Four misfit teenagers are broken by dysfunctional family situations, by grief and the heartaches that sometimes come with self discovery. They manage Four misfit teenagers are broken by dysfunctional family situations, by grief and the heartaches that sometimes come with self discovery. They manage to survive their sad existences because they have each other . “I trust you . I love you� they say to each other. The depth of friendship they feel for and show each other is everything when you believe you have nothing .
Twenty five years later, two of the friends connect with , through one of the friend’s paintings, a misfit teenage girl who is broken by loss , grief and the foster care system. They immediately recognize she is � one of them.� Our journey begins with Louisa’s present story and takes us back twenty five years as Ted tells the story of the four friends in the painting to Louisa while forging a bond of friendship between them.
If you can manage their sadness, if you can manage their pain sometimes emotional and sometimes physical, if you can manage the violence , it’s totally worth it getting into their hearts and minds and learning their stories. It’s not always all heartbreak as there are moments of love and caring, fun, and many funny moments that have the four friends laughing their heads off over their corny and clever jokes. The majority of the story is about these teenagers, but this should not be mistaken for a teenage novel. This is a story about the depth of friendship that helps them survive the worst things in their lives. It’s also a commentary on life and art and hope when it seems there isn’t any to be found. The emotional connection I feel with Backman’s characters is immediate and deep . I felt it in all of his novels, especially The Beartown series, but then I read this book. Backman’s understanding and ability to express the twists and turns of the human heart in this novel is nothing short of stunning.
I received a copy of this book from Atria through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
You could call this a feel good story because there are characters here who care and help each other in need and that in itself makes this a hopeful sYou could call this a feel good story because there are characters here who care and help each other in need and that in itself makes this a hopeful story. However, it’s not a light one with themes of loneliness, regret, abandonment, family estrangement, homelessness. Oh, there are some funny and sweet moments, but there’s a lot of sadness and heartbreak. I’m not going to say much about the plot because the book description tells most of that. I’ll just say that a revelation early on turns a woman’s and her four year old daughter’s lives upside down. It’s one that I had assumed before it was revealed even though only in the third chapter, but the story isn’t always predictable.
This is the second novel I’ve read recently that portrays an unexpected and unlikely friendship between a younger woman and an elderly man, a friendship that changes both of their lives. Connecting with these characters, I couldn’t help but feel that they changed mine in some way, too.
I received a copy of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley....more
I’m not sure what I can say except this just wasn’t for me . The writing is beautiful in many places . Atmospheric sometimes is an overused word, but I’m not sure what I can say except this just wasn’t for me . The writing is beautiful in many places . Atmospheric sometimes is an overused word, but it’s just so appropriate in this case . Ivey knows how to take the reader directly to the Alaskan wilderness she writes about . However , I wasn’t as taken by this one as much as The Snow Child and To The Bright Edge of the World.
While I could sympathize to a certain extent with Birdie, a single mother trying to make ends meet and provide for her 6 year old daughter Emaleen, Birdie is irresponsible putting her daughter in danger, both in the Lodge where she lives and works at a bar and when she moves to a remote area in the mountains to be free and away from everything with a strange man she too quickly falls in love with.
Described as a reimagined Beauty and the Beast, it certainly has tones of fable or fairytale. I appreciate Ivey’s writing but I wasn’t the right reader for this kind of story . I have to admit that it held my interest enough to find out what happens and to discover what Arthur’s past was about .
I received a copy of this book from Random House through NetGalley and Edelweiss....more
Isabel Allende once again has given us a story of a strong woman, deeply connected to her family and culture, a story full of heart and courage depictIsabel Allende once again has given us a story of a strong woman, deeply connected to her family and culture, a story full of heart and courage depicting a piece of history of her native Chile. The story telling is alluring from the first page. Her writing is as usual mesmerizing with descriptions of places such as San Francisco, New York City to Valparaiso to Santiago that brought me right there. The depiction of events and the mores of the times and the people, not just the political situation in Chile gives a genuine feel for the time. In the late 1880’s when it’s unheard of for a female journalist to even have a byline other than for the gentler issues, Emilia del Valle is sent to Chile on assignment during the political upheaval of civil war. It’s a fascinating story of a young woman looking to make her place in the world and discover something about her roots as she seeks out her birth father at the same time .
