Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
by Shelby Van Pelt
A Lovely Book (4/10/2023)
I absolutely loved this book and I'll never eat octopus sushi again! A few years ago I read Sy Montgomery's book The Soul of an Octopus and learned what intelligent creatures octopuses are. Van Pelt builds a story around Marcellus, a Pacific Giant Octopus; Tova, who is the night cleaner at the aquarium where Marcellus is housed and Cameron, a young man who sets out to find his father. Marcellus is one of the narrators and he and Tova form a special bond. The writing is beautiful and the story is well-told. It is a poignant and touching book. I recommend it highly.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A novel
by Gabrielle Zevin
Brilliant and Fun Read (1/20/2023)
If someone had told me that I would fall in love with a book that was about gaming and gamers, I wouldn't have believed them. But this is exactly what happened when I read this book. At the beginning of the book, when Sam sees his friend Sadie and finally gets her attention by yelling "Sadie you died of dysentery" (referring to the old Oregon Trail game), I was hooked. I'm not a gamer, but I did play the Oregon Trail back in the 80s. It was a fabulous game.
The main characters, Sam and Sadie become friends when Sam is in the hospital recovering from a car accident that left his foot mangled and Sadie is at the hospital with her ill sister. Sam and Sadie play games together and discover that they complement each other. Over time they become partners in developing computer games.
The book follows Sam and Sadie as partners and friends. There are huge chunks of time where they don't speak to each other. There are storylines with other characters who are important in their lives and these characters too are fascinating.
I cared deeply for Sam and Sadie and the author does a wonderful job of making them seem like real people, mainly because they are lovable and flawed.
The book blends reality and gaming together and at times the action takes place inside a game.
It's just brilliant and funny too. I loved this book.
Clytemnestra: A Novel
by Costanza Casati
The Notorious Clytemnestra (11/24/2022)
It would be hard not to write a good book based on the myth of Clytemnestra and this book definitely delivers. All the themes are there---love, lust, jealousy, vengeance and murder. This book tells the myth from the perspective of Clytemnestra. The author begins with Clytemnestra's childhood and we learn much about her siblings and how Clytemnestra protects them, especially her sister Helen (of Troy).
Clytemnestra falls in love with and marries Tantalus and they have a child. Clytemnestra is happy and joyful, but this all changes when her father, Tyndarus schemes with Agamemnon and Menaleus resulting in Agamemnon murdering Tantalus and the child. Clytemnestra is then forced to marry Agamemnon. Thereafter Clytemnestra is angry and thinks only of revenge. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra have children, but when Agamemnon sets off for Troy, he gets stuck in the harbor because there was no wind. He then sacrifices their daughter Iphigenia to appease Artemis and by the time Clytemnestra learns of this, her daughter is dead and Agamemnon has set sail. Once Agamemnon returns, Clytemnestra carries out her revenge.
Casati creates a sympathetic character who is fierce and bold. Simply put Clytemnestra is a badass.
I think the book could have used more editing. Some of the transitions between chapters were clumsy and overall the book could have been tighter. But the writing is wonderful.
I enjoyed the book and recommend it.
The Marriage Portrait: A novel
by Maggie O'Farrell
Another Home Run by Maggie O'Farrell (10/24/2022)
Maggie O'Farrell has written another great historical novel. In this book she writes about Lucrezia de' Medici, who was married at a young age to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara in the 1500s. She lived only two more years after the marriage and died when she was 17. The circumstances surrounding her death were mysterious and some accounts say she died of tuberculosis, but others think she might have been poisoned.
O'Farrell brings us into this world and creates a fascinating character in Lucrezia. We care deeply for this girl who is fierce and independent, yet so young and unable to be in control of her own destiny.
The story begins with Lucrezia knowing that her husband is plotting to kill her. The story goes back in forth in time as Lucrezia is near death and then back to her childhood and marriage.
The book is absolutely compelling and O'Farrell has turned Lucrezia's story into a page-turner.
I loved it!
