Cariola's 2024 Reading

Finally, a portrait and a theme: Artists and Their Children. This is 'The Painter's Daughters Chasing a Butterfly' by Thomas Gainsborough (1756). I have always loved Gainsborough's work and was inspired to choose this theme by a fictional book I read recently by Elizabeth Howes, The Painter's Daughters, about the girls in the above portrait, Mary (known as Molly) and Margaret (Peggy). The National Gallery in London, where the painting is displayed, has some wonderful online video analyses to accompany it. Here's one that I particularly enjoyed: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/thomas-gainsborough-the-painter-s-d... (Scroll down for the curator's video).

Molly and Peggy were frequent models for their father; you can find many portraits of them online at various stages in their lives. In case you wondered what the girls looked like all grown up:


Best of 2024 (so far):
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
The History of Sound: Stories by Ben Shattuck
The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes
James by Percival Everett
Clear by Carys Davies
Night Watch by Jayne Ann Phillips
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
North Woods by Daniel Mason
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Fraud by Zadie Smith

Best of 2023 :
This Other Eden by Paul Harding
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Music for Wartime: Stories by Rebecca Makkai
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
The Fell by Sarah Moss
The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland
Corrag by Susan Fletcher
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman

Currently Reading


January
North Woods by Daniel Mason
The Fraud by Zadie Smith

February
Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
James Herriot's Cat Stories
Seeking Fortunes Elsewhere by Sindya Bhanoo

March
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan by Ruth Gilligan

April
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

May
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

June
Night Watch by Jayne Ann Phillips
Clear by Carys Davies
All Our Yesterdays: A Novel of Lady Macbeth by Joel H. Morris
Knife by Salman Rushdie
Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel by The Authors Guild

July
On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony S. Fauci
James by Percival Everett
The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes

August
You Are Here by David Nicholls
The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette by Deborah Cadbury
The History of Sound: Stories by Ben Shattuck

September
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories by Hilary Mantel
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor

October
Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine
Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts
Who Could Ever Love You by Mary L. Trump
Real Americans by Rachel Khong

November

I finished The Fraud by Zadie Smith last night. It is based on a true legal case that caught the public imagination in Victorian England. Roger Tichborne, supposedly lost in a shipwreck, suddenly turns up to claim his aristocratic inheritance . . . but is he who he says he is, or is he Arthur Orton, a butcher from Australia? The trial to determine if he is the heir or an impostor excited the public and divided people into factions.

The novel is told mainly from the point of view of Mrs. Eliza Touchet, a childless widow now employed as a housekeeper by her cousin, William Ainsworth, a novelist whose star is fading as fast as that of his friend, Charles Dickens, is rising. Mrs. Touchet has been rather in love with William, and more decidedly in love with his wife. But after the couple’s estrangement and Frances’s death, William has taken a new wife, his former cook. Although Mrs. Touchet dislikes Sarah and finds her common, the two of them share an interest in the Tichborne case and bond by attending the courtroom hearings together.

What fascinates Mrs. Touchet more than the claimant is his primary witness, Andrew Bogle, who served Sir Roger’s late uncle as a slave on his Jamaican sugar plantation. She finds him dignified and intelligent, and her conversations with him spark her interest in abolition and cause her to reevaluate her beliefs about race, class, history, social norms, and English exceptionalism. In short, she begins to see the many forms of hypocrisy that surround her.

I took my time reading this one, and after I finished it, I read many reviews on Amazon that recommended that this is the way to go. It’s the kind of book that has you backtracking and, at the end, wanting to read it again to catch what you may have missed. I’ve been a Zadie Smith fan ever since White Teeth. She is always true to her Willesden roots but has been increasingly daring in writing about the neighborhood in which she grew up in imaginative frameworks. The Fraud won’t be for everyone, but I enjoyed it immensely.

North Woods is difficult to categorize. Is it a novel? Is it a collection of short stories? Is it a family saga? An environmental novel? The genealogy of a house over five centuries? A murder mystery? A ghost story? A gay romance? A social critique? My answer: All of the above and more.

All of the stories are in some way connected to one New England house and to the land surrounding it. It begins when a pair of lovers flee north from their Puritan community, at first hunted, but eventually settling peacefully on a plot of land that seems like paradise. Mason ingeniously uses the cabin they build as the framework of the book, tracing a succession of inhabitants through the centuries: a retired British soldier with a passion for apple cultivation; his two spinster daughters; a painter seeking solace who corresponds with a poet friend; a catamount; a ghost; a beetle bringing Dutch Elm Disease; an artists' colony; a madman; an anthropologist; and many, many more, all connected to one another by blood, land, house, memory. Every story is fascinating, and every story makes you want to connect the links between them. When you do, you realize that Mason has something important to say about time, place, nature, and the human condition. We may think that we are the masters of our world, but North Woods reminds us that we are, always, a small organic part of it.

Mason's book is beautifully written, brilliantly plotted, observant, sensitive to detail. And as so many professional reviewers have stated, it is simply magical. North Woods is a lament for all that we have lost but also a prayer for the time to come. I haven't read anything in years that comes close to it in originality and in its ability to make me not only feel but think. It's one of those rare books that, when I completed it, I felt I needed to rest awhile and then start it all over again. It's going to be difficult for any other book to nudge it from the top on this year's reading list.

Nice to see you here, Deborah. Your first two books are both ones i’ve been reading about and not sure if I might want to read them. I felt some resistance to both and your reviews help overcome that. The Fraud sounds like a Zadie Smith I might really take to. The North Woods sounds very interesting. (A beetle bringing Dutch Elm’s disease. Tragic). Anyway, welcome back.

>4 dchaikin: I will tell you that both books took me a while to get through, but I think they both benefitted from slower reading, especially North Woods.

>2 Cariola: Your review of The Fraud is fascinating. The book has been on my list, too. I'm looking forward to reading it.

>5 Cariola: Maybe good audiobook options....

Welcome back to Club Read, and what a great start to your reading year! I enjoyed Daniel Mason's Winter Soldier, so I will read North Woods at some point. Like Dan, I've been on the fence, but your review is giving me a well-needed nudge! The plot to The Fraud instantly reminded me of The Return of Martin Guerre, also based on a historical case, though this one in 16th century France.

What a great start to your reading year. I've read Daniel Mason's The Piano Tuner, and would be happy to read another by him. North Woods sounds like it could be it.

Also noting The Fraud, for its Victorian connection.

May your reading continue to go as well for the rest of the year!

I put a library hold on North Woods a few months ago, encouraged by positive reviews here. It seems I wasn’t quite convinced though, as although the hold has come up a few times I keep putting it off. Having read your excellent review I’m going to grab the book next time it’s offered!

Great to see you here, Deborah! I loved your reviews of The Fraud, which is already high on my wish list, and North Woods, which will be soon.

>3 Cariola: Another who is adding North Woods to my stack. Between your review & Sassy Lassy's reminder that Daniel Mason wrote The piano tuner, I've got to try it.

Hi! Both books sound fascinating, especially North Woods, though I’m not sure I am in the right frame of mind for such a weighty read right now.

How wonderful that your first two books are both candidates for your best books of the year. Here's hoping that trend continues. I have both of these very high on my "books I'd like to read soon" list. I've already read my worst book of the year (and possibly decade), but reading best books sounds much nicer. Glad to see you here.

Sounds like your reading year has got off to a great start! I heard Zadie Smith talking about the Tichborne case on a history podcast a few weeks ago and have had The Fraud on my list since then, so it's good to see a positive review of it. And North Woods sounds intriguing.

>8 labfs39: It's interesting how basically the same case keeps recurring through history, especially when the imposter often bears little resemblance to the person they're claiming to be. As well as Tichborne and Martin Guerre there was the 1990s case that was made into the documentary film The Imposter a few years ago.

>15 valkyrdeath: I just today reviewed reviewed The Return of Martin Guerre. On my thread - Cherchez L’homme

>15 valkyrdeath: Interesting. I hadn't heard of that one. Seems like it would be much harder/impossible to do in current times. One simple test and it's over.

I am glad that you have had a great start to your reading year.
I am not seeing a lot of films yet but I did like "American Fiction". "Poor Things " has a lot wrong with it but the set and costumes are terrific.

There's also a very good Martin Guerre movie. And another great "imposter" book is Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar.

>18 torontoc: I saw Poor Things last weekend, and am still not sure what I think of it.

>19 arubabookwoman: Thanks. I might try this as I’m having a problem concentrating on The Singularities ant.

