The Paris Hours: A Novel
by Alex George
A gorgeous book (5/4/2020)
I read this for the book discussion later this month but I need to say right now that it is a beautiful jewel of a book. The writing is exquisite. Definitely the best book I have read this year and it will probably hold on to that title for a long time.
Never Have I Ever
by Joshilyn Jackson
Lots of twists (4/16/2019)
There are twists, turns and surprises galore throughout this novel. It is truly a page-turner and even though you think you may know what comes next, or think you have it all figured out, don't be so sure. Right to the very end. It will probably make a very popular movie. Lots of juicy parts. However, I could only give it three stars because, attention-getting as it may be, the characters are so unrealistic. They simply do not behave like real people; they behave like characters written to fulfill the plot. We are told what they think, and what they do, but none of it is very real. I kept asking myself, who acts this way? I got little sense of who Amy, the threatened suburban mom, was. Roux, the villain, is a great villain, but why does she do what she does? I know we are meant to find her mysterious, but still ...And most of the auxiliary characters are simply predicable props. This book is worth reading; it's fun and enjoyable in its way, but ultimately superficial.
Gone So Long
by Andre Dubus III
Heartbreaking, beautiful, real (9/28/2018)
This book is a wonder. It is beautifully written and the characters are so human and so real. These characters, who have been so damaged and are so hurt by the unforgivable, are described lovingly, but without any cloying sentimentality. They struggle towards redemption and forgiveness and we root for them all the way. They are not faultless; they sometimes are not even particularly "nice", but they are so, so human. I cried for all of them. They will stay with you long after you turn the last page. I loved, loved, loved this book!
The Resurrection of Joan Ashby
by Cherise Wolas
A Marvelous Novel (5/30/2017)
This is an amazing, marvelous book. I haven't read something so satisfying and that gripped me so thoroughly since "The Goldfinch." Cherise Wolas has given us a complex, intelligent, extraordinary woman in Joan Ashby. She is not easy to wrap your arms around as the book begins. She is unrelentingly single-minded in her resolve to be a writer, and she is a brilliant writer. But she is waylaid by love, by marriage, by children. She sacrifices her writing, her true self, to domesticity, and she does it well. She is a good mother and an good wife. But she eventually begins to retake her own life and talent. Then, everything is upended. It is shocking. How Joan resurrects herself is absolutely wonderful. By the end of the book, I loved her very much.
Throughout the book, Joan's own writing is excerpted. This could be confusing or off-putting to some, but I found that it made me believe in Joan's talent, instead of simply being told she was a genius. Cherise Wolas is superbly talented herself to have done this so perfectly. I loved it.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates a beautifully written, multi-layered story, the exploration of identity, especially women's identity, and complex characters. It is not an "easy" read, but thoughtful book clubs will have a wonderful time with it.
Before the War
by Fay Weldon
What is the problem? (11/8/2016)
I absolutely loved this book. Apparently, several BookBrowse reviewers disliked it very much and I can't understand why. It's very funny, very witty. Fay Weldon is at her acid-tongued best. The book jacket describes the writing as reminiscent of Oscar Wilde and that is true. She perfectly portrays, and accurately satirizes a certain class of people, and their attempts to negotiate a changing England between the wars. But she loves her characters too, and so even the most venal and self-centered of them, such as Adela and Sherwyn, have a streak of decency and humanity that somewhat redeems them in the end. (Well, maybe not Adela.) I didn't find that the novel jumped around, as some readers complained. This book is perfectly charming.
The Good Neighbor
by Amy Sue Nathan
Real people with Real Challenges (8/10/2015)
The Good Neighbor has a somewhat predictable plot, but that in no way detracts from the charm, the warmth, and the truth of the story. Izzy Lane, the protagonist, is newly divorced, with a small son and a self-absorbed ex-husband. She is trying to make her way in her new and scarily imperfect life. I thought that the way she copes with her challenges, sorrows and happy times was very realistically portrayed. Her story is real; her life is real and you root for her all the way, even when she makes a few serious mistakes (like creating a fake boyfriend). Somehow, you "get" why she did that. The other characters are also all quite real, flawed and human. Izzy gets a second chance to make her own happiness, and though, as I said, the ending is somewhat predictable, it still rang true to me.
By the way, the author, in the Acknowledgements, credits the "original" Elizabeth Lane, of the 1940s era movie "Christmas In Connecticut" as inspiration for Izzy. This is my favorite Christmas movie, and yes, Elizabeth and Izzy are soul sisters.