The first person narrative gives it the feel of a memoir . We experience Emilia’s story first hand and intimately as she connects with the people she meets along the way, allowing us to make acquaintance with some interesting characters. It’s so much more than the story of a journalist, but of a young woman staking her claim in life and love . The sign of an impeccable translation is when you don’t feel as if you are reading it in translation. I originally gave this 4 stars and after thinking about it more as I write my thoughts , it’s deserving of 5 stars.
I received a copy from Random House through NetGalley . ...more
Chris Bohjalian is a prolific and versatile writer. My favorites are his historical fiction titles and this novel is now one of those favorites . It’sChris Bohjalian is a prolific and versatile writer. My favorites are his historical fiction titles and this novel is now one of those favorites . It’s an intense story depicting the Civil War with the death, violence , grief, hatred, as well as love that came with it. All of this and more is reflected through the life a young Virginia woman, the wife of a Confederate soldier gone to war, her freed slaves, her niece, and the Yankee soldier whose life she saves.
Libby Steadman is courageous and bold, surprising herself and the reader at what she is capable of to protect her loved ones and stand by her convictions, hoping that some Yankee woman would do the same for her missing husband. An edge of my seat read in so many places, a heartbreaking and moving story with complicated characters in complicated circumstances, characters to root for and remember, and hope the best for .
Don’t miss the author’s notes and acknowledgments to discover that this was inspired by true events . It’s meticulously researched, so well written and jolting or maybe not, to see the relevance with today’s world.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Fascinating that so much of what keeps the internet running is buried under the sea. Chilling to stop and take a moment to really think about how much Fascinating that so much of what keeps the internet running is buried under the sea. Chilling to stop and take a moment to really think about how much of our daily lives are so affected and so dependent on it . Even more fascinating, the human connections , the emotional ones , the difficult to understand ones , reflected in the complex characters and their relationships here . This novel is introspective and profound in reflecting connections made and connections broken, connections salvaged between people we want to understand , but don’t always. A short book , a slow burn , probably a slow read for me as most are at the moment.
Colum McCann is a versatile writer giving us stories so different from each other in storyline and characters, yet the quality of the writing is so consistently meticulous, with perfect descriptions, with beautiful prose in so many places and always deeply moving . Another book by Colum McCann, another reason why he is one of my all time favorite writers .
I received a copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley . ...more
4.5 stars It’s brutal to read and not surprisingly. It’s about slavery after all . But that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautifully written. It’s written4.5 stars It’s brutal to read and not surprisingly. It’s about slavery after all . But that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautifully written. It’s written by Jesmyn Ward, after all . She takes us on the harrowing and horrific journey of Annis , a young slave woman as she is led, tied in ropes to other slave women, made to walk a treacherous landscape, cross rivers, while starving and wounded from from North Carolina to Louisiana. Horrific doesn’t adequately describe it, nor does gut wrenching and heartbreaking, but for lack of better words� Her wounds run deeper than on the body, deep in her heart and soul, suffering losses, and struggling to find her self. Annis� journey is more than this brutal journey. It is a journey to be the strong woman her mother taught her to be, through stories, through her legacy to defend herself, a journey to be free.
I won’t say more about the plot. This is a story you should experience for yourself. I loved Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing and loved the ghost there , but there was a little too much magical realism here for me. I can’t quite give it 5 stars, but overall this is a stunning read that will shake you to your core .