Thank you, Deborah, for two great reviews! Both have been on my list, as is Tom Lake. Appreciate hearing good things about the first two.

>21 kjuliff: I read Brat Farrar years ago when I first read through all of Tey’s novels and remember liking it best. Maybe time for a reread.

>7 dchaikin: I find that dense books on audio are hopeless for me. I can't easily stop and ponder what I just read, and I can't easily go back to find something I may have missed. I had this experience with Lincoln in the Bardo, in which the page layout also had significance. There are a number of drawings, poems, documents, etc. in North Woods that you'll miss if you listen to it. And I have read a number of reviews that mention the same thing: slowness is the key, you need to absorb it.

>8 labfs39: I've both read The Return of Martin Guerre and seen the very fine film version. The story was also adapted as a post-Civil War western with Jodie Foster and Richard Gere, 'Sommersby.'

>9 SassyLassy: I think I've read all of Daniel Mason's novels; I was sold after reading The Piano Tuner.

>22 dianelouise100: So far so good with Tom Lake.

>18 torontoc: Cyrel, I'm looking forward to 'American Fiction.' I finally got around to watching 'Barbie,' convinced I would hate it. Surprise! It was quite fun. I watched 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' which was well done but really horrifying. American capitalism at its worst.

So glad to see so many of you again! My reading last year was neither prolific nor, on the whole, memorable. I'm hoping this year keeps going as it has started.

I've also been listening to Liz Cheney's memoir, Oath and Honor. It's quite good, although I'm not learning much that is new.

I just started North Woods and it grabbed me right away. Interesting concept plus engaging writing. I had borrowed the book from a friend and your review made me pick it up now.

>26 japaul22: Keep going! And don't rush it. It's one best pondered and savored. I know several people who hated it and gave up. I cant imagine a more wrongheaded opinion than this: "Flora, fauna & nonsense!!! Have no idea why it was so critically acclaimed!!"

Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney.

This has the honor of being the first memoir by a Republican that I have ever purchased. I admire Ms. Cheney for keeping her oath and for standing by her principles. Too bad so many of her former colleagues do not--but that's for another place. I listened to the book on audio, mainly because the author is also the reader. Overall, I didn't learn much new, but it provided a good overview of what happened on January 6, 2021, of the impeachment hearings, and of the culture of hypocrisy, lies, violence, revenge, and thirst for raw power that have infected our political system and continue to threaten American democracy.

>28 Cariola: i’ll pass, but glad someone read it.

Nice review of Oath and Honor, Deborah. I've watched intervals and read articles about Liz Cheney's deep concerns about the corruption of the Republican Party in the Trump era, so I'll also pass on reading her book, for now.

>29 dchaikin: You mean he needs all the sales she can get. :) You can be a harsh man, Dan, under that gentle exterior.

>31 kjuliff: wasn’t thinking of sales. Just don’t have a lot of tolerance for a Cheney. 😳

>27 Cariola: I'm about a third into North Woods and still loving it. I love the small details that connect each person/story to the next. And I'm always into a strong setting. It's really working for me.

>30 kidzdoc: Darryl, that's what I meant about nothing really new. She gave so many interviews, and of course I followed the hearings, press conferences, etc, after the events of 1/6/21.

>32 dchaikin: I have no tolerance for The Dick (former VP Cheney) but do respect his daughter for not caving to MAGA pressure.

>33 japaul22: I suspect that people who disliked North Woods are looking for more action and less detail and are probably whizzing through it. The connections are what make the story, and if you miss them, I suppose it feels scattered and long-winded.

>3 Cariola: As with many others above me, I've added North Woods to my tbr on the strength of your excellent review. I'm looking forward to following your reading through the year.

>35 Julie_in_the_Library: Thank you, Julie. This seems to be one of those love it/hate it books, no middle ground. I think the people who enjoy a lot of fast-paced action find it boring, but if you are more interested in themes, writing style and structure, and originality, you should enjoy North Woods. I hope you do!

Lara Kenison is thrilled to have her three daughters come home to the family cherry farm in Traverse City, Michigan. They come every year for a while to help with the cherry harvest, but this year, due to COVID plus the lack of any temporary farm workers, they got stuck there. To help pass the time, Lara has agreed to tell them the story of her time as an actress and her affair with Peter Duke, a famous actor who has just died. In high school she was cast as Emily in Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Everyone, including Lara, agreed that she was made for the part, the most perfect Emily ever. An agent sees her performance and offers her a role in a film, involving travel to NYC and LA. But the film stays in the can for quite a while, so when the agent learns there is an opening to play Emily at Tom Lake, a summer theater, she agrees to take the part.

Most of the novel focuses on Lara's time at Tom Lake and her relationships with the other actors, especially the talented but vain and fickle Duke, but she also tells the story of how she met (well, re-met) the girls' father. The book is a study of youth, friendships, and love, particularly her changing relationships with her daughters Emily, who plans to take over the farm, Maisie, a veterinarian in training, and Nell, an aspiring actress. It also opens a door to the hardships of farming and the idyllic lake setting.

I've enjoyed Patchett's novels but have never been knocked out by them. The same is true of Tom Lake. It's a well written novel that kept my interest, but it probably won't stay with me for long.

>37 Cariola: I read your review with interest. Tom Lake keeps coming up on my screen as a book I would like, and every time I look into it I think, “Not for me”. Now I feel confirmed in my belief.

I checked the books we share on your profile and we have quite a few books in common.

A good review of what, to me, appears to be a mediocre book.

>38 kjuliff: I would agree: rather mediocre.

>37 Cariola: i really like some Ann Patchett, especially The Dutch House, Commonwealth and her two books of personal essays. No clue about this one. I sampled the audio, read by Myrel Streep! But i had trouble following what she was saying. She read the sample so quietly. So I didn’t pick it up.

>40 dchaikin: Interesting that the audio was underwhelming because of volume Dan. I am interested in this one, but will pick it up in print at some point.

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

This book was pretty much the enactment of all my fears about what would happen if we lose our democracy. I don't usually read dystopian literature, and after this, it will be a long time before I read another. Don't get me wrong--I'm NOT bashing this book. It took me a while to get into it, but once things went from disturbing to downright harrowing, I couldn't put it down.

The novel is set in Ireland in a time the government has labelled "the crisis." In the opening chapter, two Garda (policemen) arrive at the home of Eilish and Larry, a couple with four children ranging in age from an infant to 16. Larry isn't home, but they ask Eilish to have him come down to the station the next day. Larry is a top officer in the Teacher's Union. He goes to the station but never returns.

The situation is bad for everyone, and it only gets worse. Employers are pressed to get rid of anyone the government has a beef with, people start disappearing off the street, lawyers are afraid to represent anyone with a complaint against the government, civil rights are suspended, food supplies are short, protesters are shot and beaten to death, strict curfews are enacted, boys as young as 16 are taken out of school and conscripted into the military. And Eilish is left to fend for herself and her children and the father across town who is falling into senility.

I won't say more as I don't want to spoil the book for anyone else, but the last few chapters are among the most heartbreaking and horrifying that I have ever read. Anyone who thinks that our country needs a strong man dictator and suspension of our Constitutional rights in order to "save" this country should read it (since obviously they never read their world history books in school). It's beautifully written, mainly from Eilish's point of view.

>42 Cariola: Great review and a great novel. Yes it’s hard to put down and hard to read at the same time.

Strikes home. Scary time right now. Like you, I felt it was only ok for a while, and then found myself in its grip.

>42 Cariola: Great review. I had a similar reaction to the book. Although it was heart-rending and frightening, I'm glad it won the Booker.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

McBride sets his latest novel in 1925-36 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania--more specifically, in Chicken Hill, a neighborhood of predominantly Jewish and African American families. The two groups generally get along well, but both are subject to the prejudice of the powerful white residents. Much of the story revolves around Moishe Ludlow, an entrepreneur who opened a successful music theater, and his wife Chona, owner of the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. The couple is childless, but Chona takes under her wing a young black boy named Dodo, nephew of her one-time friend and still next door neighbor, Berniece. Dodo was rendered deaf following a kitchen accident in which a stove blew up, and people are unsure if he can talk (he just doesn't choose to talk much) or if his mental capacity has been affected, but Chona, seeing his potential, draws him out. One of the major conflicts is that the state keeps sending men to take Dodo to a "special school" (which everyone understand is a mental institution). Although Berniece and Chona have been estranged for years, they make a pact to protect the boy from the state agents.

