Paper Names: A Novel
by Susie Luo
Continuity? No. (5/4/2023)
I think I should have enjoyed this book more than I did. The subject was interesting and the story well told by this first time novelist. The characters were well depicted and individualized, as they should be. A Chinese engineer gives up his successful career, by Chinese standards, to move his family to NYC and become a doorman. His daughter we follow from age 9 to graduation from Harvard and a successful career, struggling throughout with the contrast between her father's old country mores and her own experiences growing up in America. And then there is the rich lawyer who lives in the building where the engineer cum doorman works, and who becomes a mentor of sorts to the daughter after a random act brings the characters together into a years long relationship. There is love, family drama, trauma, poor decisions, shady backgrounds.
The story didn't flow for me. I did not like the way it jumped around from person to person as well as backward and forward in time. I think that is why I did not enjoy this book as well as many did, hence the Good rating.
The All-American: A Novel
by Joe Milan Jr.
How Deep are the Roots (3/3/2023)
There are many books that as you read, you kind of have a sense of where it is all going. Not so with this first novel by a very talented wirier. Bucky is a Korean born high school football player whose perhaps unrealistic goal of college and professional ball are dashed when he suddenly finds himself deported to the country of his birth, which despite his appearance, he finds foreign to him and whose people speak a language he cannot. It is also a country that requires its young men to serve in its military, and the fact that he cannot even pronounce his Korean name is a forewarning of the high hurdles he must clear during this journey.
The author leads us through Bucky's difficult rite of passage, while developing compelling story lines about each character he meets along this long and dangerous course.
I loved this book and would recommend it highly. It would be an excellent book for book clubs, since the contrasting cultures lend themselves to interesting discussions.
Sisters of the Lost Nation
by Nick Medina
The downside of a then and now format (11/15/2022)
I am half-way through this book, and as much as I appreciate the subject matter, and the writing skill of the author, I'm having a hard time sticking to it. It keeps jumping back and forth in time, and the fact that it is in electronic format makes it difficult to go back and piece it all together. As much as I dislike giving up on a book, particularly when I think it has merit, I will do so here.
In the Time of Our History
by Susanne Pari
Cultural Pitfalls (10/1/2022)
This was an excellent book depicting the trials and tribulations of an Irani family that immigrated to the United states, California and New Jersey, in the late 1990s. The cultural differences that occur in one family when the parents are from one country with strict traditions, and the children are born, or mostly raised, in this country, where those traditions are not appreciated or understood, present many possible areas of conflict and misunderstanding and stubbornness that lead to so much unnecessary family turmoil and heartbreak. Susanne Pari's novel describes these conflicts in a smooth flowing story delving deep into the minds of each of the characters, Mother, Father, Daughters, nephews, nannies from the old country. This is a beautifully told story and one I highly recommend.
The Poet's House
by Jean Thompson
Poetry for Non-Poets (6/14/2022)
I wasn't sure I would like this book. I am not a poet, nor do I necessarily enjoy poetry, or understand where it comes from within any poet. But I was wrong. I loved this book. Maybe it was because the main character was a young woman who is the antithesis of a poet, yet somehow found herself embedded in the world of writers and poets and managed to stumble through it and endear herself within that world, ending up with a clearer understanding of herself and who she really is. The characters were quirky, as is befitting the literary world, I think, and lovable in their own way. And the story moved along smoothly. This is the first work I have read by this author, who has written a number of novels and short stories. I will likely pick up another of her novels.
The Paris Bookseller
by Kerri Maher
1919 Paris (12/17/2021)
Shakespeare and Company was a renowned Paris bookstore established in 1919 by a woman, Sylvia Beach. It was during a time when Hemingway, Ezra Pound, James Joyce lived and wrote and frequented Sylvia's bookstore, which was an anomaly at that time, since women were not encouraged to excel outside the home, and it took great fortitude to create the phenomenon that her bookstore became. In addition, she undertook to publish one of the most controversial novels of the times, James Joyce's Ulysses.
The novel is well written, the descriptions bring the 1900s clearly into view, and the story, mostly factual and well researched, is excellently woven around the authors and the difficulties of the time. It clearly tells the story of a remarkable woman.
The Latinist: A Novel
by Mark Prins
Another great "ist" book (11/5/2021)
I've always been a sucker for titles that end in "ist"....."The Catastrophist," "The Cellist of Sarajevo," "The Alienist," all books that I ended up loving. And now I've read "The Latinist," a first novel by Mark Prins, and it is every bit as satisfying a read as have been the other "ist" books I've read.
I wanted to look up the meaning of Latinist, though: "a specialist in the Latin language, classical scholar, classicist – a student of ancient Greek and Latin." (I'd probably want to read a book entitled, "The Classicist.") Latin is a subject in which I have never had any knowledge or interest. I've never taken Latin in school, nor have I studied any ancient Roman, Greek history, or poetry. And then I read this book, and found myself engrossed in the language, history, latin quotes and references. I never skipped over any of it. I was riveted from start to end. There is much detail related to Latin, including poetry, excavations of dead poets, dismemberments, dissertations, but it is all woven within a complicated story of academia, treachery, love, deception, obsession. This is an excellent novel that I highly recommend.