Ward’s writing is just so beautiful: � There's a green hill, trees all around us in an overturned bowl, a waterfall tossing down into a pool the same deep green as the trees around us. It's so beautiful I feel a turning in my chest, my heart a small bird stirring in its nest. For a moment, I don't feel bound. I forget what holds me. But the ache of me, through wrist and hip and thigh, tunnels me back down into my body, along with the rope. �
I received an advanced copy of this from Scribner through NetGalley.
Merged review:
4.5 stars It’s brutal to read and not surprisingly. It’s about slavery after all . But that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautifully written. It’s written by Jesmyn Ward, after all . She takes us on the harrowing and horrific journey of Annis , a young slave woman as she is led, tied in ropes to other slave women, made to walk a treacherous landscape, cross rivers, while starving and wounded from from North Carolina to Louisiana. Horrific doesn’t adequately describe it, nor does gut wrenching and heartbreaking, but for lack of better words� Her wounds run deeper than on the body, deep in her heart and soul, suffering losses, and struggling to find her self. Annis� journey is more than this brutal journey. It is a journey to be the strong woman her mother taught her to be, through stories, through her legacy to defend herself, a journey to be free.
I won’t say more about the plot. This is a story you should experience for yourself. I loved Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing and loved the ghost there , but there was a little too much magical realism here for me. I can’t quite give it 5 stars, but overall this is a stunning read that will shake you to your core .
Ward’s writing is just so beautiful: � There's a green hill, trees all around us in an overturned bowl, a waterfall tossing down into a pool the same deep green as the trees around us. It's so beautiful I feel a turning in my chest, my heart a small bird stirring in its nest. For a moment, I don't feel bound. I forget what holds me. But the ache of me, through wrist and hip and thigh, tunnels me back down into my body, along with the rope. �
I received an advanced copy of this from Scribner through NetGalley....more
I loved Anthony Marra’s novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and The Tsar of Love and Techno, a collection of connected stories which for me read I loved Anthony Marra’s novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and The Tsar of Love and Techno, a collection of connected stories which for me read like a novel. I count them among my favorites, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to read his new short story which is part of the Amazon Original Inheritance Collection. It’s filled with humor and emotion and regret, and is so relevant, not just because it’s about the son of a whistleblower, but because there are questions about the morality of the things people do or don’t do. I thought about what we are seeing on the news today, the lack of scruples of so many of our public servants and the honor of those who speak up for what is right. I don’t want to digress so I’m not going to get political here because the heart of this story for me, is the complicated relationship between this man and his father, a previous NSA employee, about whom his son wrote a tell all book. Fantastic writing, not a wasted word. There are so many funny lines, but the humor is tempered by the seriousness of the events and the depth of love that the story emanates. It’s too short to tell about the plot , but I’ll just say the same thing I said about “Everything My Mother Taught Me� by Alice Hoffman, another story in the Amazon Inheritance collection. I was fortunate to obtain an advanced copy of this from Amazon Original through NetGalley. It’s part of the Amazon Original Inheritance Collection. If you are a NetGalley member, I recommend you go and request it. If not, preorder it from Amazon for your kindle . It’s being released 12/19/19 . It’s worth so much more than the $1.99 that it will cost you.
It has taken me ages to connect with shorter fiction because I frequently felt unsatisfied at the end wanting to know more. While I wanted more of the fabulous writing, I wasn’t left with that hanging feeling. Amazing what a talented writer can do in 28 pages !
Merged review:
I loved Anthony Marra’s novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and The Tsar of Love and Techno, a collection of connected stories which for me read like a novel. I count them among my favorites, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to read his new short story which is part of the Amazon Original Inheritance Collection. It’s filled with humor and emotion and regret, and is so relevant, not just because it’s about the son of a whistleblower, but because there are questions about the morality of the things people do or don’t do. I thought about what we are seeing on the news today, the lack of scruples of so many of our public servants and the honor of those who speak up for what is right. I don’t want to digress so I’m not going to get political here because the heart of this story for me, is the complicated relationship between this man and his father, a previous NSA employee, about whom his son wrote a tell all book. Fantastic writing, not a wasted word. There are so many funny lines, but the humor is tempered by the seriousness of the events and the depth of love that the story emanates. It’s too short to tell about the plot , but I’ll just say the same thing I said about “Everything My Mother Taught Me� by Alice Hoffman, another story in the Amazon Inheritance collection. I was fortunate to obtain an advanced copy of this from Amazon Original through NetGalley. It’s part of the Amazon Original Inheritance Collection. If you are a NetGalley member, I recommend you go and request it. If not, preorder it from Amazon for your kindle . It’s being released 12/19/19 . It’s worth so much more than the $1.99 that it will cost you.
