The Secret Keeper
by Kate Morton
More than one secret (5/19/2023)
Intriguing book with an ending you might not guess. Characters well drawn out—some are likable, some maybe not so much. Not sure I’ll read more Kate Morton, but I enjoyed this one.
The Secret Keeper
by Kate Morton
Historical fiction with a twist (4/11/2023)
It took me awhile to get into this book, but the second half flew. I enjoyed the intertwined stories and the surprise ending.
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
Good book, intriguing backstory (2/3/2021)
I definitely enjoyed this book. While it is an easy read, there is much to ponder in the story and the history behind this fictionalized account. The authors' comments at the end of the book are critical.
While I'd probably give the book itself a 4.5, the story behind the story is fascinating and takes my review to a 5. Coincidentally, both of my book groups had just finished reading and discussing "The Vanishing Half." Hours could be spent discussing these two books together, even though they are different in many ways. I wish both book groups would schedule a discussion of "The Personal Librarian" in conjunction with "The Vanishing Half." I venture some comments made about "The Vanishing Half" would be re-considered and re-stated.
I was drawn to this book in part because I had read Marie Benedict's "The Only Woman in the Room." I knew "The Personal Librarian" was about the woman who built J. P. Morgan's remarkable collection of manuscripts and art, but I did not know who that woman was. This is a terrific book club book.
The Prophets
by Robert Jones Jr.
This is a book meant to be read more than once... (11/3/2020)
Thank you, Robert Jones, for sharing your brilliant story-telling in a skillfully woven and written tale. Back in June, I helped form a racial justice task force at our church. Over the past many months, I have read books and articles, listened to podcasts and watched movies related to race and race relations. I will add this amazing novel to the list that I will recommend to others. Its many layers unravel through chapters named for biblical books and characters, which makes it of interest to book groups that are faith-based. Those readers are not the only ones "The Prophets" will appeal to. Many groups are now reading books related to race relations, and not many works written recently fit that bill. It is multi-layered and invites further research and exploration—perfect for a serious book group. Since it takes place more than 150 years ago and also reflects on much earlier times, the room for discussion is expansive. I highly recommend this book and thank BookBrowse for giving me the opportunity to read it.
With or Without You: A Novel
by Caroline Leavitt
Wandering... (5/13/2020)
I was generous in giving this book three stars. While the characters were for me one-dimensional as portrayed, any of them could have been a credible main character. It seemed to me like the author was trying to decide whom she wanted to take that role. I certainly couldn't tell. From chapter to chapter, I didn't know where I was going or where I would wind up. If that's what the author intended, she achieved her purpose, but awkwardly and too quickly. Characters would show up and then disappear. I found the ending convincing, but as I said, the story leading up to it was too disjointed.
Normally, I can read about characters of any age, but the actions of these men and women often disturbed me. Characters of real depth, in my opinion, would not demonstrate some of the behavior that occurred on almost every other page of "With or Without You."
I think this book might work well for some book groups if all the participants made it through to the end (I can't guarantee that they would). I did find enough in the description of the characters and their relationships to serve as discussion material if the group wanted to add a lighter book to its annual list.
The Last Train to Key West
by Chanel Cleeton
Last Train to Key West (3/26/2020)
I liked this book, but I didn't love it. The literary style is fairly simplistic, and the conclusion is reached through a series of coincidences. It will appeal to many fans of romantic historical fiction and will be a decent choice for book clubs, It might be interesting, though, for half the participants to read this book while half read the non-fiction account, "Last Train to Paradise," which is about the same historical event. The book piqued my interest in a particular situation that existed in the Keys during the early 1930s. I'll be doing more research into that.
I finished this book during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reading about one natural disaster while experiencing the implications of this novel coronavirus was definitely eerie.
American Dirt: A Novel
by Jeanine Cummins
Do Not Pass This One By! (12/11/2019)
"American Dirt" grabbed me from the very first sentence. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to rush through the book or savor every word. Author Jeanine Cummins' goal is to encourage us—maybe even force us—to see migrants as human beings, not statistics or problems. Even though I sympathize with immigrants, I cannot personally identify because I am not one. My grandparents were, but I am not. After "American Dream," I will never be able to look at immigrants as statistics. They are, as Ms. Cummins describes all human beings as being, "magical." The author does a masterful job of painting the everyday experiences and the inner thoughts of immigrants, as well as of those who try to help them and those who do not want them to succeed. "American Dirt" is perfect for a book group discussion. Please be sure to read the Author's Note; it will change you forever.
The Last Year of the War
by Susan Meissner
Not Just Another WWII Book (11/16/2018)
I'm not sure what I expected from "The Last Year of the War," but author Susan Meissner surprised me. For at least the first 100 pages, I was unimpressed. I found the writing flat and rarely above the fourth grade level. The central fact around which the story is spun, that both Germans and Japanese living in the United States were interned during World War II, is something many may not know. Meissner's storyline is interesting and, for the most part, plausible (maybe anything was plausible during and after WWII), but the simplicity of the telling left me wanting more. Some of the main characters seemed two-dimensional, despite the amount of space given to their description.The last 75-100 pages of the book took it from three stars to 4 for me. "The Last Year of the War" is bittersweet throughout, with what will happen to the now 80 year-old main character left to the reader's imagination at the very end. At least Ms.Meissner did not try to tie everything together with a big bow.