McBride spins his story around other conflicts and a series of memorable characters. The only doctor in town, a white man and member of the KKK who is disdained by the larger community, spends years trying seeking revenge on those he believes haven't shown him the proper deference, and the town council secretly diverts the city water away from the Jewish and African-American neighborhoods, leaving them with a dilapidated and potentially harmful water system--at the same higher price.

While there are a lot of events that evoke sadness and anger throughout the novel, its strength and hope is in the way the neighbors help one another. And McBride adds just enough humor to and love to balance out the bitterness. I've admired all of his novels, and this one is no exception.

>46 Cariola: Very enticing review. The book has been on my radar since reading Color of Water recently, but your review makes me want to search out a copy right away.

>46 Cariola: We must have been reading this at the same time.

>37 Cariola: I enjoyed your review, and agree with your assessment of Patchett's work.

>42 Cariola: This sounds terrifying.

>46 Cariola: I haven't read much by McBridge, this review has tempted me to add The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store to my list.

>49 rv1988: read McBride’s The Color of Water first. 🙂

Enjoyed your review, Deborah. I’m on the fence with this one. Were i a faster reader, I would be more tempted.

James Herriot's Cat Stories

A short collection of cat stories from the vet best known from All Creatures Great and Small. Some are quite charming stories about cat quirks and behaviors (and those of the humans who care for them); others are rather sad stories but, as always, with a glimmer of hope at the end. James and Helen try to tame two sibling feral cats. An ill man's cat seems to mysteriously be at death's door several times but is back to his usual frisky self the next day; James has to sleuth out the cause. A mother cat sadly dies on Christmas day but leaves behind a lovable black kitten.

I listened to this short collection on audio, well narrated by Christopher Timothy.

>50 dchaikin: Aha, noted!

Wow, can't believe I haven't checked in here since February! I'm going to catch up on reviews and a few other things. I've been slowed down a bit by arthritis and other health issues. My shoulder had been hurting since November, and I finally got sent to physical therapy in January. I'm still going. It seems to be helping somewhat. Thankfully, xrays did not show any involvement with the rotator cuff, so no surgery. Then about a month ago my "good" knee started giving me a lot of pain. The xrays showed that it is still "good," while the right knee is now bone-on-bone. Amazingly, I don't have much pain in that knee. I guess I will have to break down and start knee replacements soon. It's just such a hassle to get anything like that done since I live alone. At least we now have grocery delivery service and a transit service for seniors. I have really started feeling my age this year. :(

Anyway, enough of all that. On to reviews.

Seeking Fortunes Elsewhere by Sindya Bhanoo. Completed February 26.

This was an interesting collection of stories about South Indian immigrants and the people they left behind. I wish I had written my review right away, because I can't remember too much detail now, about 6 weeks later. Maybe that says something. In one story, a woman in a retirement community sees her neighbor collapse on the sidewalk; she holds his head while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, and he keeps repeating his dead wife's name. She isn't sure if he thinks she is the wife or maybe sees her spirit waiting for him. In another, a man tries to convince his wife to downsize, selling their property to a developer so that they can have money to travel, but she is reluctant to leave her little garden patch and the wild birds she enjoys so much. In another, an Indian professor at an American university finds him self charged with exploiting foreign students. In his mind, he was trying to befriend them and make them feel at home, but they tell stories of being expected to do yard work, painting, and other chores for free. The stories and characters are well written, and I enjoyed the book, even though I can't recall it more clearly.

Completed March 21.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

In the summer of 1962, a Native American family travels from Nova Scotia to Maine to harvest blueberries. A few weeks later, Ruthie, the 4-year old daughter, disappears. She was left in the care of her 6-year old brother who last saw her sitting on a rock. Despite intensive searching, no sign of her could be found. Her disappearance haunts the family members for years, especially Joe, who is convinced that she is still alive somewhere, and older brother Ben, who, about 16 years later, believes that he saw her at a protest but could not get her attention. Ruthie's red boots sit on a closet shelf as a reminder of what was lost. The family faces hardship and tragedy due to their low status and ethnicity. As the story progresses, Joe is dying of cancer and tells most of the family's history in flashbacks. He is trying to make amends for the wrongs in he has committed and is still hopeful that Ruthie will be found before he dies.

This family's story alternates with that of another family, a local doctor, his wife, and their daughter Norma. Although the father is a doctor in high standing in the community, they aren't much happier. The mother is high strung, domineering and overprotective. Norma is rarely allowed out of the house except with family members. People often comment on Norma's complexion, which is darker than her parents', and she wonders why there are no baby pictures of herself in the family scrapbook. The family has a reason for everything: her complexion is due to some far-back Italian ancestors, and they were just too busy taking care of her (plus her mother's health was frail) to remember to take photos. The reader doesn't have to work very hard to figure out that Norma is really Ruthie, snatched by a woman who had suffered several miscarriages and whose mental health was in decline.

The rest of the novel plays out how the the truth behind Ruthie's disappearance and identity slowly comes to light. I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than the above description might suggest. The characters are well drawn and interesting, and the author writes beautifully about loss, grief, a sense of identity, and prejudice. There are a number of events that reveal how the loss of Ruthie has affected every member of the family, and Norma's family also suffers from the secret they must hide.

Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan by Ruth Gilligan. Completed March 26.

This was an interesting merger of three intertwining stories about Jewish characters who live in Ireland. In the first, a young girl believes her family is emigrating to America, but they end up in Ireland. The second is about a teenager who has been committed to an asylum because he has suddenly become mute. We find out later what happened to cause this, but it's a family secret that he refuses to reveal to the doctors and therapists. In the third story, a young Irish journalist has decided to convert to Judaism so that she can marry her boyfriend. All of them face challenges in confronting the expectations of family, religion, and Irish society. I found the book interesting but kept thinking about Roddy Doyle's wonderful collection of stories about immigrants to Ireland, The Deportees and Other Stories, which was a 5-star read for me.

>53 Cariola: I had to have bilateral hip replacements when I was 45. After the initial recovery, I forgot about them and was completely pain free for years. I struggled along, off and on crutches, for three years before my insurance company would agree to cover the cost of replacement. I wish I could have dealt with it right away, as they have worked so well for me. Long story short, I would advocate for doing the replacement and avoiding the pain (when you get to that point).

>55 Cariola: I've been meaning to look for this one. It sounds interesting and I like books set in my native Maine.

>56 Cariola: Another one that I'll add to the list. And I haven't read Roddy Doyle, so I guess that's two book bullets for the price of one!

>57 labfs39: Oh, DO read some Roddy Doyle, he’s an excellent writer.

>56 Cariola: Interesting review. Re immigration/emigration, The Deportees and Other Stories was really good, but of course I enjoy everything this man writes.`

>57 labfs39: Thanks for the tips. I am getting to the point where the pain is almost worse than the idea of surgery. It's just so hard for me logistically. Hope you do read some Roddy Doyle. I just loved The Deportees and Other Stories and have enjoyed several others. If you have seen the films The Snapper or The Commitments, those are based on his novels of the same names.

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

I gave up after reading over 60% of the book on kindle. I am SO disappointed as Lauren Groff is one of my favorite writers, and I was really looking forward to this latest novel. Unfortunately, it was a painful, tedious read. The main character is a girl, formerly servant to a wealthy family in colonial settlement, who is on the run after apparently murdering one (or more) of her masters. As far as I got, nothing is clear except that she is running, running, running and trying to survive in the snowy wilderness. There are way too many minute details about her packing and unpacking and repacking her sack, trying to find water, tending to her sore feet, looking for a cave or crevice to sleep in, skewering a nestful of baby squirrels and roasting them (their bones taste like butter), stealing a duck's eggs and then breaking her neck, gathering mushrooms that make her vomit, eating a cupful of grubs, pissing and shitting in the woods--well, you get the idea. I guess I was supposed to be impressed by her perseverance in the face of this ordeal, but honestly, it was just too much until it got boring, and I just couldn't take any more.

yeah I had the same impression, skimmed lots of pages and just got tired of being in her head

Whats interesting about north wood is that I noticed how much his descriptions sound like hers, but it makes so much more sense in his book

>62 cindydavid4: I think that might have been because Groff's character is just so darn annoying! People have complained that North Woods has too many characters, but I disagree. Their stories are at least interesting, and Mason uses the landscape to tie everyone and everything together.

and I suggest that she wasnt annoying as much as being young and in fear of her life. Its up to the author to make a character interesting and liked without resorting to the play by play description of every 4 yards. I think Groff could have easily stepped away from the journey to change focus on other characters and perhaps add a point of view. I agree Mason used the landscape very well, and I liked the way he introduced characters slowly and in groups. i had trouble remember some of the minor characters but the others were pretty clear

Ive like all of Groffs other books, hope she has someting soon that can redeem this

>61 Cariola: et. al. I, too, was underwhelmed by The Vaster Wilds, though my wife loved it. I wasn't bothered so much by the play-by-play nature of the narrative. The details were mostly fine with me. But as I said in my own review earlier this year, it was more the overly mannered writing style:

I was distracted more and more as the narrative went along with Groff's attempts to render the language in ways that she clearly imagined would put us more in mind of the era, but for me became irritants. I'm talking about things like leaving the "ly" off of adjectives (such as "The bear was terrific large") or using "did" for past tense rather than an "ed" ending (such as "The rapids did surge" rather than "The rapids surged") Eventually this artifice got on my nerves, especially because I didn't think it necessary.

