The Barrowfields
by Phillip Lewis
Promising but disappointing (4/11/2017)
I started this book with great enthusiasm. The first third to one half of the book held my interest but begin to lag. I felt like some of the characters were not well developed especially the mother. Certainly did not like the father in this book at all. I can't imagine someone so absorbed in a project that never comes to fruition and just abandons every sensible act of being a husband and father. Some of the characters such as the grandparents were reminiscent of people I could have met as a child growing up in Appalachia. I actually found them more interesting than others.
Just could not give it better than 3 stars.
The Secret Keeper
by Kate Morton
The secret keeper. (6/27/2013)
I love a good mystery and I am partial to those with settings in the British Isles. I also am a history buff and have read a lot of books from the World War II era. I think all of those combined should make a perfect novel. However I was somewhat disappointed with this story. I think the plot moved too slowly for me. The book drags in the beginning and sometimes I was ambivalent about the characters. Laurel seemed shallow at times and some of the discoveries seemed too predictable. There are some interesting plot turns in the latter part of the book and makes up for the rather slow start. Overall I think it is a good summer read.
The Caretaker
by A .X. Ahmad
The Caretaker (4/4/2013)
The premise of this book is the entanglement of an Indian caretaker with a powerful US senator. It attempt to deal with cultural bias, espionage, political allegiances, romance, and seems to not do any of it very well. It uses the technique flashbacks to tell the story of Ranjit Singh, a Sikkh army officer, who has a shameful past which has forced him to establish a life for his family outside of India. I have read many books that use this technique some more successfully than others. It was the weakest part of the story. I also found the relationship between Ranjit the Senator's wife not very believable. I think the book attempted to include too many elements and came off flat rather than suspenseful. The characters could have been interesting but weren't. I just never felt any real momentum building like I would have expected with what was suppose to be a thriller.
The story just did not hold my interest very well.
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani
Children of the Jacaranda Tree (2/9/2013)
This is a very dramatic story about post revolutionary Iran and the impact it had on the everyday lives of its citizens. While the thrust of the book is about the lives of three children and their fate over a period of several decades, it is also a vivid picture of what happened to thousands of people persecuted during this time. One child is born in prison, another has his family snatched away as they sit eating a meal, a third learns as an adult the real truth of her father's death. They grow up with extended family for a time but when forced to reunite with their parents who were lucky enough to escape death in prison they are naturally frightened and struggle to live with the secrets of their parent's past. They make lives in other countries protected from the past but uneasy with secrets kept from them. Some follow in their parents footsteps protesting the injustices other want nothing to do with the country they were forced to leave. This is a compelling novel possibly more so because the author was born in Tehran and her family experienced the story first hand.
Sentinel: A Spycatcher Novel
by Matthew Dunn
Sentinel (6/23/2012)
I selected this book because I thought it would be a good diversion from what I usually read. It had the prerequisite American,Russian, and British players with the idea that the United States and Russia are on the brink of war and only one man can stop the crisis. The problem is that this story never grabbed me. There were the customary beatings and torture and double cross but it never really held my interest. I felt the characters were flat. Perhaps a lead character in spy novels is not suppose to have warmth, but I would have settled for depth. I thought much of it was predictable, not necessarily plausible.
I was looking for more of the thrills of "24" or Jack Higgins or even Robert Ludlum. This book did not deliver that kind of suspense or intrigue.
Beneath the Shadows
by Sara Foster
Beneath the Shadows (5/18/2012)
The setting is the moors, a village hamlet and a young widow who has mysteriously lost her husband and found their baby abandoned on the doorstep of their home. The elements are there for a good mystery with the typical quirky neighbors one might find in a small English town. The story builds to a climax just pages before the book ends and we learn the truth of the husband's disappearance.
For me mysteries or mysteries/thrillers fall into two categories. One type has so many twists and turns that you are not sure that the writer will ever get to the truth; the second slowly unwinds and the pieces of the puzzle start to fit. I think that "Beneath the Shadows" falls into the later. I felt the book grabbed my attention in the last 50 pages or so.
There may be the inevitable comparison to Wuthering Heights or Rebecca and there are certainly elements of the story which remind me of both of those books. I don't feel the story captivated me like either of those books do.
For me it falls into the category of a quick easy read that perhaps needed more depth to the characters?