Red, White, Blue
by Lea Carpenter
Nesting dolls (7/10/2018)
“Espionage is not a math problem...It’s a painting.” And nesting dolls don’t always fit neatly into each other. That is an accurate description of the covert side of the CIA and other parts of the intelligence community, based on my knowledge of both. Official relationships and operations don’t always add up. Also, so much depends on who is in office. I finished Red White Blue a day or two before watching “American Made,” a biopic about Barry Seal, a TWA pilot who went to work for the CIA. Seal’s story reveals how the same man can be considered a wealthy patriot one minute and then be convicted for criminal action the next. This novel, while similar in its zigzag storyline, was far darker and more unsettling than Seal’s story. It certainly kept my attention but was not always easy to follow. This is a novel I might well read again because of its many complex layers.
News of the World
by Paulette Jiles
Read it as soon as you can! (8/31/2016)
I just loved this book. Paulette Jiles certainly brings the characters and their surroundings to life. I knew nothing about circuit riders after the Civil War who delivered readings of exotic news to eager audiences on the frontier. This is how Captain Kidd makes his living. He is a man of his word with a big heart, and when he promises to deliver a 10 year-old German American girl to her relatives for a price, he and his charge make their way to the San Antonio area where those relatives live.
In the late 1800s on the Texas frontier, the Kiowa and other Indian tribes kidnapped children for shocking purposes. What life is like for those captured unfolds slowly but vividly in Jiles's narrative. This is a touching story filled with both humor and raw descriptions of Texas life. Every scene is described so clearly that the reader becomes part of the narrative.
I highly recommend that you put this little gem on your reading list now!
The Summer Before the War
by Helen Simonson
Not "Major Pettigrew"! (5/6/2016)
Helen Simonson writes beautifully about subjects I am interested in. Her first novel, "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand," was an understated tour de force. "The Summer Before the War" is not, in my opinion. Although the characters are described so that you can see them and hear them. The story showed promise, but moved along in fits and starts. The ending arrived with a genteel thud. Perhaps if this novel had been written first, I would not have had such high expectations.
A Certain Age: A Novel
by Beatriz Williams
"A Certain Age," or "The (Rose) Cavalier" (3/30/2016)
Loved this book! It's not a deep, demanding read, but the romantic intrigues worked for me and the mystery line added just the right degree of complexity. Is it "the perfect summer beach read," which is the way it was described before I decided to read it? Maybe, but that doesn't mean the reader won't enjoy it at other times. I almost passed it up because of the "summer beach read" description, and that would have been my loss. "A Certain Age" addresses not only the contrast in the ages of the characters (youth and middle age, primarily) but also the "certain age" in which they lived, the 1920s. By page 3, the curious reader will have looked up "Helen Rowland" and will have encountered other names like Sophie, Octavian (unusual name, isn't it?), and Ox (Ox???). Then comes the nigh king question: Have I heard this story somewhere before?
Williams does such an expert job of pulling together her story lines at the end - nothing is forced or unbelievable - that the reader almost wants to clap his or her hands. Beatriz Williams is now on my list of authors whose books I will look for in the future.
Fallen Land
by Taylor Brown
Civil War Dystopia (12/31/2015)
The Advent and Christmas seasons were the wrong time for me to read Fallen Land. The book is beautifully written - I could visualize almost every scene clearly, but few, if any, of them are pretty. War is war, and this could be any war: ugly, dark, anxiety-ridden. In fact, only the occasional references to the time period and the real heroes of that time, like Sherman, give away which war is taking place. My main criticism of the book lies with its disjointedness. The segues from the primary narrative about the two main characters to the italicized narratives were not always smooth, and the last part of the book tumbled to its not-inevitable end. Still, the novel is an above-average debut. I would consider reading Brown's next effort.
This would be a decent book for a book club discussion, which could revolve, for example, around the nature of dystopian literature; the strength of personal relationships during war; and the inhumanity of war itself.
Fishbowl: A Novel
by Bradley Somer
A quirky delight! (5/6/2015)
Ian, an adventuresome goldfish, is the leitmotif in Bradley Somer's snapshot of life in an apartment building. Every one of Somer's many characters comes to life through his vivid, detailed descriptions of their physical features and actions. Imagine several short stories, brilliantly intertwined, some resolved (sort of), some left open (partly) and all appended with the author's/narrator's speculations: "Fishbowl" is all of this and more. While the first few pages were a struggle, the rest of the book flew by. While the reader might consider the pinpoint descriptions, which follow one right after the other, a bit tiring to read, they are absolutely necessary to Somer's literary style. Be patient - this book is well worth the processing time! (This is NOT a spoiler alert: Pay attention to the squiggled image of Ian on the right-hand side of the pages, and then flip through the book...)
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