Once I become aware of an artifice like that, it becomes extremely distracting for me and can ruin my enjoyment of otherwise good storytelling.

Finally catching up here—your reading overlaps with my TBR pile a lot! Thanks for the good reviews.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Many years ago, I read A Midwife's Tale, a biography of Martha Ballard based on her diary by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. In her end note, Lawhon mentions that she, too, found this book fascinating, and for years she wanted to write a novel about Ballard. The result is The Frozen River. It covers the time from November 1789, when the river froze, to April 1790, when the thaw begins. Lawhon prides herself on following historical facts, but she does admit to compressing time in her novel as well as deleting and adding details. And a lot of the story is speculation on what might have happened. Nevertheless, it's a compelling story and provides a fascinating look at life in America just a few years after the Constitution was adopted.

Martha Ballard's days are filled with the usual woman's work: cooking, cleaning, marketing, raising children. Except that she is a midwife and must drop everything when she gets the call. Through her, Lawhon gives the reader lots of details about the practice of midwifery. Since, initially, there is no doctor in the town, Martha is also called upon when her neighbors are ill, wounded, or need other medical assistance, and she is also called to examine dead bodies to give her opinion on the cause of death. This is how she gets caught up in the investigation of a man whose body was chopped from the river ice. She attests that many of the marks on his body seem to have been inflicted not by hitting rocks and debris as he floated along but that he has marks on his neck that show he was hanged before being thrown into the river. Her involvement increases when she learns that one of her sons had an altercation with the dead man the previous night, and when her friend Rebecca Foster confesses that she was raped by two men, one the dead man and the other a prominent town official.

Lawhon has effectively combined biographical fiction with historical mystery. I am not particularly a fan of the second, but the mystery, discoveries, hearings, testimonies, and the manipulations of John North, the local justice accused of rape, to monopolize local woodlands and defame Martha and Rebecca are very well integrated into daily life, social customs and structure, and the foibles of a new country's government and flawed justice system. I enjoyed the novel and her expansion of Martha Ballard's character.

>67 Cariola: This sounds great, I'll look for a copy. I'll also mention it to a friend at my book club tonight who loved A Midwife's Tale.

>67 Cariola: My book club is reading this next month. Do you think I should try to read A Midwife's Tale first?

>69 labfs39: I don't think it's necessary. Lawhon includes quite a few excerpts from Ballard's diary. They are not very detailed, which is why she was a good subject both for the biography and a novel. Typically, she would just write the date, mention the weather, then say, "I was at home," or just record a birth, such as "Mr. Foster's wife delivered of a daughter, living." Rarely any details at all. Since The Frozen River covers less than one year, my advice is to just read that and then, if Martha interests you and it doesn't bother you to learn that the novelist has taken some liberties (which you will learn anyway from reading her note at the end), go for The Midwife's Tale. Ulrich has done more research to try to flesh out the blanks in the diary and her life.

>70 Cariola: Thanks, that's helpful advice.

>67 Cariola: Just catching up on your thread, and a wonderful review of The Frozen River. I'm adding both this, and The Midwife's Tale to my list.

>71 labfs39: You're very welcome! Hope your book group enjoys it.

>72 rv1988: It was a very good read--hope you like it, too.

Night Watch by Jayne Ann Phillips (Sorry, can't find a touchstone--hard to believe!)

What a great book! No wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year. It begins in 1874, when the country was still reeling from the chaos and loss resulting from the Civil War. Twelve year-old ConaLee and her mother Eliza are in a buckboard driven by the abusive man she has been told to call Papa. He has given away ConaLee's three younger siblings, dressed Eliza in a lady's clothes, and plans to drop them off at Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. ConaLee is told to pose as her mother's companion in order to persuade the matron to allow them to stay together. Her task is not only to care for her mother but to make sure that, if she begins to talk again, Eliza doesn't reveal any secrets. A heavy load for a 12-year old, indeed, but then ConaLee has been the adult in the house for many years.

We learn the horrors of what happened. Eliza, born into a wealthy family, had run off with with a stable boy, the son of an Irish house servant. When the war began, like so many young men, he enlisted--and like so many young men, he did not return. Eliza fended for herself, with the help of Dearblah, her man's mother, who lived in a cabin nearby, until Pap arrived. He is one of the many lone marauders who roamed the hills looking for homes (and women) to plunder.

The story is told mostly from ConaLee's point of view. Some of it is memory, but more of it is about life in the asylum, which is run by Quakers and the kindly Dr. Story (actual place and person). We get an inside look at how the facility functions and the doctor's philosophy, and we meet many intriguing characters, including a wild boy named Weed, the strict but secretly kind matron, Mrs. Hexum, and the Night Watch, a brawny one-eyed veteran who helps to keep the peace.

Phillips weaves an original story both tender and horrific that is full of surprises, and she connects her characters in unexpected ways. Some of it might seem far-fetched, at least until you remember the chaos rendered by the war and its long aftermath. I was completely captivated by the novel and have been recommending it to everyone.

>74 Cariola: It's hard not to want to read this book after reading your review. Enticing!

>74 Cariola: Great review of Night Watch, Deborah. That's definitely one for my wish list!

Hi Deborah, just stopping in to say hi. I'm a couple of hours east of you in western Chester County. I'm sorry to hear about your knee issues and empathize with your pain. I had both of mine replaced, eight and seven years ago, and it has been a wonderful relief after years of suffering. It sounds as if you might have logistical difficulties; I hope you're able to overcome them and get some relief.

>75 labfs39:, >76 kidzdoc: It's really a wonderful story. Hope you enjoy it!

>77 Jim53: Hi, Jim. Everyone I know who has had the knee replacements has been happy with them. You're right, I've been putting it off, mainly because I live alone and don't have anyone to help me out. But if I do decide to do it, I will go right into rehab and stay there for about two weeks, which should help. I just finished about 12 weeks of physical therapy for my shoulder. It's somewhat better, but mainly I was discharged because improvement had reached a plateau. They are working on the knee now. Getting old ain't easy!

>78 Cariola: I’m in NYC where the rehab places are terrible. I will never again go to one. Ever.

>79 kjuliff: Hopefully they are better here. My doctor told me which ones are best and which to avoid.

Clear by Carys Davies

John Ferguson is a newlywed minister without a congregation. He was part of the 1843 split with the Church of Scotland in which ministers opposed the patronage system That allowed landowners to appoint local pastors. They formed the Free Church of Scotland, but most of them also lost their livings, at least until they could rally a congregation. Short on cash, John accepts as assignment from a local land broker: sail to an island in the far north Hebrides and remove the last human resident. This was part of a wide-ranging plan to move longtime leaseholders off the land and free it up for other uses, mainly sheep. The journey is hard, and John is left on the island with a dilapidated house that has no furnishings except a small table and a three-legged stool. In the box he brings are a cake his wife made, a few assorted cans of food, and a gun and ammunition. He has been told that the local inhabitant, a large man who is not too bright, will resist being taken from his home.

The land is rugged and uneven, and as he bathes in a river, John takes a steep fall. When Ivar, the local man, makes his daily rounds, he finds bits and pieces: a torn jacket, a woman's likeness in a carved frame, and a battered, naked, unconscious man. He takes John home and tends to him, unaware that this is the man sent by the land broker. Ivar becomes fascinated with the woman in the picture frame: he knows this must be the man's wife, but he hides the picture behind a teapot on a high shelf. Ivar knows only a few words of English, so when John awakens, he begins writing down words in Ivar's almost-extinct language, learned by gestures and pantomimes. There comes a moment when, Ivar loses interest in the woman in the portrait because, he realizes unexpectedly, something has happened between himself and John.

