take a year), a anew round-robin would start. My mother held the receiver out so we could all hear. "Elsa, this is Cal. I just read a front page story about farm foreclosures and it says that there is a Sarah Vogle from Grand Forks who is fighting farm foreclosures. Is that Sally?" "Yes!" my mother proudly answered. "I'm glad. Okay now. Merry Christmas." "Okay, Cal. Merry Christmas." I guess you have to have lived a while in North Dakota to tear up as I did at Cal's "Okay now." Anyway, thank you, Sarah Vogel. ...more
Colson Whitehead can write! My goodness, he takes me into a world different from mine and makes that world as real as my own. (I was able to ignore thColson Whitehead can write! My goodness, he takes me into a world different from mine and makes that world as real as my own. (I was able to ignore the increasing chill in my home during a power outage as I immersed myself in Whitehead's prose.) Having lived through the era he describes here, I feel a bit guilty for having watched the news and then moved on with my own daily concerns while so many people were caught in history's clutches. Harlem, 1959-1964. Ray Carney does the best he can while honoring his life-long friendship with his cousin Freddie. Loyalty to Freddie gets him in trouble, deep trouble. Meanwhile, Ray struggles to live up to the expectations of his wife's family. Elizabeth, Ray's wife, lives in innocence of Ray's illegal activities. Bad stuff happens. Meanwhile, the reader is hoping Ray will survive intact. Tangentially, Whitehead knows quite a bit about running a furniture store and the growing use of dinette sets in the 60's. His use of detail adds realism to Ray's character as Ray displays such versatility in shifting from salesman mode to minor crook/fence mode. I especially loved Whitehead's description of dorveille, or sleeping in two shifts. Apparently for centuries mankind has lived by sleeping when darkness arrives, then awaking to perform serious acts of problem solving or creativity, then retiring once again for another sleep. Ray falls into this pattern when life becomes especially tough. Bobbi, you and I have talked about this mental alertness that sometimes comes in the middle of the night. Now we know, we're part of a long tradition. I found The Underground Railroad well written but too full of historical events to be entirely believable, whereas I loved Nickel Boys, accepting the entirety as valid. In that one, as here, I became emotionally involved with the characters and hoped for their success. I'll be awaiting Whitehead's next effort with anticipation. ...more
Three old friends empty the house of their now deceased old friend Sylvie. The characters have flaws and their relationships are dysfunctional. The reThree old friends empty the house of their now deceased old friend Sylvie. The characters have flaws and their relationships are dysfunctional. The realism of their interactions is almost painful to read, but what I most enjoyed, if enjoyed is the correct word to use, is the description of the ways each endures the indignities of aging. Charlotte Wood is an Australian authors who was born in 1965. I'm not sure how she has come to know so much about the life experiences of over 70 women. You may not be old enough to enjoy this one as I did, but just wait. Your time will come. ...more
Here's another I won't remember in a week, but what a great read. While my husband watched Michigan beat Ohio State,(Go Blue) I devoured this novel. THere's another I won't remember in a week, but what a great read. While my husband watched Michigan beat Ohio State,(Go Blue) I devoured this novel. The map in the front of the text made possible my imagining and visualizing the sites Hawkins described so well: the houseboats, the 7th floor apartment, the house. Three quirky female characters held my attention and gained my admiration. Psychological motivation for character's behavior is impressively provided. I envy Hawkings her ability to create such an involved, involved to the point of complicated, plot. How does she do it? ...more
I cannot wait to see the series that will result from this novel - Will Nicole Kidman play the older daughter? Who will get the juicy part of the mom?I cannot wait to see the series that will result from this novel - Will Nicole Kidman play the older daughter? Who will get the juicy part of the mom? Is there a spot for Asher Keddie? I liked this one better than Nine Perfect Strangers. The family focus on tennis and mention of some tennis stars I've followed over the years made the read fun. Even better was the description of the sibling rivalry among the four children in this dysfunctional family. A week from now I'll barely remember the plot, but all the same, it was a fun and compelling read. ...more
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