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
A Secret Well Kept (3/3/2021)
I have not read anything by this author before, but considering how much I enjoyed this book, I will follow her. I enjoy historical fiction that incorporates real people and events, and this book does that. The main character was a fascinating women who kept a difficult secret her entire life. It is not easy to live a lie, especially in the spotlight, as she was, but Belle did it successfully. It also is rife with details about valuable and priceless art and books, as well as what life was like during that century. It's an education in and of itself. You can almost see and hear what it is like to ride a carriage through the streets of NY. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading other books by Marie Benedict.
Raft of Stars
by Andrew J. Graff
Finn or Fish? (11/27/2020)
I can't find very much information about this author, but it appears that this is his first book, and it's a good one. I think young people would enjoy reading about the two young boys and their adventures when they run away after seemingly having killed the abusive father of one of the boys. The search party ensues with each of the characters dealing with their individual life problems. There are many adventures surrounding the rafting experience of the escape, and it does bring to mind another similar story, a classic, but I digress. The adults in this story offer some very interesting characters, with soul-searching and feel-good outcomes all around. I was never bored; the story flowed. I hope to see more by this author.
The Paris Hours: A Novel
by Alex George
An intriguing 24 hours in Paris, 1927 (3/2/2020)
I tend to read more than one book at a time, hence I found it difficult to follow the stories, because each chapter was a different character and I had to go back to re-familiarize myself. That being said, I thought it was a really good book. I enjoyed the way four ordinary people had such different stories and how they eventually came together in a climax at the end of the 24 hours. They were all tragic figures in their own way, but I guess that is a sign of the times they lived in. And I also like the way real life characters were woven into the plot: Ernest Hemingway, Josephine Baker, Marcel Proust. I spent some time on Wikipedia reconnecting to these historical figures. It is a well-crafted and well-written book.
The Big Finish
by Brooke Fossey
Wonderful first novel! (10/27/2019)
My husband is 90. Fortunately, he is nowhere near nursing home bound, but I can definitely relate to the curmudgeon angle of this novel. In addition, how on earth the young author of this book can nail the situations and insights, not to mention the dialog of the aged and somewhat infirm characters in the story, as well as the staff of the nursing home, is amazing to me. The situations within the nursing home all ring true, with no over exaggerations, at least in my view. Love the puppy visits, music nights with Glenn Miller, and the fear of being booted into the nursing home from hell if they rile up the owner or reach a greater degree of infirmity.
This was an excellent book, very well written with well-defined characters and full of meaningful details, so many details that add to the deliciousness of the novel. Josie is the youth of the story, as well as the catalyst for the back story. Her grandfather and nursing home resident Carl, and his roommate Duffy work together to help Josie overcome her alcohol and men problems, all with a sense of humor which makes it a feel-good story. I highly recommend this beautifully written first novel.
The Secrets We Kept: A novel
by Lara Prescott
Wonderful first novel! (7/13/2019)
I loved this book. It is a terrific first novel. It takes place during the Cold War and relates a story about Boris Pasternak and his muse (lover) during the writing of Dr. Zhivago, wrapped around the story of the "typists," who are really CIA spies, and their involvement in the publishing and covert distribution of the novel in the late 50s. Lara Prescott tells a compelling story from both the East and the West points of view, with chapter titles that actually keep the thread of the story more alive.
You can learn a lot about history from reading historical fiction, particularly when it teases you into delving deeper into the past. There is so much to be learned about Pasternak and his muse, Cold War politics, the CIA's deviousness, Russian culture and the stifling of anything deemed to be against the ideology of the state. The man himself is of questionable character, perhaps loyal to his country in a Russian sort of way (fear being the operative word), even if he did go against the state by allowing his ego to get the better of him and putting the manuscript of Dr. Zhivago into the hands of an Italian publisher; but hardly loyal to his wife/children. A telling quote that speaks volumes about Russian society is, "I never read Pasternak, but I condemn him."
Red, White, Blue
by Lea Carpenter
Not your typical spy novel (7/23/2018)
This is an excellent spy novel, interestingly presented with so much information embedded in each sentence that you tend to reread paragraphs so as not to miss anything. It toggles back and forth between the voice of a spy and the voice of the daughter of a spy, about her father, who was a spy, and his untimely death.
"Clandestine is something completely hidden fom view, as opposed to covert, which means something that appears as something else."
"At the end of the day what differentiates you in this line of work isn't teachable. Teachables are icing."
"Espionage isn't a math problem, Anna, it's a painting."
Those quotes are just the tip of the iceberg of the style and depth of this delicious novel.