The Art of Baking Blind
by Sarah Vaughan
Perfect baking, perfect life (3/9/2015)
The five main characters in this book, four women and one man, contestants in a baking contest, all have imperfect lives. They all are trying, with limited success, to fulfill themselves, mask their self-perceived imperfections and faults, and make things "nice." They are all trying to give and receive love in some way or another. I found the characters to be fairly complex and their individual back stories mostly realistic, though the one man less so, and less time was spent on him. He seemed to be written in mostly as a potential love interest for one of the women. Motherhood is also a main theme in the book - the drive to be a mother and it's subsequent demands trials and rewards. I am not a baker, though I am a cook, and I did find the intensity with which the characters baked somewhat unrealistic. But I cheered them on, and by the end of the book, all had found some happiness. Everything wrapped up a little too neatly, I felt, but it was a pleasant and easy read.
The Life I Left Behind
by Colette McBeth
Suspenseful and Engrossing (11/14/2014)
It is very hard to review this book without dropping plot spoilers all over the place, but I can say that is well-written, well-plotted and the characters are modern and three-dimensional. There are no cookie-cutter villains or victims; no one is all good or all bad, not even the attacker/murderer. As the plot unfolds, and Melody begins to question her fearful and cloistered existence and the facade of normality she has erected around her, the reader questions and reasons right along with her. The plot device of having both Melody and Eve, the other victim, who does not survive her attack, alternately narrate the story is very effective and gripping. The ending was not a complete surprise to me, and I had a problem with one aspect of the murderer's motive, but this in no way diminished the book for me. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a fast-paced, engrossing and intelligent thriller.
Buying In
by Laura Hemphill
A complex and suspenseful plot (10/13/2013)
Initially, this book is highly reminiscent of "The Devil Wears Prada." Fresh, naive, ambitious young woman, with a sweetly altruistic boyfriend, family pressure, long hours, predatory colleagues, etc., but the protagonist, Sophie, is a very different character indeed. She manages, sometimes by luck, but more often by sheer determination and what can only be called manipulation - which in her investment banking job is not a bad thing - to make a name and a place for herself. And all at the time of the Wall Street implosion of a few years ago.
I did find myself slogging through some of the book, particularly the factual parts about how deals are actually made, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be interesting to others. I was more interested in, and held by the various characters, who are not all what they first seem to be.
Also, the book jacket describes the story as a woman's struggle in a man's world, but this is misleading. The genders of the characters are essentially irrelevant. Yes, Sophie is a young woman, and yes, her bosses are mostly men, but that just seems to be a reality of the business. Nobody is all bad or all good, male or female.
I was actually somewhat surprised by the ending, which is much more complex than the beginning chapters would lead you to expect. Since it was written by a woman who spent some years in this business, I think it is probably pretty accurate - which is a little scary.
The Affairs of Others
by Amy Grace Loyd
Captivatingly beautiful (7/6/2013)
This book is so beautifully written; I found myself, within the first two or three pages, going back and re-reading sentences just for the delight of them. I so wish I could write something like this: "But the day ran too high. It was radiant and boasting, making a parade of its assets and so required cheering bodies and attitudes".
Celia, the young widow of the story, has made a bargain of sorts with her dead husband, to join him in the world of death, to keep him with her - not literally - but she is, in her way, dead to the life and love around her. She owns a small apartment building in Brooklyn and rents to tenants carefully chosen to maintain her and their "separateness." Then she sublets to a dazzling woman, herself leaving a marriage. Celia is gradually drawn into this woman' life, and into those of her other tenants. And she is seduced by life. This sensuous, heartbreakingly sad and ultimately joyous book will seduce you too.
A Nearly Perfect Copy
by Allison Amend
Intersecting web of deceit (3/11/2013)
This clever and witty novel tells the story of two people involved in the art world, and the lengths to which they will go, and the moral compromises they will make, to fulfill their dreams and needs. Elm Howell is a respected appraiser at an old-line art auction house, a family business. She has suffered the terrible personal loss of a beloved child. Her grief clouds her judgment and she makes several risky, damaging decisions, involving her personal and professional life, that threaten to undo her and her marriage. Gabriel Connois is a descendent of a well-known artist of the Impressionist period. He is talented, but has not found the success and recognition he craves in the cruel and fickle Paris art world. He is more a victim than Elm, though he is ultimately responsible for his fate. Both of these people are drawn into overlapping schemes of forgery and deceit, and in Elm's case, even more. The characters are complicated, interesting, and believable (though not necessarily likeable). The reader cares what happens to them. The story is intricately plotted with twists I never saw coming. Allison Amend draws a sharply satirical and slyly humorous picture of the art world, and those people, some fragile, some venal, some supremely selfish, yet very human, who populate it.
I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in an intelligent story, with complex characters and plotting. It would probably be an excellent choice for a book club.