The Latinist: A Novel
by Mark Prins
Academic and dense (10/1/2022)
i really wanted to like this book because it was billed as being a good mystery/thriller with a theme based upon a myth. Too bad it wasn't a mystery/thriller at all. It could have been so much better.
I think the author is a good writer, but I wondered if he was being paid by the word and got extra if he threw in words constantly that the reader has to look up in the dictionary. It was incredibly dense and the few parts that moved the story along were few and far between. Reading it felt like trying to wade through concrete.
The other main problem I had was with the main character. She was quite unlikable (selfish and self-centered) and I wondered why her mentor was obsessed with her. She was also supposed to be brilliant and I never figured out that either. We learn early on in the book that her boyfriend has dumped her and we never are told why. I understand totally why he dumped her even if the author doesn't let us know.
Sorry I can't give a better review, but if you like a bunch of $100 words, this is the book for you. Hard to read and easy to forget.
Testimony: A Novel
by Anita Shreve
Thought-provoking read (5/16/2022)
I read a number of Anita Shrive books years ago, but hadn't read anything of hers recently. A friend lent me this book and now I want to read more of Shreve's work.
I thought this book was brilliant. The story takes place at a private school in New England and begins with the school master being given a videotape of some boys having sex with an underage girl. Alcohol was involved on the part of everyone involved.
After that the story is told by a chorus of characters, each of whom was affected by the event. It is an absolutely gripping read. As the story unfolds we learn more about how the event occurred and how lapses in judgment, on the part of the adults and the teenagers creates a ripple effect of tragedy and unforeseen results. What was especially thought-provoking for me was thinking about what was the actual cause of the events that took place.
I know some readers find the multiple characters' stories a bit confusing but I didn't find it that hard to follow.
Highly recommend!
Dirt Creek: A Novel
by Hayley Scrivenor
Impressive Debut Novel (3/1/2022)
Esther, a young girl disappears on the way home from school. As the investigation into her disappearance unfolds we learn how interconnected the townspeople are and how they are affected by the girl's disappearance. The setting is in the Australian town of Durton where everyone seems to know each other. There are multiple narrators and they include the children who were Esther's best friends. We learn about the secrets that bind the characters together and how those secrets affect them over time.
While reading this book, I thought of Jane Harper's books and I think Dirt Creek is every bit as good as those.
Scrivenor creates a sense of place along with great well-developed characters. I especially love the way she got into the children's minds. Many authors who use children as narrators make them seem like small adults and that is not the case here. It is so well done that I could put myself back into their age group and remembered how I felt about my best friends.
I was so impressed by this book and can't wait to recommend it to my mystery-loving friends. I have no doubt they will love it too.
The Guide
by Peter Heller
Disappointing (2/25/2022)
The main character, Jack, is hired as a fishing guide at a luxurious fishing lodge in Colorado. He arrives with his own baggage and I don't mean a suitcase. He is traumatized by the death of his mother and his best friend and blames himself for their deaths. How this adds to the story, I don't know because there is very little character development of Jack or any of the other characters. The bad guys are bad and we never learn much about them.
Jack spends a week guiding a country western singer named Allison K who miraculously at the end of the book seems to be able to call in a squadron of helicopters to help save the day.
The women in the book are always described in sexist terms. Big surprise Allison and Jack are attracted to each other. Trite.
The "thriller" builds to such a ridiculous, unimaginative and implausible conclusion that I felt like throwing the book against the wall (or into the trashcan). Honesty I have no idea why the critics thought highly of this book.
The only redeeming quality and the only time the writing was any good was Heller's descriptions of fly-fishing. He clearly is himself a fly fisher and loves it. I found those passages beautifully written. I think he should do a book of essays about fly fishing.
Heller's book The River is better than this one.
Two Storm Wood: A Novel
by Philip Gray
An outstanding WWI story (12/28/2021)
This excellent book gave me a better understanding of the horrors of WWI. My grandfather came back from WWI, with what would be called PTSD now, and this book gave me a glimpse into what he might have endured. The descriptions of the trenches, the dead and the living, many of whom suffered disfiguring injuries, was told in great detail.
I had not given much thought to the fact that after war, bodies must be identified to help bring closure to grieving relatives. It was a grisly task and this book does not gloss over these details.