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
by Mario Giordano
Auntie Mame in Sicily! (1/13/2018)
Loved this book! Auntie Poldi is a woman of a certain age, reminiscent of an aging flower child, who is headstrong, stubborn, quirky and adventurous, and just a little lustful. Well, maybe not just a little. She shares experiences with her nephew, an aspiring novelist, that one might think twice about if she weren't quite so Auntie Mame-ish. The descriptions of the Sicilians, the geography of Sicily and the food were brought to life. Even though I have never been there, I sensed that if I ever did go, this is how I would find it. And of course, there is a murder to be solved and a handsome detective who just happens to be of a certain age, as well. It is a good story with lots of twists and turns wrapped up in a beautiful, well depicted setting.
Strangers in Budapest
by Jessica Keener
Buda and Pest (10/20/2017)
After the fall of the Communist regime, a young family moves to Budapest to build a new future for them and their newly adopted son. This story takes place in Budapest, where the author lived in the 1990s. The descriptions of the people, of the culture, the little nuances that are a city were very well articulated, and I felt as if I could understand what makes this beautiful city tick. I don't think that is an easy thing to do, and this author does it very well. It is an interesting story, with well-defined characters, and moves along at a steady clip, right up to its dramatic ending.
I enjoyed this book. It was not in the, "I can't put it down" category, but I would definitely recommend it.
Love and Other Consolation Prizes: A Novel
by Jamie Ford
Another All-Time Favorite (7/18/2017)
I am a huge fan of, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet," and that book resides on my all time favorites book list. Jamie Ford's second book, "Songs of Willow Frost," which I also reviewed thanks to BookBrowse, was not up to the standard of its predecessor. This book, however, is closer to the incredibly high bar set by the first book.
The book toggles back and forth between the early 1900s and the early 1960s. Ernest, the illegitimate son of a white missionary and a Chinese woman, tells his story to an adult daughter, a reporter who uncovered that her father was the young boy who was auctioned off at a raffle during the Seattle World's Fair in 1909. His story revolves around the "Madam" who won him in the raffle, and his life among the ladies of the night during a time when the women's suffrage movement was campaigning to shut down such houses of ill repute.
There is nothing I didn't like about this book: the setting, the eras, the depth of the descriptions of both the times and the characters, the entertaining story, the history lesson... all meshed together to make an excellent read. I wish it had lasted another 100 pages.
The Railwayman's Wife
by Ashley Hay
Poetry in Motion (2/29/2016)
It reads almost like a poem in its eloquence, this novel by Ashley Hay. It's a love story with some interesting twists. The novel takes place in a small coastal Australian town shortly after the end of WWII. When Ani's husband dies in an unexplained railroad accident, she is left alone to raise her 11 year old daughter. The poet and the doctor have returned from the war with mental scars they are trying to heal, and Ani innocently becomes the poet's muse. When the poet writes a beautiful poem, the story takes an ironic twist. There is additional tragedy, and the symbolism of the albatross looms throughout the book.
It is a poetic book that brought to mind O. Henry's story, 'The Gift of the Magi.' It's quite a lovely book, even though the writing style is not my personal preference.
All Is Not Forgotten
by Wendy Walker
The Un-Memory Game (10/14/2015)
She is a teenager, brutally raped at a teenage party, and her parents choose to use a drug treatment to have the memory of the rape erased from her memory bank. But, doesn't that leave a void, an inability to deal with the act or to move forward, not to mention hamper the police in the capture of the deviant who committed the crime?
Written in the first person of the psychiatrist who helps those given the "treatment" to regain their memory, it relates the experiences of both the rape victim and a soldier as they go through their sessions with the psychiatrist, as well as the psychiatrist's own issues and decisions he makes bordering on the unethical. The memory-erasing "treatment" is an interesting concept, and the author has created a tangled web of a tale, that moves along a a good clip, gradually bringing all the characters to an unexpected conclusion.
Trust No One: A Thriller
by Paul Cleave
Write what you know, and fake the rest (5/31/2015)
Write what you know, and fake the rest is Jerry Grey's advice to aspiring writers and is the mantra for this novel. This book needs some editing in the first 75 pages, though. I almost gave up on it; too much time was spent laying the ground work for Alzheimer's victim Jerry Grey, aka Henry Cutter, best selling author of crime dramas, before actually getting into the nuts and bolts of the story. His diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's at 49 years of age triggered a convoluted series of events related to actual crimes and crimes as a depicted in his numerous novels. Did he actually commit those crimes, and then write the novels? Did he shoot his wife? Did the orderly in the nursing home, a frustrated novelist, diabolically frame him? And is his best friend really a friend at all? There are lots of twists and turns, which were entertaining once the author got going. All in all, this is an entertaining book.
What Doesn't Kill Her: A Reeve LeClaire Series Novel
by Carla Norton
A Good Beach Read (5/8/2015)
This is the second book by Carla Norman featuring Reeve LeClaire, who had been held captive by an unsavory character for four years. He was subsequently convicted and imprisoned, but when he escapes from the psychiatric facility in which he was held, she finds herself involved in hunting him down. Luckily, the author spares us the gory details of her captivity, but the scars are evident, both physically and mentally. The narrative toggles between the victim and the antagonist, and moves along quickly. It would be a good beach read.
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