The book alternates between the points of view of John, Ivar, and Mary, John's wife. I found the descriptions of the island and Ivar's simple way of life interesting, but I have to admit that the ever-growing list of Ivar's words got a bit tedious. The author made a great choice in focusing some chapters on Mary, a rather independent woman who was satisfied with her pastimes and never expected to marry. She plays an important role in the story, particularly its ending. I quite enjoyed this book and will be looking for more by Carys Davies.

>80 Cariola: Good. I am sure they will be better. I suspect the NYC ones are the worst in the developed world. When I asked my pcp he said they were all horrible.

>81 Cariola: Great review! I hope to read this soon.

>81 Cariola: This sounds right up my alley!

>81 Cariola: Great review; this sounds like an interesting premise.

>83 RidgewayGirl:, 84, 85 I really enjoyed this one and hope that you all do, too.

All Our Yesterdays: A Novel of Lady Macbeth by Joel H. Morris

Most of us read Macbeth in high school and know that Lady Macbeth was a ruthless, ambitious woman who pushed her husband into murder and multiple other crimes. Joel Morris's novel presents us with a younger woman and shows us events that made her the woman she was to become. As was common in the day, she was part of an arranged marriage to a much older man who only wanted her to produce a son and heir. She completed that duty, but her cruel husband was not appeased, taking out his wrath on his young son for not being "man enough" and clinging to his mother. Fortunately for her (well, maybe), he was brutally killed by Macbeth, who moved into her castle, treated her and the boy kindly, and eventually married her.

If you remember, in Shakespeare's play, the Macbeths are childless, but Lady Macbeth tells us that she has indeed been a mother. This is the focus of All Our Yesterdays. The story is told in alternating chapters focused on The Boy and The Lady. Even though the Boy (no name ever given) was mistreated by his father, he clings to a fantasy that he isn't really dead and will return. He can't shake this idea, even after Macbeth adopts him as his own son. As for the Lady, she is blissfully happy with her new husband--except that she is haunted by a prophecy thrust upon her as a child and the fear that her son will learn that his real father didn't actually die in battle.

Morris ends his novel shortly after Duncan--Macbeth's cousin--becomes king, so we don't see the Macbeths "stepping deep in blood." But he gives us a window into their marriage and psychology. I found the book an interesting speculation on life before the play.

Knife by Salman Rushdie

In August of 2022, an assassin attacked writer Salman Rushdie, 75, with a knife as he was speaking onstage at a writer's event. Rushdie faced a long and painful recovery process, both physically and mentally--and writing this book was a part of that process. I remember well the horrific news reports of the attack and speculation of whether or not he would survive--and if so, how damaged he might be. Rushdie lost an eye and the use of one arm. His story reveals many additional challenges while recovering.

I listened to the book on audio; Rushdie himself is the narrator. No one else could tell the story quite like he does. Initially, his wife and family were told that he might not make it, and he suffered several setbacks when medicines that he was prescribed hurt more than helped. In addition, his existing health issues were exacerbated by the trauma, new ones were uncovered, and physical therapy presented many tough challenges, but Rushdie was determined to meet them. He is quite straightforward in relating details of his recovery, never falling into self-pity. Not surprisingly, the attack brought memories of the 10 year long fatwa against his life and his relationship with his alcoholic father to the surface. The only issue I had with the book was the rather long conversation Rushdie imagined having with his attacker, which was pretty much a way to explain his own philosophy on religion. Sorry, but it lost my attention, even though I understand why it was essential to the story.

It's rather ironic that on the day I finished Knife, the attacker, Hadi Matar, was offered a plea deal to which Rushdie had agreed. He will be back in court on July 2 and is expected to reject the deal, which would have cut his sentence from 25 to 20 years in prison, and to plead not guilty. "What have I got to lose?" he stated.

Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel by The Authors Guild

Let me start by saying that I listened to this book on audio, which I often find a good choice for short stories. I think I would have preferred to read it on my kindle. The narrator was OK, but she put on some annoying accents and read very quickly. I'm sure that influenced my overall opinion of the book. As you can see, I kept putting it down for extended periods of time.

The premise is terrific: a group of tenants are locked in during COVID and begin meeting on the rooftop in the evenings. Like Boccaccio's Decameron Nights or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, each one is designated to tell a story. They are held together by the narrator, a young woman who is the building super. I found a lot of her commentary rather annoying, and the stories themselves are varied--some good, some meandering, some not so good. Underneath it all is the story of a group of strangers in a time of fear coming together and learning to trust and care about one another. The ending came as quite a surprise.

The collection was edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston, and we aren't told which of the well-known members of The Authors Guild contributed to each story. Here is the list: Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Cassara, Jennine Capó Crucet, Angie Cruz, Pat Cummings, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Douglas Preston, Alice Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, Caroline Randall Williams, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, and Meg Wolitzer.

>89 Cariola: Interesting premise, too bad the stories fell short.

>87 Cariola: This sounds interesting. I'll keep it in mind.

>89 Cariola: I keep running across this book and wondered. Books with multiple authors are risky. Thanks for the review.

>91 RidgewayGirl: Another friend of mine said she gave up on it after half an hour. I kept chipping away at it for four months! Not really worth the effort, I'm afraid.

>89 Cariola: I was looking at this book in the bookshop earlier today. It sounds an interesting group of authors but I think collaborative novels are really hard to make work. Doesn't sound worth it from your review.

>91 RidgewayGirl:, >93 valkyrdeath: You're right, I don't think they pulled it off.

On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony S. Fauci

Dr. Fauci has led an amazing life and has helped so many people in his long life of public service. You probably know him most recently as one of the research physicians heading up the fight against COVID and the search for a vaccine. But you may not know that he was also instrumental in finding cures for HIV/AIDS, Ebola, SARS, bird flu and other communicable diseases, or that he was an attending physician for patients with these diseases. His memoir is the story of his life, from his birth in Brooklyn to his post-retirement days. Most interesting to me were his interactions with his patients, politicians, diplomats, colleagues, AIDS activists, and his own family.

If you are a fan of memoirs and bios in which the focal person came from a hardworking second generation immigrant family and followed his dreams by working hard and never giving up, you should enjoy 'On Call.' I listened to the audio version, narrated by Dr. Fauci himself.

You've got some interesting reading here! A few of these are on my shelf... and I'm hoping Fourteen Days is at least a little better as an ebook than audio.

James by Percival Everett

I've never been a huge fan of Mark Twain, but I really enjoyed this novel based on Jim, a character from Huckleberry Finn. Jim is a slave who learns he is about to be sold and joins Huck on a raft escape down the Mississippi River. Here, although he is still Jim to almost everyone else, to himself he is James, and he can both read and write--talents that, of course, he has to keep hidden in the pre-Civil War South. He also has two manners of speaking, the slave-talk that white people expect and the more "correct" English spoken by white people. In other words, James is not just a crafty slave but an intelligent, capable man. Everett draws on many of the stories in Twain's book, including his and Huck's meetup with the Duke and the King, but in much of the novel, he is on the run on his own, encountering other men both enslaved and on the run and a series of bounty hunters, slave owners, overseers, and bigots. I was intrigued by the episode in which a minstrel quartet in need of a tenor "rents" Jim and makes him up to look like a white man made up to look black.

James's initial plan is to escape being sold away from his wife and daughter, then earn money to buy their freedom, but this plan takes a sharp turn near the end of the story.

This novel is entertaining, creative and thought-provoking. I will be looking into this author's other works.

The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes

I really enjoyed this story about the daughters of the 18th-century portrait painter, Thomas Gainsborough. Mary (known as Molly) and Margaret (Peggy), only two years apart in age, were the subjects of several of the artist's best-known paintings, including the "The Painter's Daughters Chasing a Butterfly."

Howes's novel focuses on the sisters' relationship. Although Molly was the elder, Peggy acted as her caretaker. It seems that since she was a very young child, Molly suffered from "spells," walking out of the house in her nightclothes, blanking out, screaming fits, etc. Howes depicts young Peggy as sleeping with her sister and binding their wrists together to keep her in line at night, and during the day, she digs her nails into Molly's hand in hopes of bringing her back into control. Their father refuses to acknowledge that anything is wrong and believes that she will grow out of her condition, but it only gets worse as she matures. While their mother knows something is seriously wrong, she prefers to hide Molly away from society.