The main character, Amy Vanneck, sets out to find her fiancé who is missing in action. She learns that she should search Two Storm Wood, the scene of a great atrocity, where her fiance may have played a part. She herself meets with danger as she tries to uncover the truth.
The author's research was meticulous and the book is well-written. There is romance and mystery which is entirely believable.
I highly recommend this book.
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel
by Amor Towles
Disappointing (12/21/2021)
I loved A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility so I was looking forward to another great Amor Towles book. This book was a disappointment.
On the positive, Towles is a good writer, but too many negatives spoiled this book for me. It was disjointed and full of side characters that didn't add much to the story.
Why some of the characters were narrators and others weren't didn't make sense to me, The female characters weren't well-developed. The whole thing was too long.
As far as I'm concerned the car they were traveling in should have been a Rambler, because rambling is what this book was.
Not my cup of tea.
The Fields: A Novel
by Erin Young
Excellent police procedural mystery (10/13/2021)
The Fields is a debut crime thriller by Erin Young. I was so glad to read on the back cover that this is the first in a planned series of novels featuring a police sergeant, Riley Fisher. I hope Young is hard at work on the next book because I can't wait to read it!
Young does an excellent job at creating a complex main character. It will be interesting to see this character develop in the future books.
The story is a procedural thriller filled with political corruption and agricultural espionage. The evil agricultural company will no doubt be recognized by many readers as Mansanto (called Agri-Co in the book). The murders are grisly but also a bit weird and made me anxious to know what kind of person the murderer was.
My only criticism of the book is that I felt there was just a bit too much "over the top" action in the last few chapters. It was like the author was trying to throw in as many dramatic scenes as possible at the end and it became a bit chaotic. If they had been spread out a bit earlier I think that would have helped.
I recommend the book and look forward to the next in the series.
The Night Watchman
by Louise Erdrich
Heartbreaking yet Uplifting (5/30/2021)
I absolutely loved this book. If I hadn't borrowed it from a friend, I would have gotten out my yellow highlighter and highlighted passages. This is my first Louise Erdrich book and I can't wait to read more of her work. Her writing is beautiful and lyrical.
One of the main characters in the book is based on Erdrich's grandfather (named Thomas in the book) who was a night watchman but also the tribal head of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota. He is informed that the US government is trying to dispossess them of their land.
The book follows many characters, primarily Patrice who is Thomas' granddaughter. Her sister, Vera, has left home but no one has heard from her. Patrice sets out to "the big city" to look for her and almost immediately encounters abuse and discrimination.
I loved the characters in the book because they were so real and unforgettable. Even days after reading the book I am thinking about them.
I live in a state with a large Native American population and I am aware of the poverty in which so many live. Erdrich succeeds in bringing awareness to many of the issues they face---missing and exploited women, discrimination, poverty, alcoholism. The book is even more moving because it is told by one of their own.
Now I'll buy my own copy and read it again with highlighter in hand!
The Four Winds
by Kristin Hannah
Sad and grim dust bowl story (3/15/2021)
I wanted to like this book, but I regret having even picked it up. It was grim and depressing.
I think Hannah writes well, but that's the only good thing I can say about the book.
The primary characters in the book are women and they suffer 99 of the time. Then there are the animals and land that suffer too. There really aren't well-developed male characters in the book and except for one or two, the male characters aren't very sympathetic. That is unfortunate because I think some strong male characters would have made the book better. Men suffered just as much as women during the Dust Bowl era.
I felt manipulated by the ending and won't go into detail because of spoilers.
One thing that this book did do for me, was to get me to thinking about what I read next. After the year 2020 and all of its sad news, this was the wrong book for me.
There are two books about the Dust Bowl that I think are
much better. Timothy Egan's non-fiction book "The Worst Hard Time" is excellent and Marisa Silver's "Mary Coin" is a good book.
