A series of chapters introduce us to characters like Tina, Theo, Dorothy, Aunt Mandy, Jason, Karson, David and Sue -- all are ultimately involved at tA series of chapters introduce us to characters like Tina, Theo, Dorothy, Aunt Mandy, Jason, Karson, David and Sue -- all are ultimately involved at the end, but it takes a while for their connections to become clear and there are a number of loose ends still dangling when we close the book. Set in Georgia with an unhinged conspiracy-theorist at its center, it gives a vivid look at contemporary small-town southern life and some finely detailed characters. I liked it and was pulled along right to the end. Some might consider this a darker and more American version of Frederik Backman's "Ordinary People."...more
A fictional look at what MIGHT have happened during Agatha Christie's real-life 11-day disappearance in the 1920's, told from the point of view of herA fictional look at what MIGHT have happened during Agatha Christie's real-life 11-day disappearance in the 1920's, told from the point of view of her husband's mistress! I found this a clever and creative undertaking, with a nice sense of time and place. Agatha Christie fans should find it even more interesting, given the assortment of links to plot points from Christie's own mysteries, but I was most taken by the character development and the connection to Irish history and the Great War. I liked this one!...more
Historical fiction fans should love this one, as I did! This is a tale spanning the years 1872-1892 in Montana, based on the real life experiences of Historical fiction fans should love this one, as I did! This is a tale spanning the years 1872-1892 in Montana, based on the real life experiences of a Crow woman (Goes First, renamed "Crow Mary") who married a white trader and then lived with a foot in each world until finally finding safety and independence after the death of her husband. I appreciated the author's note at the end that this was published with the approval of Crow elders and historians. The history of relations between native people and European settlers is a tragic one at best, but here, at least, we have a strong, capable woman who finds a middle ground -- and a compelling, well-written story as well!
I've been a fan of such history for a long time, from Lois Lenski's "Indian Captive" as a child, to the grimmer recountings of Douglas C. Jones' "Season of Yellow Leaf" and Lucia St. Clair Robson's "Ride the Wind," and this book can sit proudly with those novels. And it was a FAR less depressing read than Margaret Verble's excellent "Stealing" or Susanna Moore's "The Lost Wife."...more
Found this in a Little Free Library and relished it utterly! The first half are STORIES featuring Kinsey Millhone from the author's celebrated detectiFound this in a Little Free Library and relished it utterly! The first half are STORIES featuring Kinsey Millhone from the author's celebrated detective novel series: they were all new to me, all clever and often embellished with wry humor. They made me think, "Now I remember why I enjoyed that series so much!" and I resolved to go back and begin re-reading some of them.
But it was the second half of the book that was the real stunner: I had been unaware that the author's childhood was challenged by alcoholic parents and the early death of her mother. She wrote apparently autobiographical stories featuring a character named Kit Blue who seems to serve as a stand-in for her own youth, and these are absolutely gripping -- NOT light, not easy or relaxing, but vividly well-written stories about children finding their own way as best they can. A whole new side of Sue Grafton, which earns my admiration and respect....more
This came highly recommended by friends in a book group and while I liked it I wasn't exactly swept away. This is possibly a love story, as the book jThis came highly recommended by friends in a book group and while I liked it I wasn't exactly swept away. This is possibly a love story, as the book jacket says, but it is hardly a romance. It is set during and after WWII but only tangentially involves the war. Mostly it is a coming-of-age story in an idyllic setting on an academic family's summer island, and thus is a peaceful, calming read with a rather unexpectedly happy ending. If it will soothe your soul to read about likable people in a world where climate change, racial and gender issues and politics never rear their ugly heads, this is for you....more
This was recommended to me by a book group friend and I found it a sweetly appealing novel, the first I've read by Kathering Heiny. I quite liked it: This was recommended to me by a book group friend and I found it a sweetly appealing novel, the first I've read by Kathering Heiny. I quite liked it: not really a romance, not really a family drama. The events of the tale bump along in quirky fits and starts that echo the personalities of the characters -- who are all uniformly LIKEABLE despite their various oddities. If you can accept people "as is" and don't require perfection, you can have a very good time with this intriguingly eccentric cast of characters....more
An almost unbearably sad novel set in the U.S. from 1855-1862, ending after a Sioux uprising. An abused wife flees Rhode Island to Minnesota where sheAn almost unbearably sad novel set in the U.S. from 1855-1862, ending after a Sioux uprising. An abused wife flees Rhode Island to Minnesota where she finds another husband, has two children, and is then taken captive by Indians -- who treat her better then either of her two husbands. The whites are awful; the Indians, innocent and guilty alike, are treated abominably and then executed. This is based on historical events but will break your heart....more
This is the first of a trilogy, says the title page. A fantasy tale of humans and dragons, separated by a veil after some catastrophic something -- loThis is the first of a trilogy, says the title page. A fantasy tale of humans and dragons, separated by a veil after some catastrophic something -- lots of details seem unclear to me. Human Arkady (last name varyingly Dalca or Eremia), thief, beleaguered son of a presumed traitor, and Everen Emberclaw, "the last of the male dragons," meet and bond. Genders vary widely here. There is lots of sexual tension between them but nothing overt happens. There is also an assassin named Sorin who works for a mysterious priest named Magnes. The plot is so complex it makes my head hurt and it ends on a cliffhanger, clearly awaiting a sequel. Still considering whether it was worth the effort....more