In alternating chapters, Howes gives us the story of the girls' maternal grandmother (also named Margaret), an innkeeper's daughter who, in the author's conception, has an illegitimate child by Frederick, the Prince of Wales. It's to this royal connection that Howes attributes the Mrs. Gainsborough's inflated opinion of and focus on her social status--and also, possibly, Molly's madness.

The novel covers the years from childhood to adulthood and brings to life the tragedy of Molly's illness and her sister's constant devotion. The writing is exquisite: Howes has the ability to capture the language and wonder of childhood particularly well. Highly recommended!

I actually finished this about a week ago but my daughter was visiting.

Three intriguing books in a row. You're on a roll!

>99 labfs39: It has been a pretty good reading year so far!

You Are Here by David Nicholls

Surprise! I did not expect to like this book as I usually run from anything labelled "romance," but it really drew me in. Marnie is a 38-year old divorced woman who works as a free lance editor; her current assignment is a poorly written erotic novel. Michael, 42, is a geography teacher reluctantly facing divorce. Their mutual friend Cleo invites them and two other friends, Tessa and Conrad, to join her and her teenage son Anthony on a coast-to-coast trek through Northern England. Michael, an experienced walker, will lead them. Concerned that Marnie and Michael have both increasingly withdrawn from company and given up on finding a new love, Cleo anticipates that Michael will pair up with the "outdoorsy" Tessa and Marnie with handsome pharmacist Conrad. But things change when Tessa cancels and Conrad leaves early in the walk.

One of the strengths of the novel is the description of the passing landscape, the changing weather, and the challenges of the rugged walk, all of which Michael enjoys but the others find boring and exhausting. Marnie has a moment with Conrad during their first hotel stop, but he leaves the next morning; the walk just isn't his thing. Soon after, when Anthony gets bored, he and Cleo also leave, promising to catch up later. But Marnie, despite her complaints, enjoys the challenge and decides to keep on for one more day . . .and one more . . . and one more. Along the way, she and Michael have conversations that are both funny and sad and learn that they have more in common than they initially thought.

So yeah, it's a love story. But it's also a study of loss, loneliness, and middle-aged yearning for companionship, lightened up with humor and a landscape that mirrors the main characters' changing emotions. Halfway through, I realized that I was enjoying You Are Here, despite it being much lighter fare than my usual reading. Marnie and Michael are well-drawn characters, and their growing relationship is believable. I recommend the book to anyone looking for a lighter yet not frivolous read.

>101 Cariola: This sounds very lovely!

The Last King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette by Deborah Cadbury

We all know what happened to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette after the French Revolution. This is the story of their two surviving children, Louis-Charles, the dauphin, and his sister Marie Therese. The children were originally imprisoned with their mother and aunt, but eventually, Louis-Charles and his mother were separated. Only four at the time of their capture, the boy was cruelly abused by his jailers. He was starved, taught to swear, and likely physically and sexually abused. One accusation is that prostitutes were brought in when he was only eight years old in the hopes that he would catch syphilis--all part of the plan to accuse his mother and aunt of sexually abusing him. He was forced to sign a document alleging that this was true. That led to the charges on which Marie Antoinette was found guilty of treason and other crimes for which she was sentenced to beheading. After his deposition, Louis-Charles never spoke again.

The details of the torments and torture that this child endured in the name of the Revolution are truly horrific. He suffered both mentally and physically and rarely received any medical care. When he did, the jailers usually ignored the physician's advice. It's not surprising, then, that Louis-Charles faded away and died in prison in 1795, most likely from tuberculosis worsened by his treatment in prison and general lack of care.

For years, people tried to locate his burial site, but every possible grave was either empty or bore remains that were clearly not those of a ten-year old boy. For decades following his death, there were rumors that Louis-Charles had been smuggled out of prison and another child--perhaps a deaf-mute, or one already dead--was brought in to take his place. Cadbury relates the stories of several of the most notable pretenders to the title of Louis XVII. Some were so believable that they even fooled members of the royal family. But in 2000, the rumors were finally put to rest. A sympathetic physician who was present at Louis-Charles autopsy had preserved the boy's heart and passed the relic down through his family. DNA experts were able to determine that this was indeed the heart of Marie Antoinette's son.

Although I don't often listen to audiobooks, I find that I do enjoy history and biographies in that format and listen to them while doing work on my computer. The reader was good, and Cadbury's research was extensive. I had not known much about the children of Louis XVI or even much about Marie Antoinette's life in prison. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the French royal family or post-Revolutionary history.

I was attracted to this book because the writer has an affinity for New England and for Henry David Thoreau, and it sounded like the stories would reflect the natural landscape of that area. They do, somewhat; most are set in New England. The twelve stories span three centuries and are interconnected by characters, locales, or objects. For example, the title story, set right before World War I, is about a musicologist who meets a piano player in a bar. There's an immediate attraction, and the two of them trek up to Maine to collect recordings of local folk songs. A century later, a woman purchases the home owned by one of the men and his wife and finds the wax scrolls of their recordings. There's the story of a widow in the 1700s who tries to keep up her husband's tavern; a journalist intrigued by the old mystery of a logging camp where all of the inhabitants were found dead; a man who poses a taxidermied auk on a remote island to fool his wife into thinking they still exist; the lovely tale of tundra swans and more. All of the stories reflect on the landscape, which links the characters, and on love, loss, loneliness, and misunderstanding. They show us how the past, its memories, and its artifacts (paintings, music, dead auks, a saw left in a tree, etc.) can connect people through time and place. A quiet, thoughtful, perfectly crafted collection, one to which I will undoubtedly return.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

This historical novel takes place in England in 1940 and 1960. As the Nazis threaten to start bombing, the government sets up Operation Pied Piper to evacuate London children to safer homes in the countryside. Hazel Linden (14) and her sister Flora (5) are sent to Binsey, a small rural town near Oxford. They are taken in by Bridie Aberdeen, a kindly single mother, and her teenaged son Harry. The girls enjoy the pristine countryside but still have fears: their father was killed early in the war, and, of course, they worry about their mother's safety an, in Flora's case, if she will ever come back for them. Hazel creates for a safe space called Whisperwood, a place in the woods with a starry river where they can become whatever they choose (owls, frogs, rabbits, etc.). The stories help to calm Flora's fear. They are the girls' secret. Hazel warns Flora that if she ever tells anyone about Whisperwood, it will disappear forever. Later, when Flora seems unusually attracted to the river in the woods near Bridie's cottage, she tells Flora never to go near the river because if she ever goes into it, she will never be able to come home.

In 1960, we see Hazel working in a rare book shop, in charge of logging and filing incoming books and documents. She opens a package of illustrations that look familiar: two sisters running hand-in-hand towards the woods and a river shining with stars. The illustrations link to a popular books about two sisters and their adventures in Whisperwood. She is convinced that someone has stolen her stories. But how could that be? She never told them to anyone but Flora--and Flora had disappeared in Binsey. The police believe that she drowned in the Thames, but Hazel and her mother Camellia hold out hope that she escaped this fate and is still alive; they have been looking for her for 20 years. Could this book, written by an American, be proof that Flora was still alive?

Thus kicks off the mystery at the center of "The Secret Book of Flora Lea." But it is also an exploration of the effect of trauma on the Pied Piper children and of the guilt caused by the loss of her sister on Hazel. She has found herself unable to commit to a partner, although there is some hope that Barnaby, her current boyfriend, may be the one.

The author develops her story with lots of surprises, twists and turns. The alternating chapters is a good structure for the story. Details from the past (1940) are slowly revealed as Hazel tries to unlock the secret of the how the American Whisperwood books came into being (1960) and what connection they might have to Flora. Overall, I enjoyed the book, although I have to admit that it dragged a few times and that some events were too predictable and sometimes characters are a bit too precious.

The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable

A young woman pushes a bundle through an opening at the Ospidale di Piéta, a Venetian orphanage for girls run by nuns. That bundle is given the name Anna Maria della Piéta, and she becomes the title character of this novel, which traces her life thereafter from the age of eight to sixteen. Not much is known about the real young woman who became the most renowned violinist of her day, but Constable uses what little research can provide and her imagination to give us a compelling story.

The girls at the orphanage are given a sound education and, if they show any talent, music lessons as well. Anna Maria, like all the rest, begins with the flute. But one day she hears a sound that fascinates her and follows it to a room where a young man with red hair is playing an instrument she has never seen before. The notes float from his instrument as colors--a unique sensibility that later helps her to learn music and even to compose it. This is the Master of Music, Antonio Vivaldi. At first annoyed by the interruption, he is stunned when the girl picks up a student's violin and begins playing back the piece she has just heard. From that moment, Anna Maria knows what she wants to do with her life, and Vivaldi agrees to give her lessons.