It has taken me ages to connect with shorter fiction because I frequently felt unsatisfied at the end wanting to know more. While I wanted more of the fabulous writing, I wasn’t left with that hanging feeling. Amazing what a talented writer can do in 28 pages !...more
If you didn’t enjoy The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry or The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, then I wouldn’t recommend this one . But if you lIf you didn’t enjoy The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry or The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, then I wouldn’t recommend this one . But if you loved those books and those characters as I did, don’t miss this one, a story focused on Harold’s wife bringing the reader full circle around the lives of these characters. In the lovely preface to the novel, Joyce describes her thought process around the three characters with a metaphor of “the sticky closet door�. Harold and Queenie are given their due and moved through “the sticky closet door� by Joyce and into my heart in the first two books. Maureen in those books was for me a bit of an enigma, but when Joyce decided that she’s entitled to her due, I was compelled to follow her on her own journey ten years after Harold’s .
Maureen, thinks of herself as not a nice person and at times, she’s not. She’s angry at times, sometimes down right nasty, but I mostly saw her as a grieving mother, trying to find a way to go on,a way to cope with her loss. When she discovers that Queenie made a sea side garden and in it a monument to Maureen and Harold’s son David, she knows she has to see it. It turned out to be a gift to a grieving mother, whose journey there allows her to make peace with others, but mostly with herself.
Maureen’s journey unlike Harold’s is not a walk, but a car ride. It’s not as open and inclusive as Harold’s, but a more private, solo venture. Yet, there are a few people that she meets along the way that are kind and generous as Harold encountered ten years earlier. It’s a bit quirky, sad, funny and very moving. Even though its less than two hundred pages, Rachel Joyce manages to get Maureen through that “sticky closet door � and into my heart. Her imagined interview with Maureen at the end is priceless.
I received a copy of this book from Dial Press/Random House through NetGalley.
Merged review:
If you didn’t enjoy The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry or The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, then I wouldn’t recommend this one . But if you loved those books and those characters as I did, don’t miss this one, a story focused on Harold’s wife bringing the reader full circle around the lives of these characters. In the lovely preface to the novel, Joyce describes her thought process around the three characters with a metaphor of “the sticky closet door�. Harold and Queenie are given their due and moved through “the sticky closet door� by Joyce and into my heart in the first two books. Maureen in those books was for me a bit of an enigma, but when Joyce decided that she’s entitled to her due, I was compelled to follow her on her own journey ten years after Harold’s .
Maureen, thinks of herself as not a nice person and at times, she’s not. She’s angry at times, sometimes down right nasty, but I mostly saw her as a grieving mother, trying to find a way to go on,a way to cope with her loss. When she discovers that Queenie made a sea side garden and in it a monument to Maureen and Harold’s son David, she knows she has to see it. It turned out to be a gift to a grieving mother, whose journey there allows her to make peace with others, but mostly with herself.
Maureen’s journey unlike Harold’s is not a walk, but a car ride. It’s not as open and inclusive as Harold’s, but a more private, solo venture. Yet, there are a few people that she meets along the way that are kind and generous as Harold encountered ten years earlier. It’s a bit quirky, sad, funny and very moving. Even though its less than two hundred pages, Rachel Joyce manages to get Maureen through that “sticky closet door � and into my heart. Her imagined interview with Maureen at the end is priceless.