A Land More Kind Than Home: A Novel
by Wiley Cash
A Land More Kind Than Home (3/14/2012)
For those familiar with Thomas Wolfe's writings will recognize this title as part of the lines from iYou Can't Go Home Again/i. As I read this novel, I kept wondering why anyone would want to go home to what young Jess Hall must face. His older brother is autistic, his parents are estranged, his mother is under the influence of a dubious faith healer, and his mountain home community seems to be lost in time. The story of Jess's brother "Stump" and his misfortune is revealed through the voices of several lead characters in the novel, each giving you a perspective of their take on life in a remote North Carolina town and the events that unfold. It is a book about family, their secrets, their failures and ultimately how hope might come from tragedy.
I also think it aptly reveals small rural Appalachian town life and the social influence of religion on every aspect of life.
The only time I felt some of the story was extraneous was when too much time was spent describing the life of minor characters in the book. I enjoyed the book and would read more from this author since this is a favorite genre of mine.
The Starboard Sea: A Novel
by Amber Dermont
The Starboard Sea (2/16/2012)
This story's setting begins by introducing us to the principal character Jason Prosper. He is entering into a new preparatory boarding school after being dismissed from another school despite his father's efforts to "bargain" for his retention. He has lost his best friend to suicide and is really struggling to deal with all the upheaval in his life.
The story deals with a number of themes of young adulthood including sexual conflict, fraility of relationships with both female and male friends, abuse of privilege and morality issues.
I enjoyed the book. I did not think it was a fast read but I thought it was a good read. I liked the way the story unfolded and was not bothered by it's occasional diversion.
My bookclub has read several first time authors. I think this book would be good for adult readers and young adults of mature age. Some of the themes would not be suitable for a young reader.
The Dry Grass of August
by Anna Jean Mayhew
The Dry Grass of August (12/6/2011)
There were so many things I enjoyed about this book. I liked that the story was told from the perspective of a 13 year old girl rather than the adult characters in the story. I think that Jubie was a very bright,stubborn young lady who loved her Black maid, Mary, very much. Mary was the one person who seem to understand and protect Jubie. There was so much to appreciate about Jubie that escaped most of those around her, especially her parents.
Much of this story is disturbing because of the racial climate during this time frame, but it reminds us that racism is learned, that most children are so accepting of others unless adults interfere.
It also points out that it takes courage and character to stand up for the rights of others when it means defying your own family and the way of life they want to protect at the expense of others.
The Sisters: A Novel
by Nancy Jensen
The Sisters (9/5/2011)
This is a book that really made me think about how family dynamics shape our lives in so many ways. The story opens with two sisters who live rather desperate lives in a small town in Kentucky. The older one makes a radical choice to protect her younger sister. What results from that choice is a lifetime of separation. The younger sister develops deep rooted bitterness that just seems to perpetuate itself with the next generation. In addition to being a story of family, it is also a story of American women over the decades. The thought I kept having was how grateful I am to have lived my life in a time that women could make choices about education, professions, marriage,and birth control. There was a great deal of misery in this book, some caused by poor choices; at other times the lack of any choice. But the most compelling thing that keeps drawing the characters of this book together is the bonds of family and their love for one another. I think that is what we all hope we have with family. That is the reward the reader is able to experience from reading this book.
The Borgia Betrayal: A Poisoner Mystery Novel
by Sara Poole
The Borgia Betrayal (6/29/2011)
I was very excited to read this book for two reasons:the first being that my favorite reading genre is historical fiction and the second being the subject matter. How could this not be a good read? While the historical part of the novel is interesting enough, it seems to be lacking in intensity considering the corrupt nature of the entire Borgia family and this very dark period of the Catholic church. I kept waiting for the intrigue and the suspense but it seem to wax and wane. I never quite understood the protagonist, Francesca and at times was just frustrated by her and the first person narrative. I kept thinking if I had read the first book in this series of three I might have appreciated her more, although the author insists that these books do not need to be read in order.
Poole indicates there might be many more books following Francesca's adventures. I am not sure I would be inclined to read another.
The Kitchen Daughter: A Novel
by Jael McHenry
The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry (4/2/2011)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the more I read the more captivated I became with the characters in the story. When I read a book and begin to care about the characters then I know I have a made a good selection. I felt as the story progressed the reader had a real sense of the struggles one has dealing with one of life's difficult problems; the death of family and friends.The struggle to define what is normal is certainly explored throughout the entire story whether it be dealing with grief, or family or just routines that we all take for granted.
Having had a child who was bright, but struggled in his early years to form friendships made Ginny's character very real to me,even though her social awkwardness was much more severe.
I think this book would be a good choice for young and older adult readers. I would certainly recommend it to my current book club. I look foward to more titles from this author.
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