The novel traces her rise to become the youngest member of the orphanage's famous orchestra, then first violinist and the toast of Venice. But it is so much more. There is her friendship with two other girls. Agata, a girl who plays the harpsichord, suffered a skull deformity by being a bit too large when she was pushed through the hole in the wall. Paulina is a talented oboist who has lost an eye. The three of them are known as the Triplets because of their close bond. Later, she is befriended by Chiara, a former rival. And of course, there is her relationship with the Maestro, who at times can be frighteningly stern and at other times tender. He sees in her a kindred spirit, one that will go to any lengths to forge ahead in the musical world of Venice. When he learns that she also has a talent for composing, he encourages her and allows her to work with him--but only if she never tells a soul.

Constable paints what seems to be an accurate portrait of early eighteenth-century Venice and of life at the orphanage. As you would expect, it's not an easy life, although there are perks for those who make it into the orchestra. Yet all of the girls hold out hope that someone will come for them. In Anna Maria's case, she was left with half of a playing card by the mother who abandoned her.

As someone who loves Vivaldi's work, I found this book quite fascinating. Of course, Constable takes some liberties, including a feminist leaning (although I imagine that these hard working and talented young women would feel constricted by the gender roles of the day). But that is the nature of a novel. I think anyone who is a fan of historical fiction or Venice would enjoy The Instrumentalist.

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel

Much as I love Hilary Mantel's historical fiction, I was not enthralled with this collection of ten short stories published in 2014. This could be, in part, because I listened to them on audio, a format that I am enjoying less these days. The stories are at times comic but more often dark, dry, and depressing. Men having sordid affairs, girls with anorexia, authors stuck in seedy hotels, etc. Just not my cuppa.

>104 Cariola: Intriguing review, I'm making a note of this one. I'm always on the look out for good short story collections!

>106 Cariola: I only learned about this orchestra last year, and I've been interested in learning more. Although a novel, this might be a fun way to step into it.

>107 Cariola: Too bad this wasn't a better read. I have a copy on my shelves, but I want to get to her Place of Greater Safety and memoir first.

>108 valkyrdeath: Hope you enjoy it more than I did. It may have been my mood or maybe just that I wasn't concentrating on the audio version.

>109 labfs39: I think she did a LOT of research for The Instrumentalist, so while personality details and relationships may be more imagined than real, the facts about the figlie and Venice at the time are probably pretty accurate. And she writes beautifully.

>109 labfs39: A Place of Greater Safety is a wonderful book. It's the first one of hers I read. Time for a reread probably.

>110 Cariola: The one I've noted it The History of Sound, which sounded really good from your review, rather than the Mantel one.

>106 Cariola: I love all three! (vivadi, hf, and venice!) is this one of those books with a modern world section?

>113 cindydavid4: No, it doesn't go back and forth in time, it's all set in the early 18th century. I've gotten so bored with that back and forth framework. It was new with Possession but has gotten pretty stale, at least for me.

Ive been fighting it for a long time and try not to read them.the secret life of sunflowers was the latest. Ive read about this book and was so excited til it was destroyed for a unnecessary later time period which was not anywhere near as good a the original story.

there are authors who can make it work and Byatt is one, just wish others would think about which story they meant to tell.

Another one is all the light we cannot see until the very end of the book, the back and forth made perfect sens

Um sorry...thank for that info!Eager to read it!

Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor

Set on a remote Welsh island in 1938, this is mainly the story of Manod, a teenaged girl who dreams of leaving the isolated island for the mainland. The biggest obstacle is that, since her mother died, she is responsible for the care of her younger sister, who loves the island and the natural habitat and who knows English but refuses to speak it. Their father, Tad, is a lifelong fisherman, relying primarily on catching lobsters to sell to the mainland.
The story begins when a blue whale washes ashore. The fishermen try to push it back to see, but to to no avail. Some see it as an omen; the island children see it a a reason to celebrate, decking it with flowers; others see it as a plague as it gradually decays. The image of the whale recurs throughout the novel; I'm not sure exactly what it represents. Maybe the dying of the island and its culture, maybe the corruption of the mainland, maybe the rising and falling of Manod's dream.

About the same time, two ethnographers arrive from the mainland to observe the island's culture, to photograph islanders going about their daily lives, and to record folk lore passed down by the inhabitants. Because Manod can speak English well and both read and write, she is taken on as a translator and assistant. The naive girl believes that Joan and Edward may be her ticket to the mainland.
So yes, in many ways this is a coming-of-age story. But it's also the story of a lost way of life and the impingement of the larger world on a small community. Some readers have complained that it's slow reading, but I see it rather as a quiet story of loss. Not every good book needs to be action-packed. I thought the writing was lovely, the descriptions of nature were detailed and exacting, and the gradual development of Manod's character was very well done. It's a good book for a rainy fall day (which we seem to be having more than our share of this year).

Love your reading! If I didn't already have all these books in my TBR list, you would be a very dangerous influence!

Catching up on my October book reviews.



Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts

In 1849, Evangeline Hussey has made a life for herself in Nantucket. She married Hosea, an innkeeper, and has perfected her recipes for chowder. But Evangeline has a strange gift: she can see faraway things as they are happening. This is how she knows that Hosea had a heart attack while out on the ocean, but she insists to anyone who asks that he will be coming home. She also has the ability to see others' memories and change them. Her life changes when a young sailor named Ishmael comes to the inn. After he leaves, she convinces her neighbors that Hosea is the father of the child she carries, even though he has been gone for more than a year, and no one questions the fact that her daughter has dark curly hair and brown skin. A daughter who has inherited her mother's abilities and uses them to escape Nantucket.

The novel traces the lives of four generations of women who lead remarkable lives that traverse widely varied locations--Boston, Brazil, Florence, Idaho, and in between the south sea islands, Paris, London, New York--as each strives to discover who she is, where she came from, and what she wants. It's a wonderful journey, sad, joyful, and inspiring.

Catching up on my October book reviews.



Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts

In 1849, Evangeline Hussey has made a life for herself in Nantucket. She married Hosea, an innkeeper, and has perfected her recipes for chowder. But Evangeline has a strange gift: she can see faraway things as they are happening. This is how she knows that Hosea had a heart attack while out on the ocean, but she insists to anyone who asks that he will be coming home. She also has the ability to see others' memories and change them. Her life changes when a young sailor named Ishmael comes to the inn. After he leaves, she convinces her neighbors that Hosea is the father of the child she carries, even though he has been gone for more than a year, and no one questions the fact that her daughter has dark curly hair and brown skin. A daughter who has inherited her mother's abilities and uses them to escape Nantucket.

The novel traces the lives of four generations of women who lead remarkable lives that traverse widely varied locations--Boston, Brazil, Florence, Idaho, and in between the south sea islands, Paris, London, New York--as each strives to discover who she is, where she came from, and what she wants. It's a wonderful journey, sad, joyful, and inspiring.

Who Could Ever Love You? by Mary L. Trump

Mary Trump's first book, 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man,' was a psychological study of how her grandparents shaped their children and pushed her uncle Donald to become the man we all know. Her second book is a memoir and a self-study. Mary is a psychologist and began to delve into how her grandparents and parents also affected her. She has a difficult childhood because, in many ways, she simply didn't meet their expectations. Her mother was self-absorbed and more interested in her social standing than her children. Mary suffered from severe asthma, and when she would wake her mother to say that she couldn't breathe (which happened often), her mother was more likely to just pull back the sheets and tell her to climb in than to drive her to the hospital. Her father had disappointed his own parents by becoming a pilot instead of joining the family business. But his alcoholism broke up his marriage and caused him his wings. He could, at times, be a terrific father, but Mary never knew when things would take a turn for the worst. Mary was an outcast at school, and the best days she can remember from her childhood were at summer camp, where she excelled in sports. Her memoir relates many heartbreaking stories as well as recurring moments of hope, and Mary examines her life unflinchingly in her effort to come to terms with her family and herself.

>121 Cariola: She is an impressively clear-eyed woman given her family history.

I'm glad to see you here again.

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

This is quite a doorstopper. I downloaded it from the local library a few months ago and didn't get too far, but it came around again, and this time I finished it. It's a complex story, told from the points of view of three characters: Lily, the American-born daughter of Chinese immigrants; May, Lily's mother, a scientist specializing in genetics who fled Mao's Cultural Revolution; and Nick, Lily's son, also a geneticist but one with different goals than his grandmother.