I received a copy of this book from Dial Press/Random House through NetGalley....more
The book begins in California in the 1990’s when twenty six year old Mara Alencar, an undocumented immigrant from Brazil is a caregiver to an affluentThe book begins in California in the 1990’s when twenty six year old Mara Alencar, an undocumented immigrant from Brazil is a caregiver to an affluent woman with stomach cancer. In these early pages, I found Mara’s reactions to America fascinating and so enlightening as she tells of all of the things she has been surprised about in the ten years she has been in America. The narrative describes these things for several pages - how much is free here, public bathrooms, so many cars, that single women could be friends with married women, that it wasn’t okay for husbands to beat their wives, how everyone could eat at restaurants, that not everyone was white, grandparents lived separate from their grandchildren, that there were no words for certain things and so much more in these pages. This gave me a perspective that I quite honestly had not given much thought about, how strange things here might seem to an immigrant. Mara as an immigrant is only one facet of the story.
This is a multilayered story which covers a number of themes in a cohesive way . We are soon taken back to her childhood in this well written, first person narrative, taking us to Copacabana, Brazil in the 1970’s when she was eight years old. It’s in this time and place that we get a glimpse of the unconditional love of a mother for her daughter as her mother Ana gets caught up in a political scheme with a police chief who tortures people and the dissidents, the rebel guerrillas. Ana is a voice over actress who will do what it takes to provide for her daughter, even putting herself in danger. A horrific event takes place before Mara’s eyes and over the years Mara’s view of what happened and her mother’s role is never clear for her. She loves her mother and at the same time believes the worst about her.
There is yet another layer here with Mara’s role as a caregiver. How Kathryn deals with her illness is poignantly described and is even more impactful knowing that Samuel Park knew of which he wrote, dying of stomach cancer after this novel was written. It’s a captivating story about many things, not the least of which is a mother’s love for her daughter and a young woman coming to terms with the past.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through NetGalley.
Merged review:
The book begins in California in the 1990’s when twenty six year old Mara Alencar, an undocumented immigrant from Brazil is a caregiver to an affluent woman with stomach cancer. In these early pages, I found Mara’s reactions to America fascinating and so enlightening as she tells of all of the things she has been surprised about in the ten years she has been in America. The narrative describes these things for several pages - how much is free here, public bathrooms, so many cars, that single women could be friends with married women, that it wasn’t okay for husbands to beat their wives, how everyone could eat at restaurants, that not everyone was white, grandparents lived separate from their grandchildren, that there were no words for certain things and so much more in these pages. This gave me a perspective that I quite honestly had not given much thought about, how strange things here might seem to an immigrant. Mara as an immigrant is only one facet of the story.
This is a multilayered story which covers a number of themes in a cohesive way . We are soon taken back to her childhood in this well written, first person narrative, taking us to Copacabana, Brazil in the 1970’s when she was eight years old. It’s in this time and place that we get a glimpse of the unconditional love of a mother for her daughter as her mother Ana gets caught up in a political scheme with a police chief who tortures people and the dissidents, the rebel guerrillas. Ana is a voice over actress who will do what it takes to provide for her daughter, even putting herself in danger. A horrific event takes place before Mara’s eyes and over the years Mara’s view of what happened and her mother’s role is never clear for her. She loves her mother and at the same time believes the worst about her.
There is yet another layer here with Mara’s role as a caregiver. How Kathryn deals with her illness is poignantly described and is even more impactful knowing that Samuel Park knew of which he wrote, dying of stomach cancer after this novel was written. It’s a captivating story about many things, not the least of which is a mother’s love for her daughter and a young woman coming to terms with the past.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through NetGalley....more
This is the fourth story in the Amazon Original Stories Inheritance Collection that I’ve read and I was not disappointed. Forty two year old, Jack, a
This is the fourth story in the Amazon Original Stories Inheritance Collection that I’ve read and I was not disappointed. Forty two year old, Jack, a gay man is invited to attend his first gay wedding by his boyfriend, Caleb. Jack is surprised at how it makes him feel and he begins to think about marriage in ways he never has before. It’s the second wedding, a heterosexual one of an old college friend, though, that illicited for Jack (and me) the most thought provoking things. Relationships of the past and how much they remain a part of who one is, self discovery, discovery that some you loved is not who you thought they were, cultural identity, and of course love and marriage. This may still be available on NetGalley and will be available on Amazon kindle for $.99. A good deal for a worthwhile story.