A quick, compelling tale about Kit Crockett, a part Cherokee child removed from her family and sent to a Christian boarding school in the 1950's. The A quick, compelling tale about Kit Crockett, a part Cherokee child removed from her family and sent to a Christian boarding school in the 1950's. The author writes well; Kit is a marvel of a character! I liked this....more
A near-future tale about government oppression, the persecution of Asian-Americans, and children stolen from their families for political reasons. Oh A near-future tale about government oppression, the persecution of Asian-Americans, and children stolen from their families for political reasons. Oh my. . . lots and lots to think about here. Well written and very moving....more
NOT a thriller, but more of a complicated intellectual puzzle of a mystery -- but still interesting for the unusual cultural mix of the characters. ThNOT a thriller, but more of a complicated intellectual puzzle of a mystery -- but still interesting for the unusual cultural mix of the characters. The story is set in the US but features female Detective Inaya Rahman , who is Afghan/Pakistani and her boss Waqas Seif (who is annoyed when she "outs" him as an Arab!) who is Palestinian/Iranian. The teen girl victim is a Syrian Refugee and all are Muslims. There are Somalis and Maronite Christians in the mix, as well as fundamentalist Christians and bikers to boot! Finding the murderer requires solving a puzzle of religious iconography, and I confess I found that a whole lot less compelling than the various family dynamics at play in this most interesting group of people....more
I have a true relish for advice columns and looked forward to this book by yet another such columnist . . . but found it as messy and off-putting as iI have a true relish for advice columns and looked forward to this book by yet another such columnist . . . but found it as messy and off-putting as its unattractive cover. I was thoroughly squicked by the unheralded revelations midway (not mentioned in write-ups or reviews) of sordid family drama, which evidently resulted in the author's father being fired from his job as pastor of a big Christian church. Hanging one's family's 'dirty laundry' out in public? Eeeuw. I HAD looked forward to reading about the author's gender transition, which was mentioned in advance publication reviews but that was curiously underplayed here. Altogether I found this a disappointment....more
Sexually explicit historical romance with contemporary attitudes dressed up in Gilded Age costume. Recently widowed Camille, Duchess of Hereford, is rSexually explicit historical romance with contemporary attitudes dressed up in Gilded Age costume. Recently widowed Camille, Duchess of Hereford, is relieved to be done with her older, unkind husband and solicits Jacob Thorne, owner of the infamous Montague Club to tutor her in bedroom arts. He has beta male 21st C words and attitudes about sexual pleasure (a focus on consent and getting her "out of her head") and she seems to have an astonishing disregard for the social norms of the time. Some history about Victoria Woodhull and the fight for women's suffrage is thrown in. An oddly dissonant read....more
A satisfying romance about two appealingly troubled people: kind, good-hearted Dr. Jacob Maddox who is plagued by anxiety, and fiery Dr. Briana Ortiz A satisfying romance about two appealingly troubled people: kind, good-hearted Dr. Jacob Maddox who is plagued by anxiety, and fiery Dr. Briana Ortiz who GETS Jacob and could love him, but is so burned by a failed marriage that she is afraid to trust again. There were some surprising insights into what life is like for truly anxious people: now I need to hear from people who experience anxiety in their own lives to know if the author really gets this right....more
I was a big fan of Porter's "Girl of the Limberlost" as a teenager and was happy to stumble on this later (1925) novel: it is a pleasant curiosity, moI was a big fan of Porter's "Girl of the Limberlost" as a teenager and was happy to stumble on this later (1925) novel: it is a pleasant curiosity, most engaging in spite of the old-timey preoccupation with "God's laws" and moral purity. We get lots of stereotypical insights into the character of Scotsmen (and women!), enthusiastic support for orange juice, tomato juice, salt-water swimming and sunshine to cure the WWI wound incurred by the main character, which stubornly refused to heal until he found himself in the healthful bee-groves of California. But we also get a fine suspenseful story, a very gentle romance, and a sympathetic character who refuses to bend to societal gender norms: a most interesting mix! The twist at the end is improbable but I still waited for it with baited breath. A nice change of pace for me....more
This is an important book: 'll be thinking about it for a long time. the three big takeaways I get from this respected journalist and researcher are: 1This is an important book: 'll be thinking about it for a long time. the three big takeaways I get from this respected journalist and researcher are: 1. There is no scientific consensus that moderately overweight people have adverse health consequences; actually the opposite is often true. You can be overweight and be perfectly healthy. 2. Hosts of studies show that dieting most often results in increased weight gain in the end: dieting seems to trigger metabolic changes that kick in "whenever our bodies' weight drops below the range researchers call our "set point" or the place where our bodies are genetically programmed to function best." The multi-billion dollar diet industry has not changed this. 3. It appears that scientists don't know why some people are fat and others are thin, but people have come in all shapes and sizes since time began. How much happier we'd all be if we could simply accept that.