The first section, Lily's story, begins on the cusp of Y2K, when she attends a party at the office of the PR firm for which she is an unpaid intern. She meets Matthew, who seems to be her exact opposite: he's tall, blonde, confident, the heir to ridiculously wealthy pharmaceutical company owner, Otto Maier. Nevertheless, the two fall in love and, despite Lily's sense that they are unsuited, marry and have a son. That's when things begin to fall apart. Not for a lack of love but because of secrets from her mother's past.

May (originally Mei) tells of her life of poverty in a Chinese village and her determination to attend university and make something more of her life. And it seems that she is about to succeed when Mao's regime, which promised equality and a new way of life, turned instead to a Cultural Revolution that abolished the arts, higher education, and individualism. It's a painful past for May, one that forces her to make decisions that will change her life forever.

I won't say much about Nick's story, set in 2021; to do so would give away too much about himself, his parents, and his grandparents. Suffice it to say that Nick's story is the culmination and resolution of those that came before him.

There's so much in this novel: history, science, identity, family, love, tragedy, sacrifice, selfishness, secrets, conflicts of class, race, and generations, and more. A multigenerational novel for our times.

>122 RidgewayGirl: It took a lot of therapy and self-examination to get there. I love her political insights, too.

Forgot one!



Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine

This short story collection revolves around Muslim residents of Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb just outside of Detroit. Many of the stories are set post-9/11 and demonstrate the fear that circulated in this dominantly Arab-American community then and throughout the Trump administration. People were constantly on the lookout for "men in blue windbreakers," the ICE officers looking for illegal aliens during the crackdown, and everyone seemed to have a cousin or uncle ready to go on the run or hide in the basement anytime there was a knock on the door. Despite this stressful situation (or maybe because of it), there is plenty of humor in these stories. One example is "Speedo Man," in which a mysterious stranger starts coming to the local gym. The ladies are all quite intrigued by the nostalgic photos of Lebanon printed on his swimwear--and by his "package"--and so are their husbands. In another, both funny and poignant, a secretly crossdressing married man is befriended by a lonely young serviceman's wife at the local mosque. The stories here are original and wonderfully written, depicting a community in which the residents, while under significant stress, join to support one another. Highly recommended.

>125 Cariola: I thought you'd like that collection, given your love of books set in the Detroit area. I thought it was excellent.

Yes, I was born in Detroit and grew up in a suburb. Got my degrees (belatedly) from U of Mich. Every Christmas we visited my aunt and uncle who lived in Dearborn. Not so much an Arab community in those days. And my grandparents lived in Hamtramck.

Some interesting reading last month, Deborah. I will keep an eye out for both Real Americans, which dovetails with my China reading, and Dearborn, which first came on my radar thanks to Kay's review.

>121 Cariola: Hi, Deborah! Hope all is well with you.

I very mnuch enjoyed reading Mary Trump's previous book and only read it because I knew she was a clinical psychologist. I really like your review of her newest book and would like to read it as well.

>120 Cariola: Ooh, I have this one. Don't know when I'll get to it though. It sounds good.

>128 labfs39: I think you will enjoy this one!

>129 SqueakyChu: Hi, Madeline! I liked both of her books. The second one is more personal, more about her grandparents' influence on her father and her mother's influence on her own development. But also very good.

>130 WelshBookworm: This was one of my favorites this year. Hope you like it!

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Intermezzo is mainly the story of two Irish brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek. The novel begins shortly after their father's funeral. When they were children, Ivan worshipped his brother, who is 12 years older. Now, they just barely get along, and their situation gets increasingly worse as the novel progresses. Ivan, who lived with his father and took care of him as he battled cancer, resents the fact that Peter gave the eulogy at the funeral, on the grounds that this is always the duty of the oldest son, even though he hardly ever came home.

Peter, a lawyer, is torn between two women, the free-spirited Naomi (who happens to be the same age as Ivan, 22) and his one-time fiancée, Sylvia, a literature professor who suffered a debilitating car accident seven years ago that caused the decision to break off their engagement. Each woman knows about the other and her importance in Peter's current life, yet he feels guilty over not being able to make a full commitment to either one.

Due to caring for their father, Ivan, a recent college graduate, is mainly unemployed and has let his passion for chess competition fall by the wayside. He had reached a high ranking at only 18 and was well known in the Irish chess world, and now he has begun to play in mid-level matches while contemplating going for the IM ranking. At a small town chess club event, he meets Margaret, who works at the arts center where the match is held. One of her duties is to drop Ivan off at the cottage where he will spend the night before taking the train back to Dublin in the morning. There is an immediate attraction between the two of them, even though Margaret is 36 (older than his brother) and separated from her husband.

Intermezzo is an exploration of the relationships between lovers and brothers and of the social norms that encroach upon them. As the chapters move between Peter, Ivan, Sylvia and Margaret, both the voice and the point of view change. Initially, I found Peter's voice a bit grating and harder to follow, but I soon got used to it and appreciated how deftly the author shifted her style to suit each character. I've enjoyed Sally Rooney's earlier works and will be looking forward to her next one.

Great review of Intermezzo, Deborah.

>133 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl. Have you read it yet? I'm about to move on to Enon by Paul Harding.

Just catching up on your thread and I really enjoyed your reviews of Intermezzo and Whale Fall.

>132 Cariola: That ability of Rooney's to change up her style of writing depending on which point-of-view she is writing from is extraordinary. It's subtle, too. Peter's certainly fits the chaos of his unexamined inner life and need to cover everything over with drugs. I'm still mulling over my review, but I think this is her most accomplished book.

I haven't read Intermezzo yet, Caroline. I'll see if I can get to it next year.

I really enjoyed This Other Eden and was really looking forward to Harding's latest, Enon. What a disappointment! So many long, long descriptions and so many long, long sentences. I can sum it up for you in one: A girl is killed when a car hits her bike, and after the funeral, her father puts his fist through the wall and decides his marriage has been long dead and sends his wife home to her parents, after which he promptly becomes addicted to painkillers and whatever other drugs he can get from the local dealer, breaking into homes of sick people he knows to steal their prescription drugs and money to get more drugs from the dealer, and in the meantime he doesn't bathe or shave for months and eavesdrops on two Goth teen girls smoking in the local cemetery. OK, so he's the narrator, and there are some charming stories of his memories of his daughter. But that's it. It took me forever to drag myself to the end of this short book. I know it's supposed to be a wonderful book about grief and loss, but jeez, give me a break!

(I almost feel guilty about writing such a scathing review. But then I remember that it was so bad that I stopped about 2/3 of the way in to reread Claire Keegan's wonderful novella. Small Things Like These. Going back to finish the last third felt like torture after that.)

>138 Cariola: I think it’s so important to write negative reviews. Even though others may not agree it’s really helpful when in a group like LT when you have an idea of what other members like. I usually agree with your reviews of books I’ve read, so I’m going to give Enon a big miss. Thanks for saving me some time.
So many long, long descriptions and so many long, long sentences. YES
If I’m looking for these I’ll read Trolope.

>138 Cariola: Yes, thank you for writing this review. I too loved This Other Eden, but will give Enon a wide berth, especially these days.

>138 Cariola: man. Slayed. I’m thinking from memory that that’s all true, even as I actually liked the book a lot. It’s a very simple set up for an intense breakdown. I felt while reading that Harding was mainly interested in his sentences and in an excuse for composing them. But i love his sentences, so i was far more forgiving. As Kate said, it’s good to have thess different perspectives.

I haven’t posted on your thread in a while. You’ve been reading great stuff (Enon excepted 🙂).

>138 Cariola: I, too, liked Enon a lot, and I guess the long sentences and long descriptive passages helped to create mood and atmosphere, which contributed to my enjoyment. But Harding certainly seemed to have developed more control by the time he wrote This Other Eden and I’m not sure after reading a few pages of Tinkers that I’ll read his debut novel at all. But it’s fun to watch an author develop his abilities and I look forward to his next book, so maybe I will read Tinkers—it’s also very short.

>138 Cariola: This is a site for readers, so honest reviews are appreciated. And I suspect that Harding is an established enough author not to be affected by a few people not liking one of his books!

What a lot of good reading and reviews! And almost all books I have on the pile, the main difference being that you've read them and I haven't...

>138 Cariola: I really liked Tinkers when it came out, but I have a feeling it's one of those books you have to be in the right mood for. I haven't read any of his others, though.