I received an advanced copy of this short story from Amazon Original Stories through NetGalley.
Merged review:
This is the fourth story in the Amazon Original Stories Inheritance Collection that I’ve read and I was not disappointed. Forty two year old, Jack, a gay man is invited to attend his first gay wedding by his boyfriend, Caleb. Jack is surprised at how it makes him feel and he begins to think about marriage in ways he never has before. It’s the second wedding, a heterosexual one of an old college friend, though, that illicited for Jack (and me) the most thought provoking things. Relationships of the past and how much they remain a part of who one is, self discovery, discovery that some you loved is not who you thought they were, cultural identity, and of course love and marriage. This may still be available on NetGalley and will be available on Amazon kindle for $.99. A good deal for a worthwhile story.
I received an advanced copy of this short story from Amazon Original Stories through NetGalley....more
I suspect this was an easy to come by galley, perhaps to whet our appetite for Tyler’s new book, Clock Dance to be published in July. I’ve already reaI suspect this was an easy to come by galley, perhaps to whet our appetite for Tyler’s new book, Clock Dance to be published in July. I’ve already read the book, so for me the lure was simply that this was written by Anne Tyler. I’m a fan and have been for a long time. My attraction to her characters and novels is that they are about ordinary people, sometimes quirky, living ordinary lives as most of us do, while managing the things that fate throws in our way. This was a little different because Susanna who wants us to believe at the outset the same of her, is different than most of us. She is a healer, actually a sometimes healer. “The first thing I tell people is, I’m just an ordinary woman.� This is a short story, only 24 pages long, so I won’t say more, except that any fan of Anne Tyler will be interested in knowing if Susanna is right.
I received a copy of this story from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Merged review:
I suspect this was an easy to come by galley, perhaps to whet our appetite for Tyler’s new book, Clock Dance to be published in July. I’ve already read the book, so for me the lure was simply that this was written by Anne Tyler. I’m a fan and have been for a long time. My attraction to her characters and novels is that they are about ordinary people, sometimes quirky, living ordinary lives as most of us do, while managing the things that fate throws in our way. This was a little different because Susanna who wants us to believe at the outset the same of her, is different than most of us. She is a healer, actually a sometimes healer. “The first thing I tell people is, I’m just an ordinary woman.� This is a short story, only 24 pages long, so I won’t say more, except that any fan of Anne Tyler will be interested in knowing if Susanna is right.
I received a copy of this story from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group through NetGalley....more
I’ve read a good number of WII novels, most of them focusing on the war in Europe and the Holocaust, the concentration camps . I’ve read a few about JI’ve read a good number of WII novels, most of them focusing on the war in Europe and the Holocaust, the concentration camps . I’ve read a few about Japanese internment camps in this country, but there always seems to be so much more to know . This novel illustrates yet another facet of the war that I knew nothing about. While described as a novel, this book tells the true story of one Dutch family living in the Dutch East Indies during the Japanese invasion as they are held in prison camps. Heather Moore met Marie Vischer Elliott called by her nickname Rita in this story and was taken by her account of her family’s experience . It’s clear that they represent many Dutch families who endured hardship and loss, horrible living conditions, fear and uncertainty under Japanese domination.
With multiple narrative points of view from six year old Rita through a child’s eyes, from her mother Marie bearing the uncertainty of her husband’s whereabouts and condition and managing to keep her children as safe as possible in the prison camp, and her father George, an officer in the Dutch Navy on a perilous mission trying to do his job while always thinking about his wife and children. Heartbreaking and hopeful. There’s always something new to learn through well written and well research historical fiction .
I’ve been reading Anne Tyler for many years . I’ve read over 20 of her novels and I keep on reading them. That says a lot about a writer who keeps me I’ve been reading Anne Tyler for many years . I’ve read over 20 of her novels and I keep on reading them. That says a lot about a writer who keeps me interested in her storytelling, her characters with her keen sense of human nature . This novel is short, sweet, funny , and touching. As in many of Tyler’s novels, there are characters who are a bit quirky, who we may not totally see ourselves in , but the emotions they feel over the ordinary things in life are real and so relatable. A mother of the bride is left out of the wedding activities planned by the mother of the groom, feeling pushed aside by her daughter. She’s dealing with job loss, the wedding, and an ex husband on her doorstep. The reality of coming to terms with herself and her past while wanting nothing but happiness for her daughter makes for a good story.
Anne Tyler is a treasure who writes with heart and humor. There’s no doubt I’ll read the next book she writes.
I received a copy of this book from Knopf through NetGalley....more
3+ stars A daughter seeks to make sense of her distant mother’s past after she passes away. A mix of past and present narratives revealing her mother�3+ stars A daughter seeks to make sense of her distant mother’s past after she passes away. A mix of past and present narratives revealing her mother’s story from news clippings and photos and poetry found in a box after her mother’s death. She pieces together what happened that affected her mother all those years . There was a connection between them, but it remained unknown to them as they kept a common secret - they both wrote poetry . I loved the writing in many places .
� Just as trees with inextricably entangled branches grow while imprisoning other trees, every story cuts a path between life and death. We never entirely make out all the roots and points of wavering that cause it to break. Or else it does not fracture, but comes closer to the stars that illuminate it slightly. We are not very different from the forests scattered with tall trees, which, like heaps of bones, defy the sky but, from one moment to the next, can dislocate.
Our roots run beneath the ground, invisible; it's impossible to unearth them all. We can try to pull one out, hope it will lead us to another that we can extract as well, and so on until we perceive a meaning in this story that we call our life.�
However, the mixture of the present and past narratives together didn’t work so well for me . The transitions from third person to first person narrative weren’t smooth. It’s about love and loss, the written word, beautifully written in places, and I thought I’d love it more than I did . I felt at a distance from these characters because of the execution of the story and didn’t connect as much as I’d hoped . I was, however moved by the ending.
I received a copy of this book from Book*hug Press through NetGalley.
Lisa Wingate in telling heartbreaking stories of children touches me and teaches me about parts of our history that l knew nothing about. In dual timeLisa Wingate in telling heartbreaking stories of children touches me and teaches me about parts of our history that l knew nothing about. In dual time lines, 1909 and 1990 in Oklahoma, Wingate skillfully executes this as she has done in other stories of historical significance. In the 1909 part of the story I was drawn to eleven year old Olive Radley who is caring and smart and tries her best to save and protect six year old Nessa, a Choctaw girl from the abuse of her vile stepfather. Their journey reflects on the a time when Native American children were robbed of their land rights and highlights the strong women who worked to protect them. In the 1990 part of the story, Valerie Boren-O’Dell , a young widow and park ranger, is as tenacious and strong as Olive as she attempts to solve the mystery of bones discovered. As usually happens though, I was more drawn to the historical time.
Highly recommend for those who loved Before We Were Yours , and actually anyone who enjoys good historical fiction which transports you to a place and time that will inform you of things we need to remember and move you in ways that will at the same time break your heart and raise your spirit with the resilience and strength of the characters.