I had no idea John Sayles was a novelist as well as a film maker, but this was a grand and impressive discovery. This is a good read but LONG -- 696 vI had no idea John Sayles was a novelist as well as a film maker, but this was a grand and impressive discovery. This is a good read but LONG -- 696 vividly gamboling pages that travel from the killing fields of Culloden (THIS Jamie gets there too late to fight, but still gets captured, punished and then exiled to "the colonies" by the Brits) to the closing moments of what we call the French & Indian War, roughly 1754-1763. There are irresistibly vivid images of a host of historical personnages (George Washington before he was a success, Generals Montcalm and Wolfe, Shingas the Lenape Chief and many others), and stomach-churning battles and atrocities of all sorts. Points-of-view switch often between Jamie and a young Highland crofter named Jenny, but they barely interact here, for all that their respective exiles are graphically rendered and they both end up in Quebec at the end. You could think of this as a male-gaze variation of Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" with zero romance and an abundance of gore. The DIALOGUE stands out remarkably and makes the book a proper romp: lots of differing dialects, social attitudes and ironies galore! My high school French came in handy here, and history truly came to life. The tale ends on a sort of cliff-hanger, as do some of Gabaldon's books: it seems ripe for a sequel. And if there is a "message" here, it seems to be that war is as ridiculously pointless as the egos of the men who lead it.
I knew nothing about Lynne Tillman when I picked this up, and conclude now that she is an extraordinarily privileged person living in New York City whI knew nothing about Lynne Tillman when I picked this up, and conclude now that she is an extraordinarily privileged person living in New York City who has a publisher willing to produce a rambling, disjointed book about caring for an aged parent. Lynne is frank that her mother wasn't very likable; she presents herself as not very likeable either, and that's something of a problem, isn't it? Evidently she and her sisters had money enough to pay for LOTS of care so that they didn't need to spend a whole lot of time with this disagreeable parent (the occasional time when Lynne had to do it herself was "a misery" to her, she admits): they hired any number of low-paid, sometimes undocumented workers over a span of 11 years -- and at book's end one of her last thoughts is for "Mary," who spent a DECADE as a caregiver for this unpleasant person, and who was declared to be "a thief" by a stranger at a dinner party some time after the mother's death; Lynne announces herself obligated to reveal this to "Mary's" current employer and has her dismissed from her job. Lord spare me from people like this, please! Some people care for loved ones with kindness and compassion and have managed to do so both quietly and privately....more
Inaya Rahman (part Afghan, part Pakistani) and her boss Qas Seif (who is Palistinian/Iranian) on assignment from the Denver police to investigate the Inaya Rahman (part Afghan, part Pakistani) and her boss Qas Seif (who is Palistinian/Iranian) on assignment from the Denver police to investigate the murder of a young Syrian refugee in small town Blackwater Falls, CO butt heads as they hunt for a murderer. Two other missing girls are Somali immigrants and ALL these folks are varying kinds of Muslims, all facing degrees of prejudice in a town dominated by an evangelical Christian church. There is a biker gang whose members style themselves "Christian warriors" and even a Maronite Christian character as well, so there is quite a mix of cultures here! I found it interesting to learn about the traditions of these mostly sympathetic characters and their all-important families.
I give the author credit that she didn't make the stereotypical bad guys the sought-after villains in the end; multiple characters, plot diversions and red herrings result in a tale that is much more an intellectual puzzle than plot-driven thriller. A budding romance is decidedly chaste. It was interesting enough that I might seek out another of the author's books....more
This is a tale of a woman who did covert resistance work during TWO wars in England, steeling herself to do what was necessary when most of the men ofThis is a tale of a woman who did covert resistance work during TWO wars in England, steeling herself to do what was necessary when most of the men of her generation were lost or damaged by the wars. Peacetime is a tough adjustment for her, as is the strain of guilt over things she did in the past. The drama of the story comes from her efforts to aid a young couple hoping to escape the clutches of a an organized crime family just after the war years. Winspear writes well; the story is a good one, the resolution satisfying. It's a clear and vivid look at what it took to survive during difficult times, without ever being overtly graphic....more
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