The Edge of the Earth
by Christina Schwarz
A Fascinating Story (10/12/2012)
The Edge of the Earth is a captivating tale of people who are not as they initially seem, and a place that is so much more than it first appears. Trudy is a young woman at the turn of the century, who is intellectually curious and bright. She is expected, however, to behave as a proper young woman, marry her childhood friend, and settle into the life of a housewife in 1880s Milwaukee. Instead, she meets the mercurial and ambitious Oskar, who is determined to make his mark as an inventor, discoverer, revealer of some great truth, any great truth, to the world. They marry and Oskar takes a job as a lighthouse keeper across the country in a remote area of coastal California. The other keepers on the island are a seemingly stolid and serious family, the Crawleys, mother, father, four children, and the wife's brother. But Trudy's life changes dramatically as she learns the rhythms of life on the island, explores the fascinating natural world around her, and finds out that the Crawleys are so much more than they first appear. There are secrets and more hidden in the rocky coastline and in the woods and sea around her. (The descriptions of the natural world and the state of 19th century science is a bonus.) At the same time, her husband grows more and more obsessed and detached from reality. This riveting story drew me in gradually, but finally, I was not able to put it down. It is ultimately a story of strength and redemption, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it. There are a few unlikely coincidences, and perhaps some shaky plot devices, but they are comparably minor. This would be a great choice for a book club.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel
by Rachel Joyce
Absolutely Wonderful (7/3/2012)
There are not enough superlative adjectives in the English language to describe this book adequately. It is marvelous, charming, touching, poignant, wise, funny . . . and on and on. I read it straight through in one sitting. I could no more put it down than Harold Fry could stop walking his unlikely pilgrimage. Rachel Joyce has masterfully captured the essence of the human condition, and I recommend this book to anyone who has a heart.
Wife 22: A Novel
by Melanie Gideon
Funny, earthy, tender (4/4/2012)
This novel is a moving and creative look at the journey of one woman, and her family, to try to get back to the connections that made them a family in the first place. Alice Buckle is nearing 45, with a part-time job, two teenage children and a husband she seems to have lost touch with, and he with her, along the way. One day, a message arrives in her overflowing email in-box that shakes up her life and sets her on a path she had not expected.
The story of her and her family's attempt at a reconnection is told wittily and truthfully. The format is somewhat unusual, in that Alice and her family and friends are already fully "connected", so much of the story is not told descriptively, but through texting, e-mail, IMs, and Facebook chats. It's laugh-out-loud funny in places, and I had to reach for a tissue other times. The ending is satisfying - not giving away any plot spoilers here - though many readers will probably see it coming, as I did.
Fans of Jennifer Weiner will be happy with this book. Also, any reader who likes a well-rounded, intelligent, funny, and very real protagonist, whom you root for all the way.
Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected - A Memoir
by Kelle Hampton
Truly "perfect" (2/24/2012)
Kelle Hampton's memoir of her second, much anticipated, pregnancy and the birth of her second daughter is a poignant, hilarious, and ultimately enriching story of a journey to perfection. Kelle's beautiful daughter is born with Down Syndrome (not giving anything away here) and she is devastated. She loves her daughter with all her heart and soul, but is heartbroken at what she initially sees as a tragedy for both her girls. The story of her, and her family's journey to the realization that little Nella is absolutely perfect is a story of Kelle's own soul-transforming, personal growth and understanding of the full richness of life. Hampton is a lively writer, the family photos are a welcome and charming addition, and both girls are too, too cute! This book is absolutely worth reading.
A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery
by Charles Todd
Held my attention (8/1/2011)
This book has an intricate plot, full of twists and turns and kept me reading, even though some of the plot twists are improbable at best. Several of the characters are three-dimensional, though Bess herself is not so much, and why she, and another character interject themselves so thoroughly into the lives of strangers is a question. The book does convey a good sense of wartime Europe, with all its the tragedies and upheavals.
The Summer Without Men: A Novel
by Siri Hustvedt
Not a lot of substance (4/11/2011)
This slight book is told rather in the fashion of diary entries, and this sense is reinforced because the reader is often addressed as "Dear Reader." (There are also a lot of Jane Austen allusions.) These "entries" veer between straightforward narrative, bits of poetry, letters, verbatim conversations, and long introspective musings. It's actually an interesting and fun way to read a story if you have the patience for it. The narrator is caustic and witty and sublimely sarcastic. But, I never felt particularly drawn to her or to the other characters' lives and issues. None of the women, or girls, is fleshed out enough to offer any real insights. And the title seems a bit misleading; rather than a summer without men, men seem to be a major preoccupation of all the women in the book, one way or another. A book club might enjoy reading and discussing this book, if they wanted to explore the differences between men and women, and whether those differences mean anything.
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