I received a copy of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley. ...more
This novel is an imaginative telling of the art glassmaking through the centuries on the island of Murano off the city of Venice. Tracy Chevalier blenThis novel is an imaginative telling of the art glassmaking through the centuries on the island of Murano off the city of Venice. Tracy Chevalier blends history, the Murano and Venetian cultures, the role of women, family, the essence of life, death, love and all of this with one family at the center of it. The structure is fascinating as we follow the Rosso family over 500 years, and how their lives are affected by historical events bringing prosperity, plague, poverty, with the same characters positioned in various time frames, only a few years older even though decades have passed. With “time alla Veneziana�, the passage of time , like a “skipping stone�, they remain themselves just in a new time, each time the current time for them. It’s one of those stories where you just have to trust your imagination. I’m glad I did.
Orsola Russo from six to her sixties is a character to remember for her passion for the art of glass bead making even in times when women were forbidden from working with glass, for her perseverance, and for her dedication to family in times of prosperity and hardship. All of the characters are fully realized from Orsola’s strong and sharp mother to her brothers and sister in laws to the business connections in Venice and her loves.
So much happens here, but I prefer not to give plot details which you can find elsewhere. I can’t quite give it 5 stars as it felt a little too ambitious trying to cover all the decades and that resulted in some time frames dragging on a little and others glossed over from the Plague to Covid. However, I’ve read several of Chevalier’s novels and this is my favorite. A touching ending to say the least with a little of the “terrafirma� where time moves ahead not as “time alla Veneziana�. Recommended for Chevalier fans and historical fiction readers .
I received a copy of this book from Penguin Random House through Edelweiss & NetGalley. ...more
This is a multilayered and multiple time framed story of three characters connected through time by single drop of water. An all encompassing novel abThis is a multilayered and multiple time framed story of three characters connected through time by single drop of water. An all encompassing novel about words and ideas, about good and evil, tying past to near present with water. At times it felt a little too ambitious and a little slow moving. However, it merits 4 stars for the beautiful writing and wonderful characters, my favorite of whom was Arthur .
I received a copy of this from Knopf through NetGalley. ...more
“This is the story of Bob Burgess� Bob has a big heart, but does not know this about himself…� I read The Burgess Boys a number of years ago and was r“This is the story of Bob Burgess� Bob has a big heart, but does not know this about himself…� I read The Burgess Boys a number of years ago and was reintroduced to Bob in Oh William!, but I don’t think I fully appreciated him until now. Bob Burgess is now officially one of my literary crushes - what a good man ! But this novel is also very much about Lucy and Olive and the people in the stories of “unrecorded lives� that they share.
There are a number of reasons why Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorite writers. In Crosby, Maine, she once again takes us to the small town life that she writes so astutely about. There’s how Strout describes the intimate, inner thoughts of her characters connecting the reader with their vulnerabilities, their fears, their loneliness, their goodness and kindness. Strout has such a keen sense of human nature. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how she beautifully, in so many places, describes the seasons with wonderful descriptions of the trees.
Olive is her outspoken, feisty self, this time with her caring about people more in the open . If you didn’t love Olive before, I’m pretty sure she will touch you here as she summons Lucy to visit her so she can tell her some sad stories about people who belong together and don’t ever get to be. As for Bob, Strout reminds us of the trauma in Bob’s life as a child and his continued struggles, his relationship with his brother . With Lucy, my favorite Strout character, I saw once again her vulnerabilities, perhaps as a result of her traumatic childhood, but also her sense of empathy for those around her and those she doesn’t know except through the stories that Olive tells her. “Lucy listens, really listens.�
This is not just one of those quiet novels where not much seems to happen . There’s a murder to be solved and Bob is in the thick of it and so is the reader. There’s so much here - loneliness, aging, grief, childhood traumas, marriage, and love of all kinds, the untold stories people keep . Lucy has an untold story of her own and one of the most touching and heartfelt moments is when she tells it to Olive. A seemingly simple, yet profound commentary on love, on the connections we make, on life . From the very first page, I wanted Elizabeth Strout to tell me everything and she does it perfectly. Now I want her to tell me more.
I’m thankful to have received a copy of this from Random House through NetGalley....more
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