Ariadne
by Jennifer Saint
Perfect for fans of Circe (3/9/2021)
An imaginative retelling of the myth of Ariadne. The sisters Ariadne and Phaedra are the children of Minos and Pasiphae. Their half-brother is the dreaded Minotaur who lives in a complicated labyrinth constructed by Daedalus. Each year grisly human sacrifices are made to the Minotaur and Ariadne can no longer bear it. She aids Theseus in killing the Minotaur. This is where the story begins.
The story is told from the perspective of the two sisters. It is safe to say that in this world, women get screwed---literally and figuratively. However, Saint does a good job making Adriadne and Phaedra show some determination.
Saint tells this story so well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were times where I thought more detail would have enriched the story. I would have liked to know more about the initial attraction between Ariadne and Theseus. Was it really just his green eyes? Also, the part about Icarus and Daedalus could have been expanded because that myth alone is fascinating.
The pace and detail of the book got better after Part 1 and then it was a page-turner for me. Along with Madeline Miller's Circe, these re-telling of myths are wonderful. So many primal emotions---jealousy, revenge, lust, love. It's all there.
Migrations: A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy
Grim and Depressing (12/29/2020)
I gave this book 4 stars because the writing is beautiful. However, I hated the main character. Except for her love of nature and birds, there was nothing likable about her. I kept wanting to yell at her to get some therapy. If I had a boat, I'd sure never let her on it.
The Sun Down Motel
by Simone St. James
Creepy and good! (12/27/2020)
This is the first book of Simone St James that I have read and I loved it. It's like Bates Motel on steroids. I grew up in a town that had many roadside hotels just like the one on the cover of the book. I never thought of them as being haunted, but that's what I will think now whenever I see one.
It's a combination thriller, mystery and ghost book. It was a perfect distraction (much needed these days). I'm going to read more from this author.
The Survivors: A Novel
by Jane Harper
Another great mystery from Jane Harper (12/22/2020)
Jane Harper continues to write winners. The Survivors is her fourth book and although it is hard to pick a favorite, this might be the best one yet.
The setting for this book is a small coastal town in Tasmania. Kieran Elliott returns home to help his parents move. He brings along his girlfriend Mia and baby daughter Audrey. We learn that twelve years prior a terrible storm happened and several people died, including Kieran's brother Finn and his partner. Kieran blames himself for these deaths because of a stupid error on his part.
Shortly after Kieran's return a girl is found murdered on the beach. As the murder is investigated, old secrets and resentments surface.
Harper masterfully reveals the past and present connections between characters in the book. She is also good at creating a small town atmosphere. The red herrings were great and I was kept guessing up to the end.
I highly recommend the book and I can't wait until her next one!
The Wolf and the Watchman
by Niklas Natt och Dag
Avoid (11/19/2020)
I'm sorry to say this book is just horrible. Stomach-turning grisly violence. I'd hate to be in this author's head. I have no idea why someone would write a book like this unless they enjoy knowing they gave the readers nightmares.
American Dirt: A Novel
by Jeanine Cummins
Moving immigration story (8/23/2020)
A compelling story about a mother and her young son fleeing violence in Mexico. With so many stories about immigrants these days, it was good to read a book that described the harrowing journey immigrants must make when there is no other choice but to leave their homeland.
This book is a page-turner. The characters will stay with you and unless you have a heart of stone, you will come away with a deeper sympathy for those who must flee.
Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking
by Bill Buford
A book to savor and devour (8/23/2020)
A fabulous food memoir written by Bill Buford. This book and his other book "Heat" have convinced me that Buford belongs in the pantheon of great food writers (he's a great writer anyway). I loved this book about his adventures moving himself, his wife and their twin boys (age 3 at the time) to France so that he can learn French cooking. He figures they will stay for a few months, but that turns into five years. He chooses to live and learn in Lyon which is considered the epicenter of French cuisine. There he apprentices in various restaurants and a bakery.
He details his experiences with great humor and his passion for food is clear. He reminds us that cooking and eating are basic and should not be rushed. Here is a great quote from the book that explains the title: "We learned the taste of good food. That comes from a place, as it has for thousands of years, from a soil that is a testament to its ancient history. Good food tastes of itself."
Great book for a food lover, cook or anyone who